The Easter Bunny was greeted around Alpena by the young and the elderly which put smiles on their faces as they posed for photos and fist-bumped each other.

Church parking lots in Alpena were full, as people attended services to celebrate Christ’s resurrection.

At the break of dawn, the congregation from Living Hope Church in Alpena met at the bandshell at Bay View Park for an early morning service to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. As the story of Jesus rising from the dead and his mother finding the empty tomb was shared by Lenny Avery, the sun broke through the dark clouds in the eastern sky over Thunder Bay while Avery was addressing the congregation, which reinforced the true meaning of the holiday to those with Christian faith.

The bandshell wasn’t the only place near the small boat harbor where people gathered to take in the sunrise and reflect, as the breakwall at the harbor had dozens of people looking out over Lake Huron.

Sunday may have been the culmination of the holiday, but there were many private and public events all weekend long.

On Saturday afternoon, the Besser Senior Living Community hosted its annual Easter Egg hunt for local families. About 1,000 plastic eggs, each with a treat inside, were randomly scattered in the backyard of the facility and when the event began, dozens of children, and some parents, collected the eggs and placed them in the Easter baskets they were toting with them. The Easter Bunny was also in attendance and made time to visit with the kids, as well as the seniors, and to enjoy the snacks and drinks that were available to all.

Ali Sykes, the dietary manager at Besser Senior Living Community, said this is the fourth year the care home has held the Easter event and she said it has always been well-attended. She said besides the fun for the kids and their families, it is much enjoyed by the residents who live at the facility, who like the interaction and excitement.

“They all love it,” Sykes said. “Last year it was warm enough that they were able to be outside on the patio and watch all the kids have fun. It means a lot to them and they are always happy to be a part of the Easter celebration.”

Local parent Beverly Thompson was also at the event at Besser Senior Living Community on Saturday. She said it was her family’s first time attending and said the event was a hit with her two children. Thompson said on Easter, she would load up the kids and the family would go to church with her children’s grandparents, have breakfast afterward, and then let the kids search for their Easter baskets at her parent’s house. She said this plan is something the family does most Easter Sundays.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Lenny Avery, of the Living Hope Church, addresses a crowd of worshipers during a sunrise service at the bandshell at Bay View Park in Alpena on Easter Sunday morning.

“That is the tradition, really going back to when I was a child when we did the same with my grandma and grandpa,” she said. “The kids always want to look for their baskets before church, but it is just better that we wait. I think most parents would understand why. It would just make things a lot harder getting them ready to go to church.”

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Della Page, left, and her grandmother Judy Harrell pick through an Easter basket full of plastic Easter eggs on Saturday while at the Besser Senior Living Community.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A group of children sort through the plastic Easter eggs they collected at the Besser Senior Living Community’s Easter egg hunt on Saturday.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The Easter Bunny visits with children from Alpena before the Besser Senior Living Community’s annual Easter egg hunt on Saturday.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz From left to right, LeuAnn Mott, Dorathy Miller, and Nancy Green pose for a picture with the Easter Bunny during an Easter event at the Besser Senior Living Community on Saturday.