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THE NICE WEATHER -- and promises of treats -- brought about 100 children to Ballou Park on Saturday, where they made bunny masks, hunted for eggs, danced with a gorilla and met the Easter bunny.

The annual Bunny Lunch and Eggstravaganza Hunt, sponsored by the Eastside Motorcycle Riders Club, with Danville Parks, Recreation & Tourism, started off with children gathering at one of the picnic shelters to assemble bunny masks.

Jada May, 8, and her brother, Jamiah May, 5, were putting the finishing touches on their masks -- and had almost as much glue on their fingers as they had on the pipe-cleaner whiskers -- when treats began to be distributed.

Their mother, Latasha Wade, said the children were enjoying the nice weather at the park, and looking forward to Easter.

"We're going to go to church, and then the Easter bunny will bring me a basket," Jada said.

Corey Canada, 3, had his mask finished and was looking forward to the entertainment part of the day, with music from CaROC and G Rugged.

"He really likes music," his mother, Tamka Holman, said. "That will be his favorite part."

The duo -- Carey "CaROC" Allen and Greg "G Rugged" Link -- got the children on their feet and dancing with their new single, "Money and Bananas," which also has its own dance steps, and a gorilla appeared to help teach the children the steps.

Once the gorilla appeared, there was a fair amount of shrieking, grunting and monkeying around going on.

The group mainly entertains children, and tries to be role models for them, Allen said.

"We provide positive entertainment, and encourage children to stay in school," Allen said. "We believe in helping out the community."

The Danville Lady Vs, an AAU off-season basketball team of girls age 15 and under, were on hand to distribute chips, cookies and other treats to the children, as well as juice.

Their coach, Jesse Bodine, said the team gets involved in a number of community activities, especially those involving children, in between playing basketball all over the state.

"We've even been as far as Connecticut, Washington D.C., and Atlanta," Bodine said. "When we're in different towns and cities, we take the girls to visit the colleges and historical sites, so they can learn about the cities they visit."

Eastside Motorcycle Riders, and its sister organization, the Eastside Social Club, had cookies and cupcakes for the children, and raffled off a dozen Easter baskets.

"This is the third year the Eastside Riders has been affiliated with this," Jeffrey Owen said. "We do a lot of stuff with the city."

Some of things the group gets involved with is partnering with East New Hope Church for back to school day at the Crossing, where they distribute backpacks full of school supplies to local children, and collecting coats for the homeless shelter and DOVES, Owen said.

"We're always willing to help," Owen said. "The city can just give us a call."

Of course, the day wrapped up with kids stampeding to collect eggs that had been scattered across the lawn.

Bryan Price, the programming director for Danville Parks, Recreation & Tourism, said the annual event is always popular.

Credit: Danville Register & Bee, Va.