By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Elise LeBovit of the Duck Inn has been hosting a Rites of Spring Egg Hunt on Easter for so long she can’t remember when it began.

“I know I have done it at least for the last 20 years,” she said.

Last Sunday afternoon she had a dozen youngsters and a couple of parents over at her house coloring and painting eggs to prepare for the big event.

One of the parents helping out was Shannon Rynd-Ray of Oak Bluffs, now a mother of three.

“Elise has been doing this for quite a while,” Ms. Rynd-Ray agreed. “Long enough, I remember coming to this when I was a child.”

The egg hunt will take place on Sunday, April 8 and begins at 1 p.m. It is a large collaborative effort with many players working behind the scenes.

By the time the children arrive on Sunday, 700 eggs will be hidden on Ms. LeBovet’s 5 1/2 acre property, mostly a lovely green meadow located not far from State Road. Amid the hidden painted eggs will be at least four special treasures donated by artist Richard Lee and his wife, Claudia Canerdy, who runs Claudia Jewelry in Edgartown. One of four eggs donated by the couple will be a 14 karat gold egg, while the other three will also be precious.

Most of the 700 eggs were donated by Island Food Products, Inc. in Vineyard Haven.

In the spirit of making the afternoon event fun, Ms. LeBovit said she went on a shopping spree and assembled a huge collection of toys valued at $1,000. “My goal is to make it so that everyone has something to take home,” she said.

Then she added with a smile, “You can call me a Duck-tress.”