I’ve had the great good fortune to have visited a few record-breaking places in my time (the world’s largest tree and world’s longest wall to name a few), and I never get tired of discovering those places and things that have earned a place as truly peerless in the whole world. Of George’s three categories, I would say they are wonderful! Take, for instance, the world’s largest collection of bunnies in Pasadena!
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“The bunny is a sign of fertility,” said Candace Frazee, curator of the Bunny Museum, “because bunnies multiply every month.” She had been talking about the museum’s oldest bunny items—jewelry dating from 600 AD to 100 BC—but could well have meant the entire collection. The Bunny Museum started twenty years ago with one stuffed bunny, a gift from Candace’s husband-to-be, Steve, and her pet name for him: “Honey Bunny.” It has since grown to house over 28,000 pieces of leporine paraphernalia packed into four rooms, the connecting halls, and both yards!
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Initially, Candace and Steve kept their collection private until family members began to joke that their home had become some sort of museum. So, on March 20, 1998, the new Bunny Museum opened for an Easter tour with the intent to make it an annual event. Once word spread of their mind-boggling array of arts and crafts, though, they began to make allowances for other holidays, school and tour buses, limousines, and even Harley Davidson mystery riders (a biker group following their leader to a secret location)! When I got there, I was visitor #19,364!
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As I admired the toys, cookie jars, Oaxacan carvings, and old Rose Parade float rabbits, all neatly categorized by location and type, like “Mexico” and “Pretenders” (people in bunny costumes), I had to wonder how a collection like this gets so big. Candace and Steve once collected stamps and bike parts, respectively, but never to such a degree. Candace assured me that they were not hoarders; they collect but do not covet. She and Steve just enjoy finding and giving each other bunny items, and, well, a happy couple can give a lot over twenty years!
| (29,000 bunnies) (7,305 days) |
= | ~ 4 bunnies/day |
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It might be easy to paint this couple as single minded in their obsession with bunnies, but that just isn’t so! Steve invents and sells bike parts at his own store, and Candace is an award-winning author whose work delves into the life-after-death philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg! She also directs the annual Angel Festival in Pasadena, volunteers regularly for the Rose Parade (helping with the bunny floats of course), and hails from Canada, which means that, despite her adoration of bunnies, she maintains a fondness for beavers!
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At the end of our interview, Candace introduced me to the museum’s two liveliest specimens: Inkie and Monterey. Veggies for the living bunnies make up a good portion of museum admission, but Monterey was nice enough to share some cilantro with me. As far as attractions go, the Bunny Museum is worth a visit. Even if you’re not much of a lagomorph fan, it is truly amazing to see so many colorful interpretations of what it is to be a bunny! Plus, it’s good for the soul to chat with people who are passionate about what they do! Hop on over!
Now if only I could locate the world’s largest beaver collection!
