METHUEN — If you came five minutes late, you missed it.
At 12 p.m. sharp, more than 300 children made a mad dash for the pastel plastic Easter eggs spread around Veterans Memorial Park yesterday.
Within what seemed like an instant, all 2,000 eggs the Recreation Department hid there were scooped up.
While most children had a blast — there were the occasional tears when someone didn't find an egg — it was the parents who were still recovering a half hour later.
"I didn't realize it got so crazy," said parent David Grondine of Methuen. "If you're not here five minutes before it starts, forget about it."
This was Grondine's first egg hunt at Veterans Memorial.
He brought his 16-month-old daughter, Emily, who was more excited about her plastic yellow egg than the chocolate inside — a good thing since dad says she's not old enough for candy.
The Methuen Youth Commission puts on the egg hunt every year, as long as the weather permits. They compared it to watching the start of the Boston Marathon. They count down, drop the rope and the children dart.
"It's a popular event," Mayor William Manzi said.
Kelly Gooltz said many parents bring their own Easter eggs to hand out to children who come out of the hunt empty-handed.
"You bring more with you because they're gone so quick," she said.
Her children were among the lucky ones. Sporting baskets with My Little Pony and duck designs, 5-year-old Madelyne and Ben, 3, each collected more than six eggs, along with some Cadbury chocolate cream eggs city officials tossed out on the lawn.
"My favorite is the pink," Madelyne said as she assessed her basket. "It's fun. My fingers are getting freezing."
Manzi, who helped kick off the hunt, said he's escaped with a few eggs in the past, but couldn't find one this year.
"I came up empty-handed," Manzi said.
Ten minutes past noon, parents were still walking their children down to the park with their Easter baskets, unaware that the eggs were long gone. Some people had to park as far as a quarter mile down Milk Street.
But parents admitted it was worth the hassle to see their children smile.
"Hey. It makes her happy," Jeff Cummings of Methuen said about his 3-year-old daughter, Jennifer, who wore her bunny ears to the hunt. "Kids love this stuff."
