Boiling, dyeing and hiding - the great Easter egg hunt is on

The Easter Bunny got a little bit of help Saturday morning as a group of more than 60 volunteers hard-boiled and dyed some 18,000 eggs for Sunday's egg hunt at Governor's Field.

Preparations for the event, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, seemed almost as festive as Easter Sunday itself.

"It's just been a lot of fun getting to boil so many eggs," said Jerrold Howerton, 14, a freshman at Carson High who hard-boiled five dozen eggs at a time in a deep-fryer with some fellow ROTC cadets.

"I came out here not knowing what to expect and I saw a bunch of friends. Plus, we're going at this assembly-line style, so it seems to be going pretty quick."

Indeed, with five deep-fryers going at once, a quality-control unit making sure each batch is boiled, then sent on to a line of egg dyers dipping with precision - and finally, to a set of latex-glove-clad repackers, putting eggs back into their original cart, the parking lot of Borda Automotive did resemble what organizer Bobby Bean called "better than a well-oiled machine."

"We started doing this around 8 a.m.," Bean said just after 9:30. "And we're already a little more than halfway through.

"These folks really know what they're doing when it comes to dyeing eggs - you'd think it's more than a once-a-year thing."

Clayton Sollberger, 9, of Fritsch Elementary, said he was "pretty amazed" at the number of eggs.

"Usually I have a dozen or two at my house," he said. "But this is a lot."

Clayton helped repack eggs and, judging by his green-dyed gloves, had a favorite color as well.

"I think we got this system down pretty good," he said.

Indeed, the final step in the assembly line -those chosen to re-pack individual egg cartons into bigger crates - could barely keep up with the influx of colorful oblong objects by mid-morning.

"Yeah, it's all about eggs, eggs, eggs," said Carson High sophomore Adam Dyet, 15. "It's a good thing though."

The Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt will take place at Governor's Field today at 11 a.m. for special needs children and 1 p.m. for the general public.

"We also got some plastic prize eggs," Bean said. "We got great donations from throughout the community. From movie passes to food gift-certificates."

After the egg hunt, Gov. Jim Gibbons and first lady Dawn Gibbons will hand out commemorative Easter eggs at the Governor's Mansion from 2-4 p.m.

• Contact reporter Andrew Pridgen at apridgen@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.

Local Easter events

Carson City

What: Carson City Easter Egg Hunt

When: 11 a.m. for special needs children, 1 p.m. for general public

Where: Governor's Field, 850 Evalyn Drive, off Roop Street

WHAT: Commemorative Easter Egg giveaway for children

WHEN: 2-4 p.m.

WHERE: Governor's Mansion, 606 N. Mountain St.

COST: Free, one per child until gone

Dayton

What: Dayton Easter Egg Hunt

When: 1 p.m.

Where: Minor Ranch, on Old Dayton Valley

AGES: 0-3, 4-7 and 8-older