CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - Pancakes are in. Pandemonium is out. After more than 40 years of frenzied egg hunts, Carmichael Recreation and Park District last weekend replaced rough-and-tumble with a gentler option.

Nearly 300 adults and children sat down to Breakfast with the Bunny in Carmichael Park Clubhouse. The Easter celebration followed two years of pandemic hiatus for CRPD Easter activities.

Admission cost of $5 per person included a calorific breakfast and treat bags. Carmichael Kiwanis Club members cooked and served food. County Supervisor Rich Desmond flipped pancakes and stood in line for his bunny encounter. Children’s crafts were offered in the rose-bordered parking lot.

Did participants miss the old egg scramble? Evidently not.

Noted a hunt veteran: “Weeks of work went into preparing for that chaos. On the day, a siren blared and it was all over in half a minute. Most children were well behaved; some parents charged barriers and pushed tots aside to grab eggs for their own kids. Timid little ones were terrified. Many kids got nothing. There were always tears afterwards. Here today, grandparents, parents and kids are having a relaxed time. No one’s crying.”

Indeed, laughter colored the event like flowers daubed on cheeks by attendant face-painters. The breakfast was so popular that three sittings sold out before Easter weekend. Walk-ins were also accommodated. Nearly a thousand pancakes were served; gallons of coffee and orange juice were chugged.

CRPD staff and volunteers seemed pleased with the reinvented tableau. District administrator Mike Blondino indicated CRPD’s new celebration was here to stay. “We wanted to move to a non-competitive, multi-generational experience,” he explained. “This event was a real community partnership. I saw a lot of happy people.”

Bunny Breakfast proceeds will benefit the Kiwanis Family House. The Sacramento facility provides accommodation for families of UC Davis Children’s Hospital patients.