At exactly noon Saturday, a car horn sounded and was followed immediately by the sound of dozens of squealing children.

The youngsters gathered in Riverfront Park raced to pick up as many Easter eggs as they could, filling bags and brightly colored buckets until all the eggs were gone.

Children were divided into three age groups. The 5- to 7-year-olds — seasoned egg hunters — collected all the loot in their area in under four minutes. Three- and four-year-olds scrambled to pick up eggs in about five minutes, and the tots aged 2 and under took a total of seven minutes to clear the grounds of eggs filled with prizes.

The annual free event was sponsored by the Berrien County Civitan Club and followed a pancake and sausage breakfast hosted by the Niles Eagles Lodge.