By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

It was an “egg-stravaganza” at Two Strike Park on Saturday morning when CV Church hosted its fifth annual Easter egg hunt. An estimated 1,450 people swarmed the park eager to claim their share of 26,697 plastic eggs filled with candy and toy bunnies among other goodies.

“We’re very happy with the turnout,” said Beth Krause, CV Church’s children’s pastor. “We had so much fun and the church family enjoys doing something for the kids and the community. We do this because we love our community.”

Planning for the egg hunt began in July. Filling the thousands of eggs took about three months of dedicated effort. Leading that effort were Carla and Laurie Stacey who, between the two, filled over 13,000 eggs.

Each egg, once filled, cost about 30 cents with much of that money coming from donations.

“We of course budgeted for the event but we also had people who donated money or eggs or the goodies for them,” Krause said.

There were two hunts – one at 10 a.m. and the other at 10:30 a.m. – to give everyone a chance to get their fill of eggs.  There were also plenty of CV Church leaders on hand to welcome guests.

“As the local church, we are pleased with the number of families and the diversity of families who came out,” said Pastor Rick Wood.

And while the egg hunt may not offer traditional religious lessons, Wood said that the event is an opportunity for people to become acquainted with CV Church and the people who attend.

“It’s about belonging to a community,” he said. “We don’t promote religion, we promote relationships – including one with Jesus Christ.”

With the egg hunt still fresh in their minds, attention is now being turned to another of the church’s outreach events. Explore Bethlehem is a free, interactive, hands-on Christmas experience that the church hosts for local residents. This year it will be held on Dec. 11 at the church, 4001 La Crescenta Ave. in La Crescenta.

For more information, call (818) 249-5805 or visit  www.cvchurch.com.

  robin goldsworthy