MATTAPOISETT — At 10:59 a.m. a line of children clutched Easter baskets, bags and buckets, waiting for the start of the Mattapoisett Lions Club’s annual Easter egg hunt at Neds Point Lighthouse on Saturday, April 8.

Only one minute and a thin line of ribbon separated them from approximately 3,000 Easter eggs scattered across the field in front of them.

At 11 a.m. sharp, event organizer Rob Haley gave the word and the children charged forward, collecting every single egg in just over one minute.

Some kids sprinted to the far end of the field, leaving their parents behind. Others walked a few feet out from the starting line and picked up as many eggs as they could.

“It’s like the Kentucky Derby,” said one Lions Club volunteer.

Even though Haley estimates it took about eight hours for volunteers to stuff all 3,000 eggs, “watching it all unfold” was the “best part” of the day.

Inside the eggs were candy, stickers, bubbles and toys, he said.

After the hunt, children could redeem their eggs for prizes like foam airplanes and other toys.

Sisters Brooklyn Beauregard, 7, and Aubrey Beauregard, 9, each had a plastic pail filled with goodies.

“I got this,” said Brooklyn, showing off a jump rope, a tube of bubbles and “tons of candy.”

Meanwhile, brothers Robert McDuffy, 4, and Rocco McDuffy, 2, tossed around foam airplanes they had won after turning in their eggs.

“It’s nice to give back to the community and to the kids,” said Haley, who has been organizing this Easter egg hunt for around 10 years. “Hopefully some of the kids see this and want to be Lions one day and help out.”