(Lizzy Hahn/ Chilkat Valley News) Students rush to grab eggs during the Easter egg hunt in the Haines High School on April 5, 2026.

With baskets in hand, Haines youth filled the high school Sunday afternoon on the hunt for Easter eggs. 

More than 160 children spread out throughout the school, filling their baskets and bags. 

Organizer Krystal Lloyd said 14,000 eggs were in the building, a large number compared with the previous year’s 11,000 eggs and the 2024 count of 8,000 eggs. Most eggs had candy; however, 153 had prize slips within. The Salvation Army donated additional prizes “to make sure that we didn’t run out,” Lloyd said.

(Lizzy Hahn/ Chilkat Valley News) Lillee Grant hugs the dinosaur stuffy she got after finding a prize slip within an Easter egg in the Haines High School on April 5, 2026.

Lillee Grant, 9, collected more than 50 eggs and found a coveted prize slip. She used it to pick out a large, green Tyrannosaurus Rex. 

“I’m getting this (dinosaur stuffy) ’cause it’s giant,” Grant said.

To keep from getting trampled in all of the excitement, the younger kids, like 2-year-old Olen Leazier and 21-month-old Stella Swinton, had a dedicated section in a different part of the school, where children could leisurely pick up eggs and fill bags their size.

(Lizzy Hahn/ Chilkat Valley News) Stella Swinton, 21 months old, holds an Easter egg during the egg hunt in the Haines High School on April 5, 2026.

Lloyd said 19 adults and two children helped her fill the plastic eggs with candy. In order to fill 14,000 eggs, Lloyd estimated about 60 people made donations. It took about 10 hours to fill 14,000 eggs with “a lot of donated stuffers.” 

The eggs are reused each year with 100 to 200 broken ones. Lloyd has been organizing the local Easter egg hunt for the past five years. The first hunt had about 30 kids and has since grown exponentially.


“Unless we get a nice donation, like we did this year, for next year, it’ll be really hard to meet the 14,000,” Lloyd said. 

This year, she said Jody Miller purchased the entire Amazon cart of goods for the event, becoming one of the biggest donors along with Howsers IGA, Oleruds and the Salvation Army.