PHOTO GALLERY: Children participate in Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt at Stephens Lake Park

April 5, 2012 | 10:14 p.m. CDT

Children and their parents gathered at Stephens Lake Park on Thursday to hunt for candy-filled Easter eggs. The Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt, hosted by the Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation and an MU Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism class, offered participants over 1,500 eggs to find and enjoy.

Dexter Fox, 3, is carried back to the starting line by his mother Sara Fox after a false start for the Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt at Stephens Lake Park on Thursday. Each child was allowed to collect ten eggs in order to ensure enough for everyone. | Nick Agro

Participants of the Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt lean over the starting line during the third round of the hunt on Thursday at Stephens Lake Park. Eggs containing candy were scattered across the park, but a few silver eggs were worth a special prize. | Nick Agro

MU senior Adam Mikusch, dressed as the Easter Bunny, stands outside Reichmann Pavillion at Stephen Lake Park at the end of the Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday. Mikusch attended as a part of his Parks, Recreation and Tourism class. | Nick Agro

JaRenzo Hicks-Stevens, 6, concentrates on opening an Easter Egg in Riechmann Pavillion during the Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday. | Nick Agro