Children and adult Easter egg hunts will take place Saturday in Morton Park.

Diane Ratliff, the tourism and special events supervisor for the Charleston Parks and Recreation Department, said children ages 1 to 10 can participate in the children’s egg hunt with adult supervision.

She said the times for the children’s egg hunt are staggered every 10 minutes, from 9:10-9:50 a.m., to allow each age group time to hunt.

Ratliff said the children’s egg hunt will take place in the East Pavilion of Morton Park in the outfield of the baseball diamond, where the eggs are in plain site.

“It’s more of an egg scramble where everyone runs and picks up what they can,” Ratliff said.

Ratliff said the children’s eggs are filled with candy, and one large egg will be hidden for the children to find. The child who finds the large egg will be able to pick an Easter basket at the end of hunt, Ratliff said.

The Easter Egg Hunt: Adult Night Light will take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday in the West Pavilion of Morton Park.

The adults’ egg hunt is open to people ages 11 and up. Participants between the ages of 11-16 must have an adult present.

Adults need to bring their own flashlight and something to carry their eggs in, Ratliff said.

Prizes in the adults’ eggs include a gift certificate for a free taco from Taco Bell, a free oil change, gift certificates to restaurants and other businesses in Charleston, car washes and other fast food items.

Ratliff said the children’s egg hunt is free, but the adults only hunt is $6 per participant.

Ratliff said between 100 and 200 children usually attend the children’s egg hunt, and around 40 adults attend the Night Light egg hunt.

Participants are able to register on-site, Ratliff said.

Ratliff said the adults’ egg hunt is fun to watch because the adults are so competitive.

“It’s just fun to watch everybody go out and try to find as many eggs as they can. The adults are very competitive; they don’t want anyone to find more eggs than them, “Ratliff said. “The funniest thing is to watch them in the beginning because they stand like the start of a race, ready to take off when I call ‘go.’”

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or kjrichter@eiu.edu.