By Susan Gibbs
Published: March 20, 2008

The “Easter Bunny” took time from a hectic schedule that requires him to make appearances all over the world to swing by Greene County Saturday, March 15.

About 3 p.m. he was in Stanardsville, hiding eggs for the Swift Run Baptist Church’s annual, open-to-all, Easter Egg Hunt.

“We have to call the Easter Bunny at least a month in advance to make sure he has a date open and that he marks us down on his bunny calendar,” says Church Secretary and Hunt Organizer Patty DeCourcy.

DeCourcy, who has been organizing the event for 10 years, says it is a tradition that attracts between 40 and 50 local children every year, and dates to long before her time.

“Before the Hunt, children play games. They register for door prizes and guess how many jellybeans are in a jar. They participate in a duck walk race,” DeCourcy explains.

They also gather near the altar to hear the story of Jesus Christ’s life and resurrection.

Then the doors of the church swing open and the children run outside.
Time for the hunt!

In the meantime, in an interview with The Record, The “Easter Bunny”—who just happened to bear a strong resemblance to Swift Run Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Mark Holder—said he is particularly grateful for his large family of bunnies this time of year.

The “Easter Bunny” stayed until after the Hunt to greet the participants and said:  “My wife and I have many children, and they will all be helping with deliveries next Saturday night. We’ve been hard at work all year making several hundred million jellybeans. Because we have to travel a long way we have been eating a lot of carrots to give us energy and help us see well.”

“Hopping up and down stairs in the dark” can get tricky, he added.

Earlier that day, under plenty of sunshine, Greene County’s Parks and Recreation held its annual Easter egg hunt at the Community Park.

“The March 15th Easter egg hunt went well,” said John Humphries, office administrative assistant for Parks and Rec.

“There were approximately 125 kids, from crawling age up to fifth graders.”

The format for the two groups was changed for this year’s event, Humphries explained.  The first group was for the younger children, “crawlers” up to the fifth birthday.  Their egg hunt took place on the soccer fields. The older group, age five up to fifth grade hunted eggs around the pavilion at the park.

“This offered the opportunity to have more of a hunt,” said Humphries. “Both groups completed the hunt for over 3,000 eggs in a very short time.  Parents seemed pleased with the changes.”

Ruritan Club volunteers, plus several others, assisted with the hiding of the eggs and helped supervise the Community Park event.