Crowd gathers for Easter egg drop from helicopter over Southeast Portland

Beth Nakamura/The OregonianLily, left, 5, and Nina Maas, 4, wait patiently for 10,000 plastic eggs to drop out of a helicopter into a big field at the Boys & Girls Club in Lents Saturday afternoon. The event was put on by the Revolution Foursquare Church.

PORTLAND – Five-year-old Lily Maas wrapped her arm around her 4-year-old sister Nina and motioned to a cloudless sky Saturday in Southeast Portland. "Look," said Lily, pointing to a helicopter flying overhead.

The sisters, who live in the neighborhood, both knew what was inside: Easter eggs, and lots of them. The Easter Bunny didn't hop to this Lents neighborhood egg hunt. A helicopter crew did all the work for him.

Holding hands and baskets, the sisters disappeared into the crowd of thousands when the hunt began.

Revolution Foursquare Church members sponsored their third annual Easter egg hunt Saturday at the Wattles Boys & Girls Club, 9330 S.E. Harold St. Organizers estimated more than 2,000 people attended the event.

This year, volunteers wanted to take the egg hunt to a new height, literally.

Beth Nakamura/The OregonianA helicopter crew dropped 10,000 plastic eggs onto a big field in the Lents area Saturday afternoon.

Assistant Pastor Tim "Tray" Ray dreamt for years about a flying egg drop. The 300-member church organizes several large neighborhood events, but the Easter egg hunt remains special to Ray because it marks the church's anniversary. Plus, Ray said, "We all love Easter eggs."

Church members connected with a group in Hillsboro to make the flight possible. Volunteers donated and filled thousands of plastic eggs with candy to be dropped.

"My whole minivan was full of eggs," said Ray, who delivered them to the helicopter crew Friday night. "Eggs and eggs and eggs and eggs."

Cheers erupted at the first sight of the blue and white helicopter Saturday. A man opened a side door and emptied dozens of trash bags filled with eggs onto the open field.

The crowd stood behind a yellow "Caution" line. Toddlers waved, while older kids jockeyed for the best spot.

The helicopter made a final swoop and left a dozen minutes after it arrived. Volunteers scurried to scatter the eggs across the football-size field. In all, 10,000 eggs fell from the sky.

Ray described the next minutes in one word: "Insane-o."

Tots and parents ran toward the eggs. Most were in baskets and bags less than a minute later.

Egg Drop The Revolution Foursquare Church's annual Easter egg hunt, in which 10,000 plastic eggs are dropped out of a helicopter, took place Saturday in an open field at the Boys & Girls Club in Lents. Watch video

That's when the hunt began for 2-year-old Riley Harmon of the Lents area. He clung tight to mom Tammy Kutsch's hand, guiding her to discarded egg halves scattered in the grass. One by one, Riley dropped them in his wooden basket. He didn't notice the missing candy.

Church volunteers also painted face designs, grilled hot dogs and swirled cotton candy. A DJ spun funk tunes and occasionally announced names of children separated from parents.

Tim and Ashley Keith, who also live in the neighborhood, brought their children, Luke, 4, and Lexi, 1, to the hunt.

"We did pretty good," Ashley Keith said, pointing to her kids' baskets. Luke nodded.

Lexi plopped down to enjoy her haul. Three eggs rested in her purple basket. She held up a green shell and smiled. Green candy dripped from her mouth. Lexi's first Easter egg hunt was a success.

–Molly Young; Call 502-294-5917 or tweet @WilvilReporter

Tags :easter bunny, easter eggs, easter, easter egg hunt, easter bunny pictures

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