Monday, May 12, 2025
The children of Malverne searched the town for Easter eggs on April 19, as they took part in the Malverne Chamber of Commerce’s annual Bunny Hop and Shop event. The Easter celebration begins with at the gazebo and travels throughout the village before hopping over to Malverne Cinema.
“Today is our annual bunny hop and shop. It is a free event for our community, to say thank you for shopping local,” said Elizabeth Krull, president of the Chamber. “Its also an opportunity to bring new families to Malverne to see all the amazing local Chamber businesses that we have.”
The Kids Activity Zone commences the event, with music, Easter treats, face painting, balloon twisting, and shop from tables set up by Chamber members. There are also raffles tickets available for various baskets donated by the community, along with pictures opportunities with the Easter Bunny and Malverne’s Chamber Champ.
“After the activity zone, kids and their families hop through town to over 35 chamber members who are also giving out treats,” said Krull. The egg hunt originated in 1995 as a more traditional Easter event, with eggs spread across the gazebo lawn, before it was adapted into the bunny hop and shop during the pandemic as a way to incorporate social distancing into the event.
“Last year was the first year I came and participated in the bunny hop,” said Stephanie Fitzpatrick, owner of the Rare Treats Baking Company, which creates sweet treats that are dairy- and nut-free, as well as any other food restrictions such as gluten, soy, eggs, etc. “I appreciate the opportunity to see different families and get to know the community members. It’s fun to be here and see everybody outside.” During the event she sold a range of Easter themed treats, including vegan brownies, lemon poppy seed cookies, lavender cookies, and carrot cakes.
“I’m a lifelong resident of Malverne, I grew up here and when we started our family we wanted to come back to Malverne,” said Monica Theodoropoulos, co-owner of Grami Café, which opens in May. “The bunny hop is something special to us because we have kids, we love the Easter Bunny, Easter is a very big part of the Greek community, and we just wanted to be part of this event before we open.”
After exploring businesses with a red Easter bunny spray painted outside and collecting their Easter eggs, the community gathered at Malverne Cinema where the raffle tickets were pulled. To end the event Tori T’s pizza held pin the tail on the bunny, spoon and egg relay races, and an Easter beanbag toss for participants in the bunny hop event.
“This is brought to the community by hard working, small business owners that are members of the Chamber. We do this because we truly want to say thank you for supporting us,” said Krull. “We believe events like these are what keeps the village of Malverne special, what keeps people wanting to come into this community, and were proud of that.”
