Photo courtesy of Perry Hy-Vee

The social distancing required by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many changes to the way we do things, including celebrating holidays.

To that point, the public Easter celebrations in Perry have been altered. One specific impact is the nearly two decade tradition of the Easter Bunny at Hy-Vee. To limit foot traffic at the store, the bunny will be appearing elsewhere this weekend, starting Friday during the grab-and-go lunch pick-up at Perry Elementary from 10:30 a.m. – noon. Kids won’t be able to get out and take pictures with the notable figure, but they can wave and take photos from their vehicles.

To reach even more families, the famous bunny will be the special guest of a short drive-by parade on Easter Sunday. The parade will be hosted by Hy-Vee and the Perry Fire Department, running from 1-2:30 p.m. at Pattee Park. Attendees can enter the park from Willis Avenue onto West 3rd Street and wave to the Easter Bunny and local firefighters from within their vehicles on their way through the park. There is no cost to participate in either the lunch program or the afternoon parade.