Photos: Breakfast With the Bunny Feeds Smiles

Excited children and their families gathered Saturday at the to visit with a giant fuzzy bunny, interact with ducks, goats and chicks and enjoy a festive morning meal.

More than 200 guests were expected to attend Breakfast with the Bunny, an event hosted by the Berkley Department of Parks & Recreation and sponsored by the Berkley Junior Women’s Club.

“This is one of those big smile fun events,” recreation programming leader Scott Jennex said. “Kids just love getting to engage in the petting farm, holding the bunnies and little birds. Sometimes it’s hard to get the little ones to move along so they have time to see the Easter Bunny or have breakfast even.”

Guests were divided into three groups that rotated every 15 minutes between enjoying breakfast, visiting with the Easter Bunny and interacting with the petting farm. Leslie Wills, Berkley Parks & Recreation administrative assistant snapped photos of children posing with the Easter Bunny, which Jennex printed and put into frames for families to take home.

This marks the event’s fifth consecutive year after having been suspended during budget cuts early in the last decade, according to Jennex.  Popular events such as the Daddy Daughter Dance and Halloween Spooktacular also suffered the chopping block, but like these programs, Breakfast with the Bunny experienced a rebirth through the generosity of the Berkley Junior Women’s Club, Jennex said.

“We are so pleased to be able to work with the Berkley Junior Women’s Club to do these family special events,” Jennex said. “If it weren’t for their partnership, the cost of participating would be so high, many would not be able to do it, or we likely wouldn’t be able to hold these events. They are just awesome.”

For Debbie Meske, coordinator of Breakfast with the Bunny and treasurer of the Berkley Junior Women’s Club, family oriented programs add to the quality of life in Berkley.

“It’s very important for us to keep these programs alive for Berkley residents and children,” Meske said. “They are such an important part of being a small community.”

Meske, who works as water billing clerk and recycling coordinator for Berkley’s , has a long history with Breakfast with the Bunny. As a former employee of Berkley Parks & Recreation, Meske coordinated the event when it was run by the city. She said it was a natural transition when the Berkley Junior Women’s Club took sponsorship five years ago.

Fifteen of the club’s 23 members help staff Breakfast with the Bunny by decorating the room, coordinating the petting zoo and visiting Easter Bunny, plus serving sausage links, French toast sticks, sweet rolls, juice, milk and coffee to guests, Meske said.

It’s a job they do with pleasure. “All the events with the children are worth the work,” she said.