The Easter Bunny got a head start on his annual appointed rounds of egg distribution when he stopped off at the City Center Saturday morning.

Mr. Bunny, aka Matt Hipps, was there at the request of the Ironton Kiwanis Club for its Breakfast with the Easter Bunny giving out eggs stuffed with surprises and having his picture taken again and again.

“I’ve got to start doing this early,” Mr. Bunny said. “There are so many kids.”

Next Sunday will be his busiest time of the year as he fills basket after basket.

“They should start looking for me right after church,” he said.

Already he had made a fan out of 3-year-old Nadia Warfield of Chesapeake who couldn’t stop playing with the bracelet and kaleidoscope she found inside her plastic egg.

“He was nice,” she said just before she stuffed a forkful of pancake and syrup into her mouth.

This was the second time for the city’s Kiwanis Club to do an Easter-themed breakfast. The club is well-known for its Breakfast with Santa each December.

Money raised from events such as these go to fund a scholarship for a Lawrence County student, diapers and formula for needy families and hygiene kits for schools.

Manning the griddle and oven were club members Bette Backus and Mary Roush.

“Promoting children up to 5 years old, that is our main mission,” Roush said about the club. “All of our money stays in Lawrence County.”

The club meets every Thursday at noon at the City Center.

This was the first time for Nadia and her mother, Nichole Ruggles, to try out the Easter breakfast.

“We used to go to the mall and pay $30 for a picture,” Ruggles said. “This is more relaxed and there’s food. This is so much better.”

And with a big smile on her face when she saw her photo with the bunny, Nadia seemed to agree.