by Karina Guzzi
Daily Lobo
It took 10 minutes for kids at the Duck Pond on Saturday to find 3,500 eggs.
People - most of them excited children - crowded around the Duck Pond. They held their baskets and waited for the egg hunt to begin while taking pictures with the Easter Bunny.
It was the first time for football assistant coach Everett Todd and his family. As they waited for the hunt to begin, his wife Donna found the best strategy for six-year-old Evelyn.
"We have a lot of kids over here and not a lot of kids over there," she said. "Maybe it would be better if she went to the 10-year-old group."
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After the egg hunt, kids played "spoon relay" - moving raw eggs in a spoon from one point to the next - and the winners received prizes.
"It's over fast," said Amy Baum, who works in the University Counsel Office. She brought her daughter, Erin, 2.
The Easter bunny, student Isaac Burgener, said the best part of playing the role was seeing kids' faces when they saw him.
Kim Feldman, coordinator of the event, said the egg hunt, organized by the Student Lettermen's association, is a tradition at UNM.
Every year the association's student athletes volunteer to organize the event.
Feldman said the egg hunt has happened for as long as the association has been on campus.
She said they invite faculty, students, coaches, community and alumni, and every year between 300 and 400 kids come to the event.
"We stuffed over 3,500 eggs," Feldman said. "We had an egg-stuffing party - probably our most fun meeting of the year."
The association's president, Nicole Overeem, stuffed for two hours.
"We want to make sure the kids get candy, get their sugar-high over the weekend so the parents can hate us for the weekend," she said.
Edwina Moses wasn't able to bring her own grandchildren but came with some friends. She said the egg hunt is not just about candy.
"You get to share a holiday with a child, and it is important," Moses said. "It's something they'll always remember, and so will you."
As she hugged the Easter bunny, she insisted that her friend take her picture.
"Come on," Moses said. "How often do I get to act like a kid?"
