By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–Easter will be observed officially on Sunday, April 16, but before that, the city of Helena will partner with Christian Life Church in Hoover to host the annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 15.

This will be the third straight year the city of Helena and Christian Life Church will partner to bring a fun event to families in Helena.

Christian Life Church Lead Pastor Jeremy Saylor and his family live in Helena and the partnership with the city began when Saylor was coaching in the Helena parks and recreation basketball league.

Saylor met Bill Miller with the Helena parks and rec department and asked if the city needed any assistance with the egg hunt, and since that time, the church has helped organize the egg hunt.

“Our heart is serving those who are serving others, and anytime we can partner with a city that is serving its community, that’s what we want to do,” Saylor said. “I think the greatest part of us being a part of it is that we’re getting to serve others who are serving others.”

The annual Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the Helena Amphitheater and will conclude at noon where there will be fun for the entire family.

The Easter egg hunts will take place from 9 a.m. to noon for children ages zero to 8-years-old.

The following times are when certain age groups can hunt Easter eggs:

–Ages 0-2: 9 a.m.

–Ages 3-5: 10 a.m.

–Ages 6-8: 11 a.m.

Chirstian Life Church Student Pastor Noah Ray said plenty of things would be happening in the amphitheater in addition to the egg hunt.

“We’re going to have multiple inflatables, face paint, all types of carnival type games that kids are going to be able to play on and then of course, we’re going to have an Easter Egg Hunt for different age groups as well as giveaways at the very end,” Ray said.

A special prize will also be awarded to each child who finds a golden egg during the Easter egg hunt.

The sponsors of the Easter Egg Hunt are Christian Life Church, Bud’s Best Cookies, Helena Neighborhood Walmart, Helena Publix, Sport Clips and Oak Mountain Orthodontics.

“The main goal is just to partner with the city of Helena and for Christian Life Church just to serve the city,” Ray said. “That’s our heart and we want to be there just to help the city in any way we can and we want to put on a great event for the people of Helena.”