Bunfest 2013!

Eek, it's been a while between blog posts!  I will catch up on the marine-related stuff soon!  For now, I shall blog about the hopping good time known as Bunfest.

A great many of us crazy rabbit people had been looking forward to Florida Bunfest at the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast for quite some time now.  Whenever I told non-rabbit friends that I was going to Bunfest, the typical reaction was, "Bun...what?"  Yes, there are events (several around the country) to celebrate our beloved house rabbits.

That's right.

This year was extra-awesome, in that many bunny friends I already knew were going to be there, PLUS many friends I knew from Facebook, but had never actually met.  Several traveled from out of state (from as far away from New Jersey!) to celebrate bunnies and hang out with fellow bunny people.

I left my place the morning of the event.  I live on the opposite coast of Florida, so I got up at 6:30 to get ready to go.  My dad was thankfully in town for a bike race (he is as passionate about cycling as I am about bunnies!), so he was staying at my place and could watch all my critters!  I loaded my stuff into my trusty Hyundai and headed for S.R. 70.  I sang loudly in my car, so my bunnies were probably glad they weren't with me.

Upon arrival, I met up with two friends who were already making a trip back to the car with armloads of loot for their bunnies (they have some lucky bunnies!)  I headed on up the path, and my eyes locked onto the Pet Rabbit Toys tent.  They make some pretty awesome bunny toys, and they sure did some good business that day.  I eventually found some bunny friends I had previously only met online.  It's a little hard when most everyone's profile pictures are their bunnies!  We all eventually found one another and introduced ourselves.

Everyone had a great time.  Lots of people brought their bunnies.  There was a big "Bunny Olympics" area with tunnels and jumps.  There was a bunny toy making station, games for kids, and all kinds of fun stuff for sale.

Bunny in a tunnel

Lots of fun stuff for sale!

We looked around at all the adoptable bunnies.  A few bunnies (and a guinea pig!) even found permanent homes, which is always a happy occasion!  Several of these critters found homes with my new-found bunny friends!

It really was great to hang out with fellow rabbit people, since nobody really "gets" rabbit people aside from other rabbit people!  It's nice not to get weird looks when you talk about binkies or nose bonks.  You knowingly joke with one another about rabbit poop, and totally get why we all praise our bunnies for making nice poop.  Most people look at me disbelievingly when I tell them I have three rabbits (oh, by the way, I recently adopted a rabbit - more on her later!)  Not at Bunfest!  One rescuer at Bunfest thought it was great when she told someone else she has 20 rabbits in her house and they said, "Only twenty?  I have thirty!"  We all shared rescue stories and frustrations.  We talked constantly about the things our rabbits do, and nobody judged us!  We LOVE to talk about rabbits!

Me and my friend Allison - we hadn't seen each other in a while!

All of us hardcore bunny people stayed the entire day.  We had to see who won the raffle of course!  I didn't win anything (I never win raffles!), but lots of other people won some great prizes!  The best thing was that all the money raised (over $3000!) went directly to the rabbits at the humane society.

After Bunfest was over, it was time for the Bunfest After Party!  That's right.  Bunny people know how to have a good time.  We all met up at a local grill & bar.  Yes, the conversation was dominated by the subject of rabbits.  It was awesome to network with other rescue people and get to know them face-to-face.  We had so much fun and met so many great new friends.

Why yes, of course there were bunnies at the restaurant with us.  (These two travel everywhere with their people and are used to these situations)

All in all, it was a fantastic day.  Of course it was a day to celebrate bunnies, but it was also a day to celebrate friendship.  Everyone there came from all different walks of life from different parts of the country, but we are all united in our love for pet rabbits.  Now I am trying to figure out how to pay my way to Midwest Bunfest in Ohio in November!  It is HUGE and so many people are going.  Maybe I can sell bunny poop...