EPHRATA - With her two sons, and alongside about 200 other people, Melissa Horton awaited the start of Ephrata's community Easter egg hunt Saturday.

Her sons, Dalas, 5, and Isaiah, 2, were holding their buckets, ready to make their dash for eggs.

Horton, of Ephrata, has brought her kids to the free event in the past, which includes a hunt for plastic and real eggs and photos with the Easter bunny.

"There's always a lot of people here," Horton said.

Her friend, Jan Bro, of the Ephrata Rotary Club, predicted a good turnout.

Some of the plastic eggs even contained a note indicating a prize to be claimed, she said.

The clubs in town take a part in the event, Bro explained.

Jennifer Dechenne, of the Ephrata Rotary Club, estimated about 200 people attended Saturday's event.

Ephrata's Key Club stuffed plastic eggs for the event before.

The egg hunt then became a joint Kiwanis/Rotary project.

"They've been doing it forever," said Dechenne, who grew up in Ephrata. "A really long time."

After the event, kids removed candy from their plastic eggs and dumped them in a bin for reuse next year.

The Easter bunny was also on hand for photos with the children.