This would have been a lot to ask of the Easter Bunny.
Christ Church in Rockaway Township needs to scatter more than 15,000 plastic eggs for an Easter egg hunt on its 107-acre campus in Morris County on Saturday, church officials said.
Instead of relying solely on the Easter Bunny’s helpers, the church will be using two commercial-sized drones to help drop the eggs.
It is expected to take about an hour to disperse the eggs filled with candies and fidget-type toys, said Ray Velez, chief operating officer of Christ Church. The drones will take care of scattering about half of the eggs. About 30 to 40 volunteers will spread the remaining eggs.
“We’ve done this before, but we haven’t used drones,” Velez told NJ Advance Media.
The two drones each weigh approximately 100 pounds and are courtesy of church member Kelvin King, a United Airlines pilot and owner of Alpha Drones USA, Velez said. King runs an aviation group that meets at the church.
Velez said he did not know how many Easter eggs were used in prior years at Christ Church, but the total was nowhere close to the current plan to drop 15,000.
The church’s Easter Egg Hunt will begin at 12:30 p.m. It is free to participate, but registration is required for the event at the non-denominational church, which also has locations in Clifton and Montclair.
Saturday’s hunt in Rockaway Township is divided into two events, based on age.
The “Easter Jam Egg Hunt” is for children from ages 3 to 11. The more intense “Extreme Easter Egg Hunt” is for those in grades 6-12 and features a gladiator run, among other challenges.
Doors will open at 12 p.m. Other attractions will include bounce houses, face painting for young children, pizza and snacks.
The event is expected to conclude by 1:30 p.m., Velez said.
Stories by Rob Jennings
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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.