Lydia Lardner, 3, makes an impressive start filling up her Easter basket with Kelly Lardner and family at the April 3 Sand Cay Condominiums Beach Resort's Easter egg hunt, a beloved tradition at the resort for more than a decade.
Photo by Dana Kampa
Longboat Key
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Ask almost any family at Sand Cay Condominiums Beach Resort visiting for Easter weekend, and they'll tell you that the family egg hunt is a can't-miss tradition.
On April 3, children of all ages turned their eagle eyes to the grounds of the resort, scanning the lawn and shrubs for the scattered rainbow of eggs totaling 1,200.
Sand Cay has hosted an Easter egg hunt and an afternoon of fun for the past decade. General Manager Lyn Sorensen has coordinated the tradition for years, and she recently tapped Heather Diggins to take over leadership of it.
Families enjoyed the egg hunt, after which youngsters got to pick out Easter baskets — with the golden egg finders earning first pick — before heading out to play on inflatable water slides and have a picnic lunch by the beach.
Diggins and Sorensen said their biggest event of the year always takes plenty of work to pull together. But that effort is always worth it when they see the delight on the children's faces, especially from the families that look forward to it every year.
"Monday or Tuesday next week, we'll already start planning for next year," Sorensen said.
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The Easter egg hunt at Sand Cay Condominiums Beach Resort has been a tradition for more than a decade, and families packed the lawn for the mad dash to collect eggs on April 3.
Photo by Dana Kampa
After making their way to various sections of the resort grounds divided by age group, children participating in the Sand Cay Easter egg hunt quickly got to work filling up their baskets with colorful eggs.
Photo by Dana Kampa
Three-year-old Collins Eblen was one of the first to find an Easter egg at the Sand Cay holiday hunt.
Photo by Dana Kampa
The Easter Bunny doles out high fives at the Sandy Cay holiday extravaganza.
Photo by Dana Kampa
Leah Selph-Kelly gives the Easter Bunny a hug.
Photo by Dana Kampa
King Kelly, Leah Selph-Kelly and Eric and Laura Shine
Photo by Dana Kampa
Organizer Heather Diggins and the Easter Bunny take in the fun of the families enjoying the Easter egg hunt at Sand Cay.
Photo by Dana Kampa
Julian Smith and Elliott Nurenberg pick out their Easter baskets they won from the egg hunt at the Sand Cay Condominiums Beach Resort.
Photo by Dana Kampa
Maeve Mcauliff, 3.5, pickd an Easter basket with a unicorn at the Sand Cay egg hunt.
Photo by Dana Kampa
The Burke family made a full morning of Easter activities at Sand Cay on April 3. Pictured, 3-year-old Sylas, 2-month-old Quinn, Allison, Spencer and Tim Gerrety.
Photo by Dana Kampa
Reef and Suzanne Keating spend Good Friday enjoying the family activities at Sand Cay. As a video game fan, Reef said he liked the on-theme Easter basket he picked.
Photo by Dana Kampa
Katie, Emma and Maddie Smith, along with Maeve and Cecilia Mcauliff, join the Easter Bunny and coordinator Heather Diggins for the April 3 Easter egg hunt at Sand Cay Condominiums Beach Resort.
Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.