St. Mark’s ‘egg scramble’ a sweet success

Wait till Townes, 11 months old — with his smiling mom — finds out there’s chocolate in there. Photos by Bob Krasner

BY BOB KRASNER | If we were playing “Jeopardy,” the answer would be: 750 plastic eggs, 125 kids, 14 volunteers, two jazz musicians and a balloon twister.

The question: What went into the making the annual St. Mark’s Church Easter egg hunt?

Led by Reverend Allison Moore, the very enthusiastic volunteers made sure that the kids, from infants to age 10 or so, had a great time. Although there was some trouble enforcing the six-eggs-per-kid rule.

The egg hunt has been a tradition at the East Village house of worship for more than 25 years. Amidst the chaos, church volunteers Bim Strasberg (bass) and Larry Luger (guitar) provided some jazz for the parents, while the kids fueled up on popcorn and juice, before being let loose in the historic church courtyard at E. 10th St. and Second Ave.

Lisa, 7, armed with balloon sword and custom-made bunny basket, made a find at the Easter egg hunt at St. Mark’s Church.

“We love welcoming neighbors to the church’s West Yard, to music and balloons and a magic show that can’t quite quell the anticipation of the hunt itself,” Reverend Moore said. “This year, it was especially fun for me to see two teenagers helping parishioners hide eggs.”

The people who made it happen: the St. Mark’s Church volunteers, led by interim Pastor Allison Moore, bottom row, right.

Vestry member Delores Schaefer noted that the event has been growing.

“It’s been attracting more and more kids from the neighborhood, which is great,” she said. “Maybe it’s because we switched from real eggs to plastic eggs filled with candy!”

Neighborhood resident Landon Nordeman, who brought his wife and kids, said his family really looks forward to the fun event.

Forget the egg. Levon, 1 1/2, found the chocolate.

“We love the East Village, and the community spirit at the St. Mark’s Church Easter egg hunt was a shining example of it,” he said. “Our boys loved hunting for eggs in the garden!”

After the egg-cellent search, parents and kids lingered in the East Yard, which is currently filled with 100 T-shirts representing children under the age of 11 who were victims of gunshots, many of whom died while playing with an unsecured gun in their homes.

T-shirts symbolizing young victims of gun violence in the St. Mark’s churchyard.