No, this is not about the by-now-classic Nextdoor posts asking, "Is this your bunny?" It's also not about local bunnies going on Nextdoor to vent their frustrations at the nighttime commotion caused by their coyote neighbors. This is a tale of a community taking their bunny costume online and melding a decidedly old-fashioned tradition with modern technology to keep a local spring-time tradition going during this time of disruption. This is a tale, if you will, of the e-bunny.
(Nextdoor, for anyone who hasn't yet stumbled across this wonderfully fascinating mixed bag of community engagement, is a moderated online platform for sharing information among neighbors.)
Five years ago, the Facebook group Hillsdale/Multnomah Village Moms began a cooperative Easter Egg Hunt in Dewitt Park in Hillsdale. A kid and ten treat-filled eggs have been the ticket in past years to join in a low-key, community-oriented event for the little ones. With more emphasis on the "spring" and the "hunt" than the "Easter," the event has continued to welcome families of all religious persuasions with small children to enjoy this sign of spring.
In 2019, the event was adopted by the Hillsdale Community Foundation and expanded to include photo-ops with a bunny-costumed acrobat and live music.
This year, because we have been living in a state of pandemic-induced suspended animation for the past few weeks, the event moves online and will include a sing-along and story time in lieu of an egg hunt. And of course bunny acrobatics.
Join the Easter Bunny Facebook livestream at noon on Sunday, April 12, at the Hillsdale Community Foundation Facebook page, or watch the video later.
--Valeurie Friedman