Photos courtesy of Lisa Radwanski
If you begin to see larger-than-life Peeps popping up around Grove City, don’t panic – you’re not experiencing sugar-induced hallucinations. Though the reason behind these adorable Easter-themed creatures is extra sweet.
The Grove City Bunny Hunt challenges neighborhood sleuths to hop around historic Grove City Town Center to find 10 hidden bunny Peeps. From March 27-April 26, friends and families can scour the area with an entry card to mark the bunnies they’ve hunted down. Complete the card and you can exchange it for a prize.
The event began last year with a bang. Resident Lisa Radwanski was just one of many who jumped on the opportunity – pun totally intended. After attending Grove City Library’s Storytime, she along with her friends and family went bunny hunting.
“The service department did a great job making the bunny cutouts really cute,” she says. “They were hidden in really clever locations throughout the city center.”
Radwanski’s hunt had all hands on deck, with a 10-year-old, 3-year-old and two 5-year-old kids. She says this scavenger quest is especially fun for younger kids since there are a manageable number of bunnies to find.
This, however, isn’t the first Grove City hunt Radwanski has embarked on. She’s also taken her family along for the Minion Hunt in the fall, the Nutcracker Hunt in the winter and the Gnome Hunt in the summer – so it’s safe to say she’s quite the expert.
“It’s always exciting to find other families on a hunt, too,” she says. “Hints are sometimes provided when other families are stuck. It’s so delightful watching children run through the city and it’s great being able to create community with other families we don’t know.”
But this doesn’t answer the question: Where did these colorful, animated characters come from?
Jodee Lowe loves all things Disney. She goes to Walt Disney World Resort so often that magic was bound to follow her back home.
Lowe, City of Grove City’s urban forestry supervisor, was busy thinking of a way to get community members out and about around town when she happened upon a photo of an adorable, handcrafted Minion from the movie Despicable Me. Inspiration struck. Lowe asked Brenda Abrahams, who designs most of the city’s holiday decorations, to make the Minions so they could host a scavenger hunt, similar to activities hosted in Disney parks.
“I wanted to get more people to Town Center,” Lowe says. “We like to help the businesses get more traffic, so we placed seven Minions around the area.”
The Minion Hunt is what started it all. When the community responded enthusiastically, the Nutcracker Hunt was created.
With the help of Grove City Town Center business owners, more than 30 nutcrackers were hidden in city buildings and local businesses. The more you found, the higher level of prize you earned.
“The merchants loved it. They said they had more traffic than any other Christmas,” Lowe says. “Plus, some residents said it got them into stores they’ve never been in before.”
She’s eager for the second Bunny Hunt, and expects between 250-300 participants. So, put on your treasure hunting shoes and grab somebunny you love, it’ll be an eggcelent time.
Mallory Arnold is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
