Celebrating Easter Sunday in Los Angeles, Orange counties

Southern Californians can choose from an array of worship and recreational activities on Sunday to celebrate the Easter holiday.

More than 1,000 people are expected to gather for worship in Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes as the sun rises over the Pacific Ocean. The 71^st annual service will feature music by the Alive Church Worship Band. The Easter Sunrise Service will begin at 6 a.m.

Hope Chapel Huntington Beach will host its Easter sunrise service at Huntington Beach Pier Plaza. The non-denominational service begins at 6 a.m. and includes 11 local churches participating in music, prayer and Christian celebration.

Catholic Masses are planned in English and Spanish at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. The cathedral’s priest, Father David Gallardo, will celebrate the 10 a.m. English-language Mass, and the archbishop, Jose H. Gomez, will lead a Spanish-language Mass at 1 p.m.

The Midnight Mission, a service organization in Skid Row, will host a brunch for underprivileged and homeless families. Children who visit “Easter Village� will receive candy baskets and hygiene kits and a chance to meet the Easter bunny. Actors Dick Van Dyke and Mr. T and Goldfinger guitarist Louis Price are expected to volunteer at the event.

The Easter bunny is also expected to make an appearance at the Condor Squadron headquarters on the grounds of the Van Nuys Airport. The Easter egg hunt will take place at 1 p.m. (The VIP guest is expected to arrive by air.)

About 20,000 Easter eggs will be hidden at the 11^th annual Easter Fest, where children can enjoy springtime crafts, games, inflatable gyms and face painting. The carnival, hosted by New City Church of Los Angeles, will take place in Grand Hope Park on S. Grand Avenue.

At dusk, at least five Southern California landmarks will glow orange to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Easterseals, a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides disability services and support to veterans, military families and seniors. The organization, founded by Edgar Allen, serves 1 in 4 Americans living with disabilities.

Glimmering Los Angeles and Orange County sites — including the LAX pylons, the U.S. Bank Tower, Capitol Records, the Santa Monica Clock Tower and Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa — will shine in solidarity with about 25 other landmarks across the country.