Bunny Museum Hops Up to Altadena

The Bunny Museum, a Pasadena couple’s collection of more than 33,000 rabbit-themed artifacts, has moved to Altadena and will be holding a Grand Hoppenin’ at the new location on Monday, March 20.

Asked why they had to move, Candace Frazee, who runs the museum with husband Steve Lubanski, says they were running out of space in their Pasadena residence with much rabbit stuff, so they had to move to a bigger house.

“We’re out of room!” Frazee says when interviewed on Canadian radio. “We’ve been out of room for many years, and we’ve always had this goal in mind to move to a place that’s 10 times bigger.”

Aside from the 33,000-plus bunny items in the museum, the couple also has six actual rabbits in their self-described “hoppiest place on Earth,” and a cat.

“We’re out of room!” Frazee exclaimed when As It Happens guest host Susan Bonner asked why the museum is moving. “We’ve been out of room for 10 years, and we’ve always had this goal in mind to move to a place that’s 10 times bigger.”

Frazee says when they’re up and running in Altadena, they will be launching a new exhibition, the “The Chamber of Hop Horrors,” to showcase “all the abuse of bunnies through history.” The exhibit will show real photographs of bunnies being experimented on, and some lucky rabbit’s paw keychains on display.

“We’ve always collected these things, but we’ve never had them on display – you know, a chamber of horrors of the abuse of the real bunny,” she says. The chamber will be restricted to visitors 13 years old and older.

The museum will also open a Canadian section in honor of Frazee’s Canadian roots; she was born in Port Credit, Ontario. The section will have a Mountie bunny and a Laura Secord chocolate bunny, Frazee says.

The idea for a bunny museum came from a single plush bunny that Lubanski gave Frazee on Valentine’s Day in 1993, when she also started calling her husband “Honey Bunny.”

They opened the Museum in 1998 when they’ve had enough bunnies to display, including those they have given each other during holidays, and stuff their friends donated.

In 1999, the museum earned its Guinness World Record with 8,437 bunnies. They renewed the title in 2011 to mark the Year of the Rabbit and plan to renew again the next time it comes around in 2023.

The new Bunny Museum will be “hoppenin’” at 2605 Lake Avenue in Altadena on March 20 at 11 a.m., with a Grand Hoppenin’ Party at 6 p.m. Admission to the museum opening will be $8, and $15 to include the Party.

Museum members and children four years old and under are free admission.

For more information, call (626) 798-8848 or visit www.TheBunnyMuseum.com.