NILES — More than 9,000 colorful eggs stuffed with candy will await children this Saturday as part of the annual Buchanan Easter Egg Hunt. Thanks, that is, to youth from the Buchanan High School Leos, who will carry on the tradition.

The Easter Egg Hunt will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Buchanan Common, 122 Days Ave., Buchanan. The event is free and open to the public.

Youth will be able to search for plastic eggs spread across the common. In addition, children will receive grab bags, filled with toys and candy and have the chance to win prizes. The Easter bunny will attend the event and be available to take photos with the youth. Royalty from the Miss Buchanan Court will also be present.

Alice Kring, the owner of Redbud Insurance Services, has helped to coordinate the Easter Egg Hunt since 2006. Kring is also an advisor to the Buchanan Leos, a group of middle school to high school-aged youth who complete various service projects. Kring said it has become challenging for her to host the event every year, and she thought it would be an ideal project for the club to take over.

“They said, ‘yes,’ and they have jumped into it,” Kring said.

This year, she said the Buchanan High School Leos helped to rally their community to support the tradition, so the local children can take part in an Easter egg hunt.

The club contacted a variety of local businesses to help support the cause, and many companies stepped up to help out. Many businesses volunteered to donate candy and stuff a barrel of plastic eggs. Each barrel contained 700 eggs to stuff, Kring said. Still, other Buchanan businesses donated money to support the cause and buy prizes for the children to win.

For their part, the Leos volunteered to help stuff hundreds of eggs. The youth will also help to run the event on Saturday. Volunteers from the Boy Scout Troop 541 will also assist with the event.

Kring said she liked seeing her community come together to support something for local children.

“People have been very willing,” Kring said. “I got lots more candy that people brought in after we stuffed the eggs, so I went out and bought a few more eggs.”

The annual Easter egg hunt typically draws between 400 to 500 children to take part in the event. Kring said she hopes to see the Leos continue to carry the tradition on for years to come.

Keeping a local Easter egg hunt in the community is an effort Kring said is important to residents and their children.

“They look forward to it every year,” Kring said. “It’s just one more thing that the community can offer.”