Hundreds of children spent their Saturday searching for Easter eggs filled with candy and other treats during the local Easter egg hunts that took place.

But before that, dozens of people took a solemn walk through Ironton, reflecting on the walk Jesus Christ took the day he was crucified.

Each year on Good Friday, members of Sharon Baptist Church participate in the Cross Walk. The members share the burden of carrying a large, wooden cross through the streets of Ironton, representing Jesus’ walk through the streets of Jerusalem.

The walk starts at the church and heads down South Fourth Street, turning right on Lorain Street and through Woodland Cemetery.

On Saturday, Central Christian Church hosted its “Easter Egg Eggtravaganza” where the children were broken down into five age groups, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-11.

“There were 2,662 total eggs this year. We’ve been doing the egg hunt for about seven years now,” Taylor Purnell, children’s director at the church, said. “We really enjoy having community events to allow the kids to have fun together and also teach them the true meaning of Easter and make sure they know why we celebrate this important holiday.”

Before the children began the Easter egg hunt, pastor Willie Purdee talked to them and gave a demonstration about the true meaning of Easter and an Easter basket for each age group was raffled off. Two inflatables were also set up for the children to enjoy after the hunt.

Over at Paul Porter Park, the Ladies Auxiliary of VFW 8850 hosted its annual egg hunt, where more than 200 eggs were hidden for age groups 1-5, 6-9 and 10-12.

“I’ve been with the VFW since 2010, but this was going on long before,” auxiliary president Ruth Crawford said. “We work hard and the children really enjoy it. There’s candy in the eggs and we put a dollar bill in 21 of the eggs.”

Following the egg hunt, the auxiliary also provided juice and cookies for the children.

Other Easter egg hunts Saturday included one at the Ohio Furnace Baptist Church, one at the Ironton First Church of the Nazarene and one at Rock Camp United Methodist Church.