After the COVID-19 pandemic canceled Easter egg hunts last year, kids enjoyed and returned to the tradition on Saturday.
Several events came back and at least one new hunt entered the mix.
The Easter egg hunt at Shiloh United Methodist Church was among the first to start the day, and the kids were anxious to get going.
Four other United Methodist churches also participated.
"We've got over 10,000 eggs out here," said Rev. Patrick Lewis, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church. "And we've got chocolates and all kinds of good things in them. Just another opportunity for us to have the kids kind of get out and just be in community. I think everybody's pretty pumped. They have been indoors all year long with their kids and now they're able to get out and just have a good time."
The Easter egg hunts end very quickly with all the excitement and energy of the kids looking to find the eggs, and they were happy to be back at South Park.
"We had at least 9,000 eggs and that wasn't near enough," said Catherine Card, South Side Neighborhood Task Force president. "To be involved in this big of an event with this many people was just a very welcome thing."
The Billings Cars & Coffee club started a new a egg hunt in Pioneer Park in the corner near 3rd Street West and and Parkhill Drive.
"We have between 3,500 to 4,000 eggs," said Eddie Toliver, the club's administrator. "A lot of our meets are mainly adult-driven. And this was something that we kind of thought would be a cool idea, help get our kids involved as well, give back to them."
For all of them, it's about kids and families.
"It's really special to meet the families and be able to give something to kids," said Card.
"Just spending family time together," Toliver said.
"Hope and joy are the two thoughts that you want to carry forward throughout the whole year," said Lewis. "So this is a great time for the whole family to enjoy a little bit of that."
Several other groups also helped with each of these events.
And for the last few years, MSU Billings students have merged their egg hunt with the South Side Neighborhood Task Force's event.
