AURORA - It was a sunny, yet chilly Sunday as more than 20 children gathered in the Aurora Inn's backyard for the fifth annual Easter egg hunt.
With cold, red noses and plumes of steam seeping from their mouths, the children ran back and forth across a field about 100 yards long searching for as many of the 120 eggs as they could find.
The children searched between rocks, in bushes, under trees and around the patio picking up the pink, purple and blue eggs filled with Easter candy or a special Village Market cookie.
“It's a little tricky, you never know where they are going to hide the eggs,” said Paige Dillon, who managed to find five eggs.
The Aurora Inn's director of marketing, Lauren Tillapaugh, said the children do not usually find all of the eggs and the lawn staff usually finds lost eggs throughout the summer.
After 10 minutes, the children began to stream back into the inn's lobby with their parents while a few remained behind searching for those last few hard-to-find eggs.
“There's an egg over there,” yelled out Lauren's husband, Jeff Tillapaugh, sending six of the remaining children racing toward a tree which hid one of the few remaining eggs.
For safety reasons, Jeff said none of the eggs had been hidden in the ruins of the old mill or the aqueduct.
After the hunt, some of the families worked their way back inside the inn for an Easter brunch that went on until 4 p.m., featuring dinner music from Bob Piorun. All 288 brunch seats sold out, Lauren said.
Buffet tables featuring breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert dishes wrapped around the room ensuring that no one would leave hungry. Patrons could also have a customized omelet, crepe or other various delicacies prepared right in front of them by chef Mark Fitzgerald.
“Good food, good music, and it's a nice part of the building,” said Cecil Bunell, who was attending the brunch with his wife Hanna.
The inn's renovations which were completed in 2003 and a design scheme which included local pictures added to the mood of the meal, the Bunells said.
“With the live music it's just a nice atmosphere, its very festive,” Lauren said.
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net
The children searched between rocks, in bushes, under trees and around the patio picking up the pink, purple and blue eggs filled with Easter candy or a special Village Market cookie.
“It's a little tricky, you never know where they are going to hide the eggs,” said Paige Dillon, who managed to find five eggs.
The Aurora Inn's director of marketing, Lauren Tillapaugh, said the children do not usually find all of the eggs and the lawn staff usually finds lost eggs throughout the summer.
After 10 minutes, the children began to stream back into the inn's lobby with their parents while a few remained behind searching for those last few hard-to-find eggs.
“There's an egg over there,” yelled out Lauren's husband, Jeff Tillapaugh, sending six of the remaining children racing toward a tree which hid one of the few remaining eggs.
For safety reasons, Jeff said none of the eggs had been hidden in the ruins of the old mill or the aqueduct.
After the hunt, some of the families worked their way back inside the inn for an Easter brunch that went on until 4 p.m., featuring dinner music from Bob Piorun. All 288 brunch seats sold out, Lauren said.
Buffet tables featuring breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert dishes wrapped around the room ensuring that no one would leave hungry. Patrons could also have a customized omelet, crepe or other various delicacies prepared right in front of them by chef Mark Fitzgerald.
“Good food, good music, and it's a nice part of the building,” said Cecil Bunell, who was attending the brunch with his wife Hanna.
The inn's renovations which were completed in 2003 and a design scheme which included local pictures added to the mood of the meal, the Bunells said.
“With the live music it's just a nice atmosphere, its very festive,” Lauren said.
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net