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Children raced across the lawn at Sunrise of Arlington on Sunday, April 13, gathering candy- and toy-filled eggs as residents watched from the porch.
Before the hunt began at 2000 N. Glebe Road, children compared strategies and spotted promising hiding places beneath bushes. Parents reminded them not to take every egg and to share with others who collected fewer.
Rachel Jensen, executive director of Sunrise Arlington, told the children that 100 eggs were scattered around the property, including beneath the porch and near a bird feeder. She encouraged them not to argue if two hunters reached the same egg.
“Ready, set, go,” Jensen said, sending the children scrambling across the yard.
Sunrise provided leftover orange Halloween bags for anyone who arrived without a basket. Several residents came outside after brunch to enjoy the festivities, adding a multigenerational element to the community event.
Ari McSherry attended while visiting his mother, Marlene. As they watched children fill their baskets, they recalled the Easter egg hunts held at their family home when he was growing up.
Miles Martin, who was six months old that day, came dressed for the holiday with his mother. She decided he could wait until next year to join the hunt but brought him to visit residents. Her 94-year-old grandfather lives at a Sunrise community near Philadelphia, and she said she knew how much residents enjoyed seeing babies.
Noelle Skeete was attending the Sunrise hunt for the first time. She remembered a different event several years earlier when older children collected the eggs before she could reach them.
“It was a very, very sad day,” she said.
Now a student at nearby Glebe Elementary School, Noelle said she was ready for the competition because she had become much faster.
Sunrise Arlington offers assisted living, memory care and short-term stays. Sunrise Senior Living is headquartered in McLean and operates more than 270 locations across the region, the United States and Canada.
More Arlington Easter activities
Several additional community events were scheduled around Arlington:
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Walker Chapel planned an Eggstravaganza from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 19, featuring the Easter bunny, games, animals and a hot dog lunch at 4102 N. Glebe Road.
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Memorial Baptist scheduled activities, prizes and an egg hunt for children from birth through fifth grade from 10 to 11 a.m. on April 19 at 3455 N. Glebe Road.
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Potomac Overlook Regional Park offered a scavenger hunt through April 20. Children could pick up an egg sheet at the nature center between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., explore the park and return for a prize. Admission was $8 per child.
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Mount Olivet United Methodist Church planned an age-divided egg hunt at 11 a.m. on April 19 at Woodlawn Park, 1325 N. Buchanan Street. Participants were asked to bring baskets.
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Calloway Methodist Church scheduled an egg hunt with games and food from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on April 19 at High View Park, 1945 N. Dinwiddie Street.
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St. Peter’s Episcopal Church planned an egg hunt at 10:30 a.m. on April 20 for children in fifth grade and younger at 4250 N. Glebe Road. Participants were asked to bring baskets.