To some-bunny special 🙂
“So, what does ‘pull a rabbit out of your hat’ mean?” Our facilitator, Anne, asked with a smile.Everyone was looking down and pondering. Anne was facilitating the learning session while we were surrounded by hopping bunnies. We all felt light and young again.
“Bunnies are clever!” A Ghanaian gentleman recalled his own tradition.
“Bunnies are good signs!” said an Iranian man with eyes open wide.
“Why are bunnies chosen for the Easter Festival?” A man asked gently.
“Perhaps bunnies represent fertility?” Anne answered in no time.
“You are so cute. How old are you?” A Canadian lady asked while petting a white bunny.
“There. Jump!” An Arabic-speaking elderly lady exclaimed.
“Can you take photos of me playing with him or her?” asked a young lady with a cheerful smile.
In these troubled and difficult times, it is important to know where to find therapeutic moments. Anne knew the Bunny Café resided in her community and wanted to go and include newcomers to build a stronger neighbourhood community.
Before the event, Anne and her helper Sara went to an Inclusion Art Show showcasing work done by people with disabilities. Anne found some bunny drawings and other artwork. We discussed Indigenous folklore, countries, cultures, festivals, years, English phrases, and characters associated with bunnies. We were amazed at how much we learned while only brainstorming on the topic – Bunny.
We are grateful the challenges were encountered and solved along the way. Because the project was to be completed before November 30, 2023, Anne and Sara set the date first and did much of the planning after. It was hard to predict who and how many would join the event, so Anne made reservations and began inviting afterwards. A family of 3, a few adults, including young adults and a senior, showed up. As the admission fees were paid in advance, the unused ticket fees were donated to help this local community business. When we arrived, we realized the café section was not as spacious as we thought, so the number we had was actually perfect. The Bunny Café staff, both those serving the food and those facilitating the bunny experience, were very nice and welcoming.
We connected the project theme through Anne’s facilitation of a culture and conversational English learning session and a therapeutic bunny feeding and touch session. Then we shared lunch and continued to ponder about the bunnies we petted. One guest asked the staff about the process of adopting a bunny. Some of us walked along Commercial Drive (from Broadway) to the café and then back along Victoria Drive. This half-hour walk (each way) helped us to get to know the neighbourhood more. No matter how life goes, it is important to have fun, have animal and human touch, and be grateful to the Indigenous people and their land – The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam Nation Territory.
The gratitude of our participants tells us we have “pulled a rabbit (a magic idea) out of our hat.” We hope it gives you inspiration to do the same.
