The clock is ticking for Rabbitats’ annual Easter event as the rescue struggles to find a venue.
The Richmond-based rescue was recently left in a pinch after Lavenderland, where last year’s Easter Bunnyfest was held, declined to host this year’s event.
“We had been looking for a venue for years before they opened and it was really difficult and now we're back in the same position,” said Rabbitats founder Sorelle Saidman.
Much like Goldilocks, Rabbitats had stumbled upon the venue that felt just right after years of trying out various options including local pet stores.
Community halls lacked flexibility, and city venues do not allow door charges, which proved to be effective for fundraising. Private venues, on the other hand, catered mainly to food and liquor events.
“There is very little available in Richmond where we can have animals and for that matter casual arts and markets,” Saidman said.
Then came Lavenderland, which had a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces with flexible layouts and great capacity — perfect for setting up rabbit pens and craft tables. There was also plenty of parking and volunteers were able to set up in an office to run the event.
“And of course having all that lavender around is a bonus,” she added.
Now without a venue, the whole event has ground to a halt.
“We haven’t been able to plan at all,” Saidman said. “We’re running out of time. Right now we’ll be very hard-pressed to be able to pull in sponsors.”
A decade-long tradition
The annual Easter Bunnyfest has been a Rabbitats staple for more than a decade, and it is crucial to the rescue’s survival.
“(It’s a) fundraiser, which is extremely important because we don’t have any other funding,” Saidman said.
Easter is also a good time to educate the community about rabbits, as not only are rabbits constantly on people’s radars due to the holiday, but it’s also the baby season for rabbits.
“Rabbits actually have a funny idea about baby season because it actually starts the end of January, February. By April, there’s bunnies everywhere,” said Saidman.
Bunnies are often easy to pick up, which could be a cause for concern.
“With Richmond, we find a lot of people actually go out and pick up baby bunnies. And then take them home, enjoy them as pets, until they hit their juvenile phase and they go through a phase of being unruly and hormonal,” Saidman explained.
“And then (people) just put (the bunnies) back where they found them. So we’re finding all these rabbits that are way friendlier than they should be.”
To help reduce the likelihood of rabbits being picked up and later abandoned, the Easter Bunnyfest offers people a chance to interact with rabbits without having to buy one from a breeder or pet store.
The search for a venue continues
Despite Rabbitats’ efforts to contact other venues, most have already been booked up.
The rescue is hoping to find an indoor venue, or at least one that provides a mix of indoor and outdoor, that can accommodate pens of rabbits, craft tables and information booths. Proximity to transit would be a welcome bonus.
In terms of capacity, last year’s Bunnyfest drew around 3,000 visitors and Rabbitats is hoping this year’s event will see the same response.
The worst-case scenario, Saidman said, would be to look for venues in other parts of Metro Vancouver such as Stanley Park.
“It’d be sad to take it out of Richmond.”
