Faces of Easter

Utahns marked the Easter holiday with bonnets and bunnies and baskets of eggs at numerous events up and down the Wasatch Front Saturday.

The fun started early at egg hunts in Draper, Payson, Salt Lake City and Payson parks, where kids of all ages did their best to fill their baskets with sugary treats tucked inside colorful plastic eggs. In Draper's city park, the day began with an 8 a.m. pancake breakfast and included games, craft-making and a visit from Tigger and Salt Lake County firefighters.

The Easter Bunny himself showed up to watch West Valley kids uncover his favorite egg-hiding spots and then stayed on to share breakfast with children and their families. West Valley also held an egg hunt by flashlight Friday night.

Billing it the valley's largest egg hunt, Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City hid more than 16,000 eggs for children ages 2 to 12 to find. The aviary also treated kids to face painting, origami, story-telling and some "egg-educational" activities that included meeting Tracy the Toucan.

Salt Lake's Children's Museum let kids of all ages participate in egg decorating and other craft activities, including making spring necklaces and Easter hats. The museum also offered lots of children's games and magician Christopher Fair performed.

At The Gateway shopping mall downtown, youngsters crafted paper, ribbon, buttons, bows and other items into Easter bonnets, competing for prizes as part of the center's 3rd annual celebration. Awards were given in three age categories — under age 6, 7 to 12 years old and over 12 — honoring bonnets made at home or at the mall for their creativity and originality.

The eggs-cellent activities were capped off at 1:45 p.m. with an Easter parade from the center's Olympic Legacy Plaza down Rio Grand Street. The parade drew hundreds of revelers in holiday finery and music from the Davis High School Marching Band.