Easter parade and egg hunt return

April 20, 2022 | Photos by Gordon Miller

The Easter Bunny gets an escort from Sandy Lewis as the parade makes its way down Main Street. Photo by Gordon Miller

Kids bring all sorts of containers. Some double as hats. Photo by Gordon Miller

The Easter Bunny makes friends along the way. Photo by Gordon Miller

The parade passes the Waterbury Train Station as it heads to Pilgrim Park. Photo by Gordon Miller

On your mark, get set …. Photo by Gordon Miller

Go! Photo by Gordon Miller

Veterans of previous egg hunts knew just what to do. Photo by Gordon Miller

Photo by Gordon Miller

Organizers spent hours stuffing eggs with candy and more than another hour Saturday morning putting thousands of plastic eggs around the field. As usual, the hunt took a matter of minutes. Photo by Gordon Miller

Photo by Gordon Miller

Novice egg hunters get a little coaching. Photo by Gordon Miller

They catch on quickly. Photo by Gordon Miller

Photo by Gordon Miller

Photo by Gordon Miller

Photo by Gordon Miller

Photo by Gordon Miller

Photo by Gordon Miller

The EB makes another new friend. Photo by Gordon Miller

An egg hunt mystery? Several special clear eggs had notes inside to take to the organizers to trade for a stuffed toy bunny or chick. Photo by Gordon Miller

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Waterbury Rotary Club springtime tradition returned to the village on Saturday with the Easter Bunny leading a parade to Pilgrim Park where scores of colored, candy-filled eggs awaited.

A little rain didn’t dampen spirits as children led their parents along from Brookside Primary School. Carrying bags and baskets and buckets, they lined up by age groups to await the signal to race into their section of the grassy field. The older youngsters knew just what to do. Some of the smaller tots at their first egg hunt needed a little coaching from adults.

And although it took Rotary organizers hours to set up, the lawn was cleared of plastic eggs in a matter of minutes.