PORT ANGELES — Hopped up for Easter, about 65 children leapt into the water to gather eggs Sunday during the “Easter Egg-stravaganza” egg swim at William Shore Memorial Pool.
The event was the first big egg hunt to kick off the Easter season on the North Olympic Peninsula before the April 20 holiday, and the children scrambled to collect and open 2,500 brightly colored plastic eggs floating in the pool.
Thirty of the eggs contained winning prize numbers, including the one for the “Grand Bunny,” an 18-inch tall chocolate rabbit, and smaller prizes that included candy, stuffed animals and baskets.
“I got one,” Cheyenne Zimmer, 9, of Port Angeles said with a grin.
Port Angeles resident Ethan McCallister, 5, assisted by his father, Brett McCallister, worked through hundreds of eggs confined to the shallow end of the pool, and as most other eggs were taken, wasn’t giving up.
“We don’t have one. Not yet,” Brett McCallister said.
Easter-themed gift baskets were raffled at the end of the event, with each swimmer receiving a free entry, and every swimmer was given a candy bag on departure.
The young swimmers were given access to the pool in waves from toddlers to teens to give the youngest a chance to grab a few eggs before the older kids joined the melee.
Parents were allowed the accompany the youngest tots who needed a little help in the water, but could not assist with egg collection.
The William Shore Memorial Pool, 255 E. Fifth St. also hosts an October “Pumpkin Patch Swim,” in which more than 100 pumpkins are cleaned, then floated in the pool for children to choose one as a Halloween jack-o’-lantern.
The pool’s next event is April Pools Day, 11 a.m. April 26.
The free swim and safety day will include water safety education, including pool, boat and open water, and general water safety.
Swimmers are encouraged to bring bathing suits so they can test their new skills during the safety day.
U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers, Olympic Peninsula Paddlers and other water safety specialists will provide live demonstrations.
A free raffle will give away swim lessons and a life jacket.
For more information, phone the pool at 360-417-9767.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
