Giant pastel tulips were blooming Monday afternoon at Vancouver Mall as people stopped by to get their photos taken with the Easter Bunny.
The paschal rabbit, known simply as Bunny, resides there in a small, rather two-dimensional house adorned with lovely curtains and a purple spring wreath.
Behind the white picket fence that corralled a field of luscious green grass, Bunny danced and waved at every child who walked by.
Outside Bunny’s abode lies a picturesque garden and a perhaps too-perfect vegetable patch — the ideal accommodation for any domestic rabbit, albeit temporary.
The mall welcomed pet parents and their companions Monday for a special opportunity to snap an animal-centric photo with Bunny. Another such opportunity will take place 4 to 7 p.m. April 3.
Rosanna Goulart of Vancouver brought her three dogs and her human children to the mall for a meeting with Bunny. The event proved to be one of few such opportunities in the area to include her fur-endowed kids in an Easter Bunny photo.
As a pet parent and lover of holidays, Goulart was eager to capture the memory with her entire family.
“I like to include them in the holidays,” Goulart said. “They get their Easter baskets, too.”
The scene was a far cry from the chaos that is families lining up for extended periods of time or making appointments well in advance to take a photo with Santa.
There was less demand to see Bunny, who reported having 30 photo appointments in the season so far. Though, numerous families without appointments stopped by Monday afternoon to take a photo with Bunny.
Similarities with Santa did abound, however. Bunny reported having been told what gifts children wanted for Easter. The most in-demand Easter gift — a computer, Bunny said.
The mall expects demand for photos with Bunny to pick up in the days leading up to the springtime holiday.
While there were fewer families camped out to see Bunny, the rabbit and its habitat brought a particular joy to the mall’s east end.
As Bunny danced and waved, numerous groups of children dashed down the hallway to say hello or to give Bunny a high-five on their way to another stop in the mall.
Bunny was nice — and soft, reported 6-year-old Troy Allen Raye of Vancouver. The little boy didn’t have an appointment to see the rabbit. But more importantly, the chance encounter brought a smile to the wee one’s face — and a cute photo for his grandma.
