Easter Bunny Greets Barrington Children

The whiskered seem to outnumber the clean-shaven at The Foundry of Barrington on April 23.   In the interest of full disclosure, many children had donned fake whiskers in order to emulate that day’s special guest: The Easter Bunny.  Nearly as many of the whiskered non-bunnies wore long white ears as well, but it was those who didn’t need artificial whiskers, a percentage of the petting zoo and the many dogs in attendance, which might have tipped the balance in favor of facial hair.

The store-keepers of The Foundry hosted the pre-Easter party, which included free pictures with Easter Bunny and free admittance to the petting zoo.  Youngsters wandered from animal to animal in the fenced in space whose four-legged occupants demanded food from the children an/or tried to avoid them, setting off many excited giggles.

There were separate egg hunts for the children and for canine kids and plastic eggs with coupons for the grownups who crowded into G. Whiz, a gift shop  and Cody and Carl's Blvd. dog boutique and other businesses.

Parents and Grandparents came armed with video and still cameras and seemed to be having as much fun as the kids.   Ken Miller, who was visiting from Pittsburgh, was taking a time to feed his youngest, Andrew Joseph or A.J. a bottle while his twins, Ian and Julie visited with the Easter Bunny.

Miller said the kids had been very excited on the way to the event, but he had his own reason to mark the occasion, “It’s the first time they’ll (the twins) have a memory of the Easter bunny,” he said.  A.J. sat this one out.

Kathleen and Craig Grossardt, whose parents live in Barrington, traveled in from Chicago with 13-month-old William to attend the event.  “We found it online and he loves animals.  So we visited the Petting Zoo and took a picture with the Easter Bunny,” she said.  

Luke Mowinski was there, with his parents Liz and Ryan despite the fact that the family had just arrived home from Ireland the day before.  “Kathleen (Grossardt) was my friend since middle school,” Mowinski said.  “So we came along.”

The sunny day was a topic for many parents as all had been hoping the weather would prove to be less harsh than in recent days.  Although a very brisk wind blew, most seemed relieved and the 60 degree temperature.  Mowinski credited the mild weather for the family’s attendance.  “It absolutely got us out of house,’ said Mowinski.  “When we saw the sun we said, all right, we can make it”.