COAL GROVE — With the blast of the fire truck siren, kids were off and within a couple minutes, they cleaned a large portion of Paul Porter Park in Coal Grove of thousands Easter eggs.

The event was held Sunday and was put together by River Run Health Care of Coal Grove and the Coal Grove Betterment Club with separate egg hunts for ages 0-2, 7-11 and 12 and older.

This was the first year for the event and Adam Townsend, the activity director for River Run Health Care of Coal Grove, said the event was “to support the community and give back to the community.”

He said it wasn’t that hard to set up, but filling 10,000 Easter eggs was a challenge.

“That took a lot of time,” he said. “Carrie Russell, our Social Services director, took them home and did, I think she said, 2,000 at her house. And I had some of my residents fill them.”

There was a good turnout of a couple hundred kids and parents taking part in the hunt, jumping on two inflatables, checking out a Coal Grove fire truck and getting pictures taken with the Easter Bunny. There were also a lunch and prizes like Easter baskets, a hover board and a remote-controlled car for lucky raffle winners.

“There is a ton of people here,” Townsend said. 

Coal Grove Mayor Andy Holmes said he was happy to have the event going on.

“It is great to have an event like this where the community can get together, especially if it is family-orientated, that is what our park is for,” he said. “It is so good to see it so full today and have people up here enjoying the weather.”