SALISBURY — Easter egg hunters grabbed their baskets and hopped through downtown Salisbury as part of the 2023 Spring Fest on a windy and sunny Saturday afternoon.

Grandparents, parents, children and strollers zig-zagged through the streets with colorful Easter baskets, entering participating stores that had hidden Easter eggs for the hunters to find. Maps were given out that had the names of all the stores who had hidden eggs throughout their shops.

Joan Leatherman was crossing West Innes and Church streets with her two granddaughters, Maya and Josie, on the look-out for more eggs to add to their colorful baskets. Maya and Josie were on a quest for eggs and were excited to start looking for more.

“This is a lot of fun. We’ve just gotten two (eggs) so far, but we’re just getting started,” Leatherman said as her granddaughters eagerly waited to continue their hunt. “Maya and Josie were excited to bring their Easter egg baskets and visit uptown shops.”

One of the businesses that participated in Spring Fest was Local Focal Marketplace and Antiques, a small business started by Alexandria Bare last November.

“We’re having a good time, lots of kids. I think they already found all the Easter eggs,” said Alexandria Bare, the owner of Local Focal. “We gave out five dollar gift cards and free prizes for the kids.”

Food trucks like Poppycox Nashville Chicken and Ben & Jerry’s served treats for those in attendance and vendors filled the sidewalks for people to browse and shop for clothes, jewelry, antiques and household items. Art classes for kids and a dry candle workshop were also available for anyone who wanted to get their hands dirty.

Meanwhile in Spencer at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, more Easter egg hunters were on a mission to fill their baskets to the brim. The museum hosted the first weekend of the Easter Bunny Express; families visited current exhibits and hopped aboard train rides with a special guest: the Easter Bunny. A yard at the museum was covered in hundreds of colorful Easter eggs as kids scrambled to fill their baskets with as many eggs as they could claim.

Train rides allowed parents and children to fill seats with the Easter Bunny, dressed in a train conductor’s overalls, went from car to car to say hello to everyone. The 25-minute ride saw kids giving the bunny high-fives and shyly talking about their favorite parts of the holiday, which mostly included hunting for Easter eggs and spending time with their family.

There was also limited tickets for a meet and greet meal on the dining cart where families could enjoy bunny-shaped pancakes, sausage, fruit and juice for breakfast or bunny-shaped turkey sandwiches, vegetables and cookies for lunch, all while the Easter Bunny visited and entertained.

“We had a great first weekend hosting families for Easter Bunny Express and we’re looking forward to our second weekend,” said Kelly Alexander, the museum’s executive director. She encouraged more families to come visit the Easter Bunny next weekend.

The “eggstravaganza” continues this weekend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday with more activities and train rides for families to enjoy.