Santa Claus has it easy. To get help for the millions of public appearances he makes each year he simply hires people, puts them in a red suit and it’s off to the malls and other special events.

With the Easter Bunny it’s a little more complicated. Just imagine sitting on the lap of a rabbit – do rabbits even have laps? The helpers for the Easter Bunny require a costume with head and full furry suit.

For Fountain Hills it has been the same person slipping inside the Hoppy Bunny costume for more than 20 years, and while not recognizable in costume, she is certainly well known around the community.

Linda Kavanagh, the town’s former mayor and long-time volunteer with the Chamber of Commerce and other entities, started out the gig as a mid-event substitute.

“At the very first Egg Scramble, as it was called, there was a couple who dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Bunny,” Kavanagh said. “However, the temperature soared into the 90s so they stayed for only a short time and many kids didn't get pictures.

“My husband (John), who by the way has been the announcer at the Eggstravaganza since it started, volunteered me because I can handle the heat very well. At 90 degrees, that costume is a good 10 degrees hotter or more.”

The Hoppy Bunny suit that is used has a small fan in the head but it doesn’t help very much, according to Kavanagh, and she said, usually it doesn’t work.

“One year it was so hot that I knew as the morning wore on it was going to be tough for even me to be in the costume for hours,” Kavanagh said. “So I packed bags of ice and hung them around my neck, under the costume to get through the hours of pictures. [It] wouldn’t have been a nice sight for the kids if the bunny passed out.”

Kavanagh said she estimates that, over two decades, she has hosted about 4,000 kids for photos, both individual and family.

For many years the identity of Hoppy Bunny was a well-kept secret. However, many parents became concerned with having their girls sit on the lap of a man in costume. Town staff let it out that Hoppy’s alter ego was in fact a woman and eventually it got out that it was her.

“I’m not sure who spilled the jelly beans, but someone found out and that was the end of the secret,” Kavanagh said. “Because of that, I have had young mothers come up to me during the event and whisper in my big, fluffy ears that they took a picture with me years ago and now they have brought their kids for their pictures.”

At one point a boy who was a little older than the others tried to “unmask” Hoppy by pulling the head off by the ears. Kavanagh managed to keep her head on straight until the boy’s mom rescued her and dragged the kid off, telling him the Easter Bunny wouldn’t be bringing him anything.

Hoppy not only appears for the Eggstravaganza each year, but also visits Fountain View Village.

“Some people ask me why I keep doing it. If I can make one kid happy, that’s a good day,” Kavanagh said. “You can't beat that feeling for a lifetime.”