In their hot shop on South Cherry Street in Manheim, glassblowers Jeremy Friedly and Anthony Meinhardt are hard at work creating masterpieces big and small at Stiegel Glassworks. They're also working on creating community. "We were bouncing around ideas of how to get people out into the local community and how to get our name out there," said Meinhardt. They came up with a unique event. On Saturday, April 8, 30 handmade glass eggs will be hidden around downtown Manheim for people to hunt and keep.

"Each egg will have a colored sticker on it, and if people bring the egg back to the shop, they'll get a discount on purchases in the store based on the sticker color," Friedly explained.

Meinhardt has been spearheading the project, creating each egg based on his imagination. "They're unique," he stated. "Each one is different."

Friedly and Meinhardt, who are friends from their days at Elizabethtown Area High School, love to promote the mission of Stiegel Glassworks. "We want to create access to hot glass and teach people about its importance in the history of Manheim," Friedly noted. He's been blowing glass since his high school days, and he's been working at Stiegel Glassworks, 225-235 S. Cherry St., since 2009. Meinhardt joined his friend two years ago.

Glassmaking in Manheim can be traced to the 1760s, when a glass factory operated about two blocks away from the current shop. The factory was torn down in the 1820s, but glassblowers brought the art back in the 1960s with regular demonstrations throughout downtown Manheim. To mark the bicentennial, a group of people started the nonprofit Stiegel Glassworks 1976, which operates today with the mission of preserving the heritage of glass making in Manheim. Friedly and Meinhardt create glass using the traditional techniques practiced in 1760s.

"We encourage people to come and watch us work when we're open," Friedly said, inviting school groups and others to visit the shop. "We like people to talk to us and ask us questions."

The Easter eggs will provide another opportunity to use their creativity, he remarked.

"Every egg will have a clue that will be released on Facebook Live, beginning at 10 a.m. on the 8th," he explained. "For anyone who doesn't have Facebook, there are going to be 15 eggs hidden around the square, each with 10% off stickers, 10 within a five-minute walk from the square with 20% off and 5 eggs hidden within a 10-minute walk from the square with 30% off."

Meinhardt encourages everyone to come out and look for the eggs. "All of the eggs will be outside in public areas, so it's a great time to come to Manheim, see some local businesses and then come back (to Stiegel Glassworks) and see what we do here," he said. "It's going to be a lot of fun."

The egg hunt will be held rain or shine. For more information, follow Stiegel Glassworks 1976 on Facebook.