Easter Bunny parachutes into Brackenridge church festival

Easter isn’t usually the Christian holiday known for the flying mascot, but the Easter Bunny visited Brackenridge this year from the sky.

The famous rabbit skydived and parachuted into the Easter festival at Generations House of Worship in Brackenridge late Saturday morning. A large crowd had gathered at the festival, filled with families cheering on the floating Easter Bunny.

A skydiver in full costume from Grove City-based Skydive Pennsylvania performed the stunt and landed safely on a patch of grass about half the size of a football field.

He dropped from about 4,000 feet out of a small plane.

Pastor Nick Chybrzynski was thrilled with the crowd that showed up on Saturday, but he also emphasized that this weekend is about Jesus and celebrating Easter.

“No bunny loves me like Jesus,” he said. “Even the bunny bows to Christ.”

The festival, held behind Generations House of Worship’s Church on Mile Lock Lane, had a consistent crowd of several hundred people. Chybrzynski said he expects between 2,000-3,000 in attendance throughout the day.

The Easter Bunny has successfully parachuted into Brackenridge, Pa, a town just northeast of Pittsburgh. It’s part of Generations House of Worship’s Easter festival. @VNDNews @TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/PhU77A09v7

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) April 8, 2023

He said it rained last year, so he felt blessed to see the community come out in force on Saturday.

“When I grew up, Tarentum used to have a huge festival,” Chybrzynski said. “We want to make memories like that for families. I want us to build a community.”

Adeja Remaley, of Harrison, and her husband, Derrick Hawkins, brought their son, Cameron Hawkins, and his friend, Semaj Gross. She said the children were excited to come to the festival and were surprised when they learned the Easter Bunny would be skydiving.

She said she was elated about the festival because it can sometimes be hard to find good, kid-friendly activities in the area.

Jamie Ganss, of Brackenridge, brought her 2-year-old granddaughter. She said it was heartwarming to see the Brackenridge community come together on Easter weekend and said the borough needed something to unite around following the Jan. 2 murder of Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire.

“Especially now, with all of the things happening in our community, Brackenridge needed something like this,” said Ganss.

The festival had several blow-up slides, games, and obstacle courses for kids, as well as food trucks, face painting, a petting zoo and a 50-50 raffle. A DJ played music throughout the late morning and early afternoon.

April Chronick of Natrona Heights brought her two children and said they were amazed to see the Easter Bunny skydive. This was her first time at the Generations House of Worship Festival. She praised the church for organizing a safe and family friendly event.

“We are a tight-knit community, and it’s great to have this festival to bring us together,” said Chronick.

Generations House of Worship will have two Easter services on Sunday, at 1160 Parkside Drive in Brackenridge. One will stasrt at 10 a.m. and another at 11:45 a.m.