As the appointed time grew near, the anticipation on the hunters’ faces stood out: the widening eyes, the tightening grip, the impatient moving of their feet.

“Is it time?” one said to a friend, eager for the start.

Then, a few minutes after 10 a.m., the momentum to chase was just too much to bear and with a silent “Tally Ho!” the mob broke and the prize was afoot.

Before them, hundreds of colorful plastic eggs with candy and prizes inside. And they would not be content until they had secured their 10 egg limit.

For the 14th year, the Belmont Activities Committee held its annual Belmont Egg Hunt in the Chenery Middle School field on the Saturday before Easter. This year saw slightly less participants then years past but that didn’t mean that most of the hundreds of eggs spread over the field were placed into baskets and bags within the first 10 minutes.

The smallest hunters had their own hunt in the playground of the school where many took advantage of the slides and climbing stairs. Others got their photos taken with the Easter Bunny, had their face painted by Cultural Care Au Pair, parents ate donuts and drank coffee while everyone danced and sang with Marcie of Kids Music by Marcie

This year’s main sponsor was Belmont Savings Bank which gave away “gold” coins for those who found some of the special eggs left on the field.

Other sponsors of the Egg Hunt include: Champions Sporting Goods, Cultural Care Au Pair, Dunkin Donuts, Gregory’s House of Pizza, Hammond Residential, Kendall Confectionary, Lawndale Realty, Moozy’s Ice Cream and Yogurt Emporium, Paprika Kids, Patrick Murphy, Coldwell Banker, Tokyo Joe’s, Toy Shop of Belmont and Wheelworks.