A rabbit's tale: How one man pulls off being a professional Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny has a lot to do every spring. He's busy decorating eggs and hiding them for children; filling up on carrots; he's even teaching theology to high schoolers.

Well, at least that's what Easter Bunny Joe Bell does.

Bell, of Millcreek Township, assumes the role of the Easter Bunny every spring through Once Upon A Party, the business he runs with his wife, Christina Bell. For the four weeks leading up to Easter, Bell becomes the Easter Bunny, visiting homes and businesses. When he's not hopping around in a bunny suit, he's teaching theology to Cathedral Preparatory School students.

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For Bell, 40, teaching and being the Easter Bunny is the best of both worlds.

"I can’t tell you how many times when — and this never gets old — kids have that moment when they see you and they have this excited, startled moment ... almost like the kid becomes speechless because they’re so excited to see the Easter Bunny," Bell said. "Nothing beats that. Those are everyone’s favorite moments."

No 'bunny' can do it alone

As a professional Easter Bunny, Bell makes it clear that the portrayal is more than just putting on a costume.

"It seems like it would be really easy, but that is not true at all," he said. "There's a difference between your uncle who bought a cheap costume on Amazon and a professional company like us."

Other than the quality of costume, Bell said the difference is most noticeable when it comes to how he interacts with children.

"You get a lot of kids who have never seen the Easter Bunny before and they’re nervous, so part of the skill of being a good Easter Bunny is knowing how to deal with that," he said.

As a non-verbal character, Bell relies on his body language and an assistant to relay what the Easter Bunny wants to say or do.

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"(The assistant) is kind of like the narrator for the Easter Bunny," Bell said. "A lot of times they’ll talk like a narrator, saying, 'Oh, the Easter Bunny is doing this now,' or 'Oh, he’s so happy to see you.' It’s kind of like Santa and the elves."

Assistants also help Bell navigate his surroundings. Whether it's letting Bell know there's a small child in front of him or making him aware of uneven surfaces he may encounter, their presence is what ensures a seamless appearance.

Keeping up appearances

Knowing how to put on a good show for children comes with practice, and Bell — along with other Once Upon A Party employees who play the Easter Bunny — have a lot of it.

In the weeks leading up to Easter, Once Upon A Party will do up to 60 bunny visits, sometimes between eight to 12 in a day. The visits typically only last 10 minutes, which Bell said is just the right amount of time.

"People tend to have this thought that more is better, but with something like a visit, you wouldn’t want the Easter Bunny visit to be an hour; what would you do?" Bell said. "So we take pictures and sometimes the kids will ask questions of the Easter Bunny ... then we’ll have whole-family pictures, and that brief interaction takes about 10 minutes, and kids have a short attention span, so it’s perfect."

Some visits include Easter egg hunts, which allows Bell to get creative with hiding places.

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"I enjoy a hiding-in-plain-sight kind of egg," Bell said. "That egg that you should’ve seen but you didn’t. Or, I like to hide an egg that a kid is going to find, but their older, taller sibling isn’t going to. For whatever reason, that amuses me."

Creating unique experiences for children

Bell tries to customize each bunny visit's experience, which is one of the reasons why customer Raychel Adiutori has hired a Once Upon A Party Easter Bunny in the past.

"I just think they have a welcoming presence with their actual Easter Bunny costume," Adiutori said. "I like that they kind of travel as opposed to having children go and sit on a lap and they always have extra treats that come with their visits, so they give it a little extra special touch."

Adiutori admires Bell and the others' commitment to making the visits one the children always look forward to.

"I think the anticipation from the kids' perspective is exciting because they don’t know how they’ll react," she said. "Whether it’s offering a quick high-five or a hug, I think that’s super cute, and being able to see the Easter Bunny in real life and bringing the story to life is real fun."

"Everyone really is making sure it works out for the kids," Bell said. "The parents want to make sure the kids are having a great time, we want to make sure the kids are having a great time and if everyone knows that’s the goal, then we can make it happen."

Baylee DeMuth can be reached at 814-450-3425 or bdemuth@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @BayleeDeMuth.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Professional Easter Bunny performer on portraying character every year