A Manteca tradition spanning more than three decades — the Manteca Kiwanis Club free Easter egg hunt — takes place today at 11 a.m. sharp at Northgate Community Park next to Neil Hafley School on Northgate Drive.
Some 700 kids are expected to scramble for 8,000 plastic eggs spread across three softball fields by age group.
Three bicycles and several Easter baskets will also be given away via a free raffle. Each kid attending will receive a ticket.
Some 20 volunteers spent Friday at the Manteca Senior Center stuffing plastic eggs with candy.
The youngest helper was 5-year-old Serenity Solis who had come with her mother Elizabeth — a Manteca Kiwanis member – and never stopped smiling as she placed the small candies in her bag of eggs that she filled to the brim.
The adult volunteers included members of the Kiwanis-sponsored Valley CAPS clientele.
Two members of the Kiwanis high school teens were also working on the egg project including George Montrose of Sierra High School.
The Manteca Kiwanis Club has only 12 members but has learned to enlist the help of the community to see their projects through to fruition.
Kiwanis meets at noon on Tuesday on the second floor of the Prestige Senior Living Complex in Manteca where they invite outstanding students each month and credit them for their successes at their individual high schools.

To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com.