Eegads! At SeeCalifornia.com we embarked on a project to investigate the Easter Bunny and the hidden eggs and discovered that the phenomenon is so encompassing and number of eggs produced so massive that it boggles the mind.

To date we've found over 100 Easter Egg Hunts in California, and one hunt so large, there will be over 40,000 eggs distributed at a church in Irvine, Calif.

The most popular day to have an Egg Hunt is April 23, 2011. It's the Saturday before Easter Sunday. The weather better be nice because communities throughout California will be hosting egg hunts, and many will also have Easter Bunny on hand, plus games, carnivals, fairs — you name it.

Some Egg Hunt observations:

* Parents appear to be a problem at these hunts because many egg hunts are emphatic about NO PARENTS hunting for eggs with their kids unless they are toddlers.

* Adults don't give up the fun when they grow up, so several communities have created adult egg hunts.

* A few cities in the California farm belt still dye eggs and do an old fashioned hunt. It takes several days and many volunteers to boil, dye and refrigerate the eggs before the event.

* Tons of candy are used in egg hunts. Most cities still put the candy in plastic eggs, while some just throw candy on the ground. Hard candies are the favorites.

* Easter baskets are rarely distributed during an Easter Egg Hunt. In 99% of egg hunts, kids have to bring their own.

* Easter Egg Hunts are most often produced by city governments through their parks & recreation departments. However, the economy has hit some cities hard and they've red-lined the Egg Hunt, leaving a major void. We've found approx. 4 cities to date that stated the Egg Hunt was removed due to financial concerns.

* Kiwanis, Rotary and Elks are the major volunteer groups that help produce or fund community Egg Hunts in California. They often work in conjunction with cities, or are allowed by cities to host the events in public parks without the usual fees attached to special events. Since they are serving the community and saving municipalities money, it's the nice thing for cities to do.

Churches more & more are hosting Easter Egg Hunts as a way to increase awareness and attendance. While cities and municipalities have begun removing the word, "Easter" from their events, now calling them Egg Hunts, Eggstravaganzas, and Egg Scrambles, churches fulfill a mission of spreading a religious message about the season and event.

* Easter Bunny is a fixture at nearly every Egg Hunt. It used to be that you had to pay money to go to a shopping center or mall and get a picture of your kids with Easter Bunny. Now you can take your own photos in most places free of charge. Some Egg Hunt events sell portrait photos of kids with the bunny, charging usually around $5-10.