Thousands lined the beach on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon for the first of two Easter Egg Hunts sponsored by the Boardwalk Merchants Association.
With the blare of a siren, waves of children charged into makeshift pens in a race to collect more than 180,000 plastic eggs filled with candy and toys.
The hunt was divided into five age groups:: 2-and-unders, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds and ages 6-7.
The 2:30 p.m. event followed the 29th annual Doo Dah Parade, which had ended about an hour earlier on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
Children in the same age categories are invited to participate in an identical event 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20. The event is free to all participants.
The Egg Hunt areas are set up on the beach between 11th and 13th streets with the youngest children at 11th Street and the oldest at 13th Street. Rain date is Sunday, April 20.
