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Weekend: Is the Easter Bunny a boy, girl or too busy to care?

Children take off at the start of a previous Easter egg hunt in Frisco. This year's hunt begins at noon in the Frisco Historic Park and the Frisco Town Hall areas for children 8 and younger.
Mark Fox / Summit Daily |

I’m struggling with which pronoun to use for the Easter Bunny.

Feminine or masculine? He or she? I don’t know, and the internet is of little help.

Any animal that lays eggs seems like it might be female, but I’m inordinately tempted to use second-person masculine pronouns in reference to the rabbit.



The more I look, the more I find male and female versions of the Easter Bunny, so perhaps it’s not all that important. Still, being that it’s 2017, I certainly don’t want to make any faulty assumptions here.

Knowing the wisdom of women, I asked my girlfriend if she had any ideas. She was adamant that the bunny is a boy. “Otherwise there wouldn’t be any chocolate left,” she said.



In all honesty, the story behind the Easter Bunny has never really worked well, especially in terms of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, so at least I have that going for me. Plus, is there really a right or wrong way to draw up the candy-spreading cottontail? I’m not so sure there is.

Without a definitive answer, I’ll avoid splitting hairs on the hare and see if I can’t just write around it for this holiday roundup because, regardless of gender, the bunny is in store for a busy weekend.

Street closed!

In Frisco, the Easter Bunny will ring the historic schoolhouse bell at noon Sunday, triggering the start of a hunt for 5,000 candy-stuffed eggs throughout the Frisco Historic Park and the Frisco Town Hall areas for children 8 and younger.

The signs are already laid out on the sidewalk and ready to be placed: Main Street from Madison Avenue to Second Avenue will be closed to traffic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

The bunny also will mingle with children before and after the hunt near Town Hall at First Avenue and Main Street, so people are encouraged to bring cameras “for selfies with the furry guy.” For more, TownOfFrisco.com.

Notice that Frisco went boy on the bunny? From here on out, it’s all gender-neutral.

Can’t beat free

The Outlets at Silverthorne and J.Crew Factory are offering free photos with the Easter Bunny from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the J.Crew Factory store, 167 B Wildernest Road in the Blue Village, Silverthorne.

Children and dogs are expressly welcome, or “bring that teenager as punishment,” according to a news release that’s clearly written by someone with a great sense of humor, to the store’s first-ever Easter photo booth. At the booth, they will have professional 4×6 prints done for people at no cost.

A real hopper at Copper

With 65,000 eggs spread over 2,500 acres, it’s billed as the biggest hunt in the world, and because they have an entire mountain to work with, perhaps they’re telling the truth.

There will be on-mountain hunts for all ages — from 3 and under to adults — on Sunday at Copper Mountain Resort.

The day begins with an 8 a.m. Easter breakfast, not a free event, while the free hunts kick off with an all-ages roundup at 8:30 a.m. on Mountain Golden.

At 10 a.m., there will be a reading of “The Rainbow Fish” by Miss Coloardo on the West Lake Stage, and more age-specific hunts at various locations after that and before another all-ages hunt at noon atop the Eagle Lift.

All events, save breakfast, are free. Lift tickets or ski passes are required for on-mountain activities. For more, CopperColorado.com.

Kids HQ at Keystone

On Sunday, Keystone Resort’s final day of the ski season, Kidtopia Headquarters in River Run Village’s Dercum Square will play host to a host of free, family-friendly activities, crafts, entertainment and fun.

From 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., people may decorate cookies, paint eggs and try their hands at other Easter crafts, complete with a visit from the Easter Bunny. Additionally, Keystone’s Edgewater Café in Lakeside Village will offer brunch with the bunny from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Make brunch reservations by calling 970-496-4386. For more, KeystoneResort.com.

A-Basin and the bunny

The bunny is set for a stop at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, which features a nice, long area for sitting, similar to a beach, for a “Beach’n Egg Hunt.”

They will have multiple hunts, both for skiing and for non-skiing children, beginning at 10:30 a.m at the bottom of Molly Hogan, which could easily be called the “Bunny Hill.”

They’re also putting out 5,000 eggs on Wrangler, one of the mountain’s easiest beginner runs, for the kids who ski and shred at 11:30 a.m. In that hunt, one lucky youngster could find a golden egg with a child’s 2017-18 season pass inside.

For more, ArapahoeBasin.com.

Sunrise service at Breck

Breckenridge Ski Resort is also planning Sunday events to celebrate Easter, starting with a 6:30 a.m. sunrise service at a special location on the mountain. People will load up on the Quicksilver SuperChair Lift at 6 a.m. at the base of Peak 9. No lift ticket is required and ski equipment will not be allowed up the lift.

Additionally, Breck will have eggs hidden on Peaks 8 and 9, and there will be a protected area for children to hunt the eggs. For more, Breckenridge.com.

Free lift tickets at Loveland

In addition to giving away 500 free lift tickets on Saturday and 500 more Sunday, Loveland Ski Area is pushing skiers and snowboarders to keep their eyes peeled Easter Sunday for giant hidden Easter Eggs, and “huge eggs mean huge rewards, such as skis, snowboards and tons of other awesome prizes,” according to the resort. The eggs could be hidden on the mountain, in the Sport Shop or around the base. Only one prize can be claimed person.

The lift-ticket giveaway — a plug for the May opening of the REI store in Dillon — begins at 7:30 a.m. each day, with the tickets going to the first 500 who visit the REI Lounge at the base of the mountain. Free lift tickets are first-come, first-serve and are limited to one per person. For more, SkiLoveland.com.

Summit County church services

The Lord of the Mountains Lutheran Church in Dillon is hosting an Easter brunch at 7:30 a.m. with two services, one each at 8 and 10 a.m., and an egg hunt sandwiched in between at 9:30 a.m.

Ten Peaks Church also is hosting an Easter Day event at 10 a.m. Sunday. It will be at the Silverthorne Rec Center, where they will look at three compelling evidences for Easter. Childcare will be provided for children kindergarten age and younger. Breakfast snacks, coffee and fellowship begin at 9:30 a.m. After the service, there will be a picnic at noon at Rainbow Park. After the picnic, they’ll have a massive egg hunt for the children.

Additionally, the Great Divide Calvary, Breckenridge Christian Ministries, Father Dyer and St. Mary churches in Breckenrigde are all planning Easter services at various times between 8 and 10 a.m., according to VisitBreck.com.

Eli Pace is the arts and entertainment editor for the Summit Daily News, and he writes a regular column focusing on fun weekend happenings in Summit County. Email him at epace@summitdaily.com.


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