COVID-19 won’t stop the Easter bunny
Courtesy of Jacque Shulsky
Lana Shulsky, an infant of North Strabane, poses for an Easter photo, taken by her mother, Jacque Shulsky. Lana will meet the Easter Bunny from a distance this year.
Courtesy of Jacque Shulsky
Lawson Shulsky, 4, of North Strabane, poses for a picture with the Easter Bunny last year, during North Strabane Township’s community Easter egg hunt, which was canceled this year. Lawson will meet the Easter Bunny this year from a distance.
Courtesy of Nicole Grayson
Nicole Grayson, aka the Easter Bunny, is booked up through Easter weekend to pay children a visit, from a distance.
COVID-19 won’t stop the Easter Bunny this year, as Nicole Grayson, the artist behind Busy Bee’s Arty Party, has booked many private appearances for communities across Washington and Fayette counties.
“The kids aren’t getting to do anything normal right now,” Grayson said Monday. “I have a 3-year-old granddaughter, so she’ll get to see the Easter Bunny, but other kids won’t.”
Grayson’s face painting business has been booked for events across the region for years. She also does sand and casting art as well as glitter and henna tattoos. Her artwork and the events she participates in are the majority of her income, Grayson said.
“I do a little bit of everything, but right now I have no events because everybody canceled,” she said. “I’m a small business owner, and I’m struggling right now.”
This is the third year she’s booked events as the Easter Bunny. Usually, she hides eggs and delivers baskets at corporate and private parties, but this year, she had to change things up. For $20, she’s offered private bookings, during which the Easter Bunny shows up at a family’s house to wave to the children and pretend to hide eggs and deliver an Easter basket.
“Some of the families will have baskets already hiding on the porch,” Grayson said. “When I knock on the door, it will look like I brought the baskets. Some will do egg hunts in the yard and pretend like I’m hiding eggs for the kids.”
It’s a way for children to still have an Easter celebration, without Grayson having any contact with them, the basket or the eggs.
“They can still take photos, but I can’t be in contact with them or have them on my lap or anything,” she said.
Grayson shared the idea on Facebook, and very quickly booked up for Saturday, Sunday and much of Thursday and Friday, too.
“I expect to have most the week booked up,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a nice surprise for the kids.”
For Jessica Simpson, of South Franklin, it’s nice to have some sort of Easter plans to which to look forward. Typically, the Saturday before Easter, they have a large Easter egg hunt, but they can’t do that this year.
“We live out in the country, and it’s always a nice sunny day,” she said. “We usually have 50 people here, and the kids look forward to that.”
They have five children, including a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old – good ages for a visit from the Easter Bunny.
“I think the kids will get really excited,” she said. “They’ll just be over the moon to look outside and see the bunny.”
Simpson said she plans to hide eggs in the yard in advance to make it look like the Easter Bunny was hiding them. Simpson said two of her neighbors also booked with Grayson to do the same thing.
“I just thought that it was a really cool idea,” Simpson said. “We never thought when all this started that there wouldn’t be an Easter Bunny. It’s silly that we even have to think about that.”
Jacque Shulsky, of North Strabane, also booked with Grayson. Last year, she took her 4-year-old son, Lawson, to the North Strabane community Easter egg hunt, where they got pictures taken. That was canceled for this year because of the pandemic.
Typically on Easter, she does an egg hunt and an Easter basket for her son, and now infant daughter, Lana. Then, they travel to be with family for Easter dinner. With the disappointment of canceled plans, Shulsky reached out to Grayson as soon as she saw the advertisement on Facebook.
“We just want him to see the Easter Bunny,” Shulsky said. “It’s definitely a blessing with what’s going on. There’s a lot of negative in the world right now, and you have to have some positive.”