MIDDLEBORO — Kids scavenged for candy-filled eggs on the Town Hall green, and in the town center’s retail shops on Saturday, March 30 to kick off Easter weekend in Middleboro. 

Middleboro Merchants sponsored its third annual Easter Egg hunt in collaboration with MeetingHouse Church, giving stores the chance to participate in the town’s Easter celebrations and show residents the variety of small businesses in downtown Middleboro, the group’s organizers said. 

Children could go around to participating retail establishments in the town center, where they would receive an egg with a sweet treat inside. 

“Middleboro has so much more to offer than people realize,” said Sandy Cronin, who coordinated the event and is one of Middleboro Merchants’ founders. Cronin said she estimated that between 12 and 15 stores participated. 

She encouraged any business owner interested in joining the group to look up its private Facebook page. 

Last year, Cronin was not able to participate in the event, but heard that it was a success. This year though, “people are saying the turnout was even better,” she said. 

One of the participating stores was Vintage Vault, located on Thatcher’s Row alleyway off Center Street. The store sells vintage memorabilia and collectables. Owner Tenille Langdon reported that she gave out some 150 eggs. 

Some of the children who came in offered to share their candy with her and her daughter, who was helping her hand eggs out, Langdon revealed with a smile. “It was awesome to see the kid’s generosity.” 

The day’s Easter celebration began with a traditional scavenger hunt on the Town Hall front lawn, which was put on by MeetingHouse Church. Thousands of eggs were scattered on the green, which was divided into sections based on age.

Event planners said that in years past, age groups weren’t separated, which created problems because older kids got to the eggs much faster than younger ones. 

Colton Norvish, 11, who said he managed to gather “like a 100 eggs” with the help of his sister Hadley, hopes the Easter Bunny brings him “V-bucks,” the virtual currency used in the video game Fortnight. 

Five-year-old Lilith Tracy also returned with a full basket of eggs. When asked if she wanted the Easter Bunny to bring her more Barbie dolls, she exclaimed — mimicking Cookie Monster’s voice — “I love barbie dolls!”