Unusual egg hunt set in C’bad

CARLSBAD — Wandering around the empty streets in the downtown village area Easter morning, several children and their parents discovered artistic creations hidden in trees and nestled inside planters.
The works of art were decorated plastic eggs, created by local artists, hidden throughout Carlsbad village as part of an event put on by the Carlsbad Crawl. The second annual Project: Plant an Egg 2009 event was organized by Bryan Snyder of Snyder Art as a way to involve the community and promote art in the village.
Many of the 75 decorated eggs were created by the Carlsbad Crawl collective of artists, he said.
Each egg, filled with money or candy, also contained a number and instructions encouraging each “egg finder” to go to the Web site and “log” the egg number, Snyder said. The logging of the number on the Web site exposes a piece of a puzzle.
“At this time, it is 50 percent exposed,” Snyder said, adding that some of the eggs are still out there. “They are on the easier side to find, we want people to find the eggs.”
Solving the puzzle creates an activity with a sense of mystery, and Snyder said he hopes it will connect the participants to the project and the community.
Not wanting to give too much away, Snyder said the puzzle is of a new Snyder Art painting, which will be revealed at the next art show at his gallery on State Street sometime this summer.
Five of the hidden eggs were bonus eggs — special eggs painted with drip paint, Snyder said. When those people log onto to the Web site, they will hear a sound of something found in the village area, he said, and need to be the first one to identify the sound to win a painting.
However, for the little ones combing the streets Easter morning, the eggs themselves were the prize.
“This is a great idea,” said Teresa Nolan, who, along with friends, was searching the empty streets early Easter morning. “We just found out this morning. It was a really nice surprise.”
“It’s fun,” said 5-year-old Ruby Laemmel, who along with her mother was visiting Nolan from Colorado. Laemmel held an armful of colorful eggs she had collected.
The public feedback has been great, Snyder said. “It is fun and the interest is growing with each project.”
More information on the Carlsbad Crawl can be found at www.carlsbad crawl.com.