Eggciting Easter hunts coming up

This year’s Easter egg hunts have been announced. Hill City is hosting its hunt at the Visitor Information Center March 28. The free event runs from 9:45 a.m. to noon.

The Easter egg hunt starts at 10 a.m., with line-up starting at 9:45 a.m. There will be three special golden eggs, one for each age group. They are among the regular candy-filled eggs in each group’s hunt.  

“Whoever finds the golden egg gets a special basket stuffed full of goodies, courtesy of the Hill City Lion’s Club,” said Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Erica Layton.

There will also be face painting and four fun games for the children.

The first 100 attendees will receive a stuffed Easter animal and a swag bag containing Easter toys and candy, and the Easter bunny will be on hand.

The Keystone Easter Egg Hunt is April 4, starting at 10 a.m. 

There are four age divisions: 0-3, 4-6, 7-8 and 9-12.

Robin Scott, Keystone Town librarian who organizes the event each year, said planning begins mid-January. She estimates close to 2,800 plastic eggs get stuffed with candy for the hunt. Scott gets both the city office staff and after school children to help. 

There are four golden eggs per age group in the hunt. This year’s golden egg prize is a stuffed animal and a Barnes and Noble gift card. 

Scott said each year the Black Hills Glass Blowers  donate a “pretty special” glass egg for the hunt. There is only one per age group. 

Gail Damin and Pete Hopkins estimate they’ve been donating the glass  eggs for the last 35 years. 

Each egg is one of a kind, signed by either Damin or Hopkins.

Damin said some families have “quite the collection,” with some sending children year after year into the park just to get the glass eggs. 

Damin said they have always donated “whatever the town asks for.” One year, maybe about 15 years ago, no one from the town approached her about donating eggs. And she figured maybe the town didn’t like or want them anymore, so she didn’t contact the town. That year there were no glass eggs. Damin said she got “chewed out” by a lady in town soon after, asking, “How come you’re not donating the golden eggs?” Damin knows now that the children in town are “thrilled by it.”

Damin said she isn’t certain how the glass egg tradition began, if she was approached by the town or what.

But Damin went to art school in North Carolina, and the glass egg hunt was something the school did on the grounds for Easter for the artists’ children and the townspeople around Spruce Pine.

The Keystone Seniors and Social Club has for the last several years been a part of the event as well. This year they are hosting cookie and cupcake decorating with the children.