LAKEPORT — Neither intermittent rain nor the threat of a torrential downpour could get in the way of the crowd of about 300 that turned out for Sunday”s 88th annual Lakeport Rotary Club Easter Egg Hunt at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
Despite a weekend of showers throughout the county, conditions in Lakeport were mostly dry early Sunday. But as the crowd started gathering outside the fairgrounds, waiting for the gates to open at 1:15 p.m., dark clouds were also gathering.
Once the gates opened, participants streamed to their respective age-group locations. For children 4 to 8 years of age, that meant the big roped-off field behind Lewis Hall.
The skies kept growing darker.
Within five minutes, everyone except for a few latecomers had lined up behind the rope, ready to sprint to the nearest bunch of eggs. Some people were scanning the field for the colored eggs that were worth money — $10 for gold, $5 for silver, $1 for blue.
But there were nine minutes left before the hunt was scheduled to start. The children were getting antsy. So were some adults, who kept glancing at their watches or cellphones.
“Eight minutes to go,” Ken Parlet, Lakeport city councilman, instructed the crowd over the public address system.
Parlet tried some humor to keep the restless group entertained.
“If you have any complaints about the egg hunt, please contact your local Lions Club or Kiwanas,” said the Rotary Club official.
There were two or three minutes to go when the precipitation was first felt.
“Uh-oh,” one parent observed. “Here it comes.”
Indeed, within a minute, it felt like the beginning of a downpour — and Rotary Club officials quickly decided to begin the hunt at 1:28 p.m., plus or minus a few seconds.
So the rush was on.
“Over there! That way! See the eggs?” one mother yelled out to her daughter, who had appeared to have forgotten that the basic idea was to pick up the eggs, not stop to admire the eggs your friend had collected.
Then, as quickly as it started, the rain stopped, the shower lasting about a minute.
The actual hunt didn”t last long — a couple minutes, max before practically all the eggs were gathered up and proudly on display for friends and family.
Some of the children were decked out in Easter costumes. Rabbit ears were big, as usual. Rabbit tails and rabbit whiskers were also popular.
Rotary Club member Marty Diesman said bad weather usually doesn”t discourage attendance.
“We”ve gotten good turnouts, even in the rain,” he said. “We”ve had them for 88 years. It”s a Lakeport tradition.”
Rich Mellott is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636, ext. 14 or at rmellott@record-bee.com.
