A public Easter egg hunt has turned bitter after parents accused organisers of confiscating chocolate from their children and making them cry.
The Geelong Easter Egg Hunt and Street Food Festival ran over the four-day Easter long weekend and was a ticketed event for local families.
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At a cost of $15, children were able to partake in a chocolate egg hunt and greet the Easter bunny at Geelong Showground, on the strict condition they fill only one bag.
But the City of Greater Geelong is now in damage control after children were reportedly told by organisers they had collected too many eggs and needed to put some back.
![Bittersweet: The controversial Easter egg hunt at Geelong Showground.](/web/20170508120704im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/m/k/2/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvmjuj.png/1492491105805.jpg)
The City of Great Geelong events Facebook page has been flooded with messages from parents who said the egg hunt was "horrible".
But organisers have hit back, accusing parents of being greedy and trying to hoard dozens of eggs.
Organiser Teresita Verfurth, who is of Filipino descent, also claimed she had been left distraught by racial abuse.
One woman said event organisers removed Easter eggs from her children's bags and told them the Easter bunny would get "angry if they didn't put some back".
![Geelong Easter Egg Hunt organisers have bitten back, accusing parents of hoard dozens of eggs.](/web/20170508120704im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/k/y/9/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvmjuj.png/1492491105805.jpg)
Another woman said she was "shocked" by the alleged behaviour of organisers, which she described as "upsetting".
"They took eggs off children, making them cry when they only had a few eggs," she wrote.
"Easter bunny went up to my son and took Easter eggs off of him, I was so shocked and my son wasn't very happy afterwards. Upsetting."
Events Geelong apologised in a Facebook comment, saying they had passed on feedback to the event's organisers.
Ms Verfurth denied claims eggs were taken from children and told Fairfax Media she was "really upset" by the fallout.
"The parents were not supposed to be carrying lots of Easter eggs in their bags and hands. That was part of the condition of entry," she said.
"Every child receives a bag and the condition of entry says when you fill your bag up, you leave the site.
"We could not control people. They just went berserk when they saw lots of eggs. I've always loved children, that's why I wanted to do this."
She said she was left shaken after one woman threatened to slap her for intervening in the hunt, while other people reportedly racially abused her.
"They called me 'slanty-eyes,'" she said.
The event has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many, with people complaining the egg hunt was "the most disorganised event ever".
One woman complained about the $15 price tag for an Easter egg hunt that included small gift bags with "merry Christmas" on them.
"The eggs are Aldi $1 eggs which you can only fit a few in as the bags are so small," she wrote.
Ms Verfurth said parents were handing children green shopping bags from the side of the Easter egg hunt and getting them to fill them up.
Children were also reportedly smashing eggs inside the hunt and eating them, concerning staff there wouldn't be enough for other families.
The event organisers have sworn off hosting another Easter egg hunt next year.