Children sort through their Easter egg haul at Saturday's Winfield Township Easter Egg Hunt.

When a group of ordinary citizens got together to plan an Easter egg hunt, they hoped some families would turn out to enjoy the event.

That group was stunned when about 1,500 people turned out at the Winfield Township Eggstravaganza, which was held Saturday at Winfield Township Community Park.

The line to get into the free egg hunt at the township park was seemingly endless, with hundreds of families waiting patiently in a queue that snaked throughout the township building's parking lot and around buildings.

“Someone said, 'Come here, Terri. You have to see the line,'” said event committee member Terri Leslie. “I just sat down and cried.”

She said the event's committee marvels at the fact that it was able to plan the egg hunt in just a little more than five weeks, as the Saxonburg Easter Egg Hunt was canceled because of the inability to manage pandemic protocol in Roebling Park. Members of the Saxonburg Business Association, which plans the egg hunt in Roebling Park, helped the Winfield committee organize the event, Leslie said.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Thursday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.