Geyers United Methodist Church (UMC) will hold its annual community Easter egg hunt on Palm Sunday, April 2, at 1 p.m. The event, which will also include lunch and children's activities, is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine.

Karen Wise, Geyers UMC Children's Club coordinator, said that local children and their families look forward to the event each year. "We have been doing this for more 20 years," she said. "They watch the (Greater Hershey Community) Courier for news of the egg hunt. Last year, we had around 300 (participants)."

In preparation for the event, between 4,000 and 4,500 eggs will be scattered across the church lawn. Children age 13 and under are invited to bring their baskets to collect them. "We want to make sure that kids get eight, 10 or a dozen eggs (each). We ask them to return the eggs after the hunt so we can use them for next year," Wise explained. "The youth of our church and Boy Scouts from Troop 97 in Londonderry Township do most of the placing of the eggs on the morning of Palm Sunday."

Each egg in the hunt will be filled with candy or a small toy. "A group of about 10 volunteers from the church who are older people enjoy filling the eggs," said Wise.

In addition to the candy and toys found inside the eggs, all children in attendance will receive a prize bag of chocolate and toys.

The Easter Bunny will be outside to greet children, so parents are encouraged to bring their cameras for photographs. There will also be face painting and temporary tattoos.

Starting times for the hunts will be as follows: birth to age 2, 1 p.m.; ages 3 and 4, 1:10 p.m.; ages 5 and 6, 1:15 p.m.; and ages 7 to 9 and age 10 and up, 1:20 p.m.

"We are blessed to have a lot of land all around the church. So we have plenty of places to keep the kids separated by age groups," noted Wise.

After the eggs have been collected, the entire family may pick up a free to-go lunch. Meals will include a hot dog, chips, dessert and a drink. "We used to have the meal inside the church, but with COVID, we began giving them a to-go lunch," Wise pointed out. "We thought that it worked better, so we continued with that."

In the case of rain, the egg hunt will become a drive-through event where families can pick up eggs, candy, prizes and lunch from their cars.

Geyers UMC is located at 1605 S. Geyers Church Road, Middletown. No preregistration is required. For more information, contact Wise at 717-919-4319 or karenkathy@comcast.net. Information, including details about weather-related changes, will be posted at http://www.facebook.com/geyerschurch.