350 participate in Egg Scramble

Three hundred fifty participants made a mad dash for 3,000 plastic eggs spread over Bryan Park, 1200 S. Woodlawn Ave., for the third annual Egg Scramble Saturday. \nThe move from Cascades Park, where the first two events were held, to Bryan Park was part of the public demand for a larger area.\nParticipants jetted through an acre-and-a-half for prizes including car washes, sodas, movie passes, food vouchers and one grand prize of a weekend of two at the Beechwood Inn in French Lick, Ind. \nThe 21-and-over egg scramble, with a $6 entry fee, was held by the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. The idea was the brainchild of Becky Barrick, community events manager for Bloomington Parks and Recreation. \nThe event sold out well in advance. The scramble was held in the dark starting after 8 p.m. Participants started arriving before the sign-in time of 6:30 p.m. \n"Each egg has at the least a piece of candy in it. But, most also have other things like Cokes and food and movie passes," said Cindy Miller, marketing coordinator for the scramble. "Everyone is asked to line up at a startline and then the line is cut and everyone just rushes to go out and gather as many eggs as they can," she said.\nParticipants compete individually or in twos and threes, but more often, they participate as groups. Bloomington residents Joyce and Jimmy Purtlebaugh, Rob Arnett and Mitchell Natalie formed a team. \nWe are just playing kids," Joyce said. "And, of course, there are all the cool prizes. Last time we won car washes and ice cream cones and pop and basketballs and lots of stuff." \n"We could definitely do with a weekend away," Jimmy said.\nMany weren't able to participate -- either because they were underage or they didn't pre-register. Those who didn't had to be turned back.\n"The maximum we can accommodate is 350; we just can't take any more than that," Miller said. \nBloomington residents Celeste Wolfinger, 25, and Eddy Riou, 26, were the first to arrive. Saturday was their second scramble. They said the prizes weren't as important as the event itself.\n"We did win a lot of pop and bird seed and candy and all that. But the main thing is the scramble itself," Wolfinger said. "I had expected the eggs to be hidden. I also thought the event would take some time, but it was over in, like, minutes."\nMost participants came equipped with flashlights and bags to carry their precious cargo. Many wore caving helmets because they wanted their hands free to collect more eggs.\nBloomington residents David Kaspar and Mike Jackson were first-time participants. "We can win all those cool prizes and its only $6," Kaspar said.