Now in its 13th year, and open to all generations of Santa Clara University alumni, the school’s annual Bunny Brunch gave former university students the opportunity to spend time together, enjoy a meal, hunt for eggs and visit with the man-of-the-season, the Easter Bunny.
The Bunny Brunch, held this year on April 2, had 350 registrants, including over 100 children under the age of 12. Each family paid $30 per adult and $15 per child over two, to dine on food prepared at the University consisting of breakfast staples like eggs, bacon and waffles as well as muffins, fruit, desserts, orange juice, coffee and mimosas. The admission fee also gave families the opportunity to take photos with the Easter Bunny before taking to the Mission Garden to search for over 1300 eggs filled with toys and treats. Additionally, there were various crafts, like bunny masks and coloring pages, to keep kids busy until the hunt began.
“It’s a great example of what’s so wonderful about Santa Clara University and the Santa Clara family,” said Kathy Kale, assistant vice president of alumni relations and a class of 1986 alumnus. “We have this beautiful campus where we get a great education and make lifelong friends and we have the opportunity to come back with our families, whether it’s our extended family or own nuclear family and get to enjoy the campus on a great day to be together and enjoy the rest of the Santa Clara family.”
Class of 2001 alumnus Marie Vida came with her husband, Andrew Liou, and their five-year-old twins, Aiden and Owen.
“I’ve seen this event a lot of times,” she said. “I’ve gotten emails from it and I thought about going once we started having the boys and it has always been sold out, but now that they’re old enough and I got in early, I thought it would be something fun for them … It’s cute because there’s a lot of grandparents who bring their grandkids.”
Vida said she and her husband didn’t tell the boys about the event until Saturday, and, once their parents broke the news, the boys could hardly contain their excitement.
“Aiden woke up this morning, jumped up and started jumping up and down saying ‘we’re seeing the Easter Bunny today.’” Although Aiden expressed his desire to see the Easter Bunny to his parents, it was Owen who said he was most looking forward to seeing the costumed character. Aiden, on the other hand, was anxiously anticipating the egg hunt.
“I want eggs,” he said. “I want to look for them.”
Just after noon, the Easter Bunny rang a bell and the children, who had been separated by age groups–zero to two, three to five, six to nine and 10 to 12–were off, searching the garden for every last hidden egg.
“We got a great day and I think it has become a great tradition for all generations and that’s one of the ways we like to keep the Santa Clara family connected,” said Kale.