Anxious relatives lugging lawn chairs and camera equipment and eager children holding bags or baskets eyed each other from around the marked hunting grounds.

The children were awaiting their turn to snag Easter goodies and prizes while their parents juggled for position to capture the event on film.

They were participating in the annual Easter egg hunt sponsored by Schnucks supermarkets, KBSI-TV 23, and Pepsi. About 1,000 people attended the event Saturday morning, which was held on the grounds of the Kingshighway Schnucks store.

This is the fourth year for the event, which volunteers said gets more organized but no easier as it continues to grow. Several volunteers were on hand to open boxes of Easter treats, award special prizes, and pass out special goody bags for latecomers.

"I've worked it every year since we started doing it," said Mike Robert, Schnucks drug store manager. "The only real change is there are more people -- lots more people."

Three Easter hunts were held so that children competed against others in their age category. Two- to 4-year olds were helped by their parents, while 5-to 7-year olds and 8-to 10-year olds competed independently.

Food, candy, toys and other prizes were strewn throughout the hunting ring for each age group. Children lucky enough to find the special plastic eggs with grand prize messages inside won larger gifts, like videotapes and board games.

"It was fun," said Josh Ray, 6. "I was trying to get a slingshot, but I didn't. I got other stuff I wanted, though."

Some families traveled from Marble Hill, New Madrid and even parts of Southern Illinois to participate in the hunt. Larry and Franna Everly woke their children at 5:30 a.m. Saturday so they could drive up from Dexter to attend the hunt.

"It's a family affair," Franna Everly said. "The rest of our family's been coming for several years, and we just decided to try it this year. It was fun for the kids, basically."

Schnucks store manager Dennis Marchi and KBSI promotions manager Eric Dahl said the Easter hunt was worth the estimated $10,000 it cost to sponsor the event. They said that the estimate did not include the hours spent buying and making prizes, preparing and cleaning up the hunting field.

"I don't think anyone realizes how much went into putting it together," said Dahl. "Dennis and I were out here at 5:30 this morning getting the field ready. Everyone was very appreciative; I saw a lot of kids coming up to say thank you. That makes it worth it."