Monday Bunday: What a Party!

Cadbury is exhausted after parting all weekend with his friends at the Bunny Benefit Bash!














Thanks, everyone, for all your support. You gave me pictures, you gave me ideas, and you offered some lovely prizes to give to our guests. And most of all, you helped get the word out to make this a success. Cadbury and I couldn't have done it without you!

Perhaps we should do more of these in the future. There's such a need out there, and it's easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget that it's a tough world--for bunnies, for humans, and for everyone trying to make a go of things on this planet.

But for now, Cadbury and I are just happy to take a little break. There will be a follow-up story later this week with the final donation tally and you'll get to find out how the band reacts to the success of their party. Will Nevin get a bunny? Has Vic softened up, or is he still too cool for rabbits?

There will also be a commemorative scrapblog in the next week or two, chronicling the event and what a good time we all had. I will assume that if you allowed me to have pics for the video, you'll let me take some for the scrapblog. If this is not the case, please let me know.

And finally, the party is now archived on the Maelstrom site, under "Reviews, Concerts, and Sightings," and there will be a review of the concert whenever I can get around to it. I'm sure the "reporter" will have wonderful things to say about this weekend's show. After all...

Bunnies Rock!

Bunny Benefit Bash!

The show is on, folks! Hop on over to the Bunny Benefit Bash and see our lapine rock stars in action!

The party runs all weekend, so enjoy!

Bunny Benefit Bash: In the Queue!

Well, bunny rockers, it's almost time! Cadbury successfully got the video uploaded, the caterers are setting out the buffet, and the party is set to go live at midnight and run through Sunday evening.

Be there or be square. Bunnies Rock!

Bunnies Rock! Video

Well, peeps, we're about done. This week I've added Biscuit and Bandit, Pumpkin, Patches, Andrew, Norbert, Sam (Sage), and Willow. We're up to about 40 bunnies!

I'm closing the video to new entrants as of 5:00 pm Thursday, and I'd really prefer to add no one else at this point unless they were specifically invited earlier this month. Right now the bunny montage goes by a little quicker than I would like because I left room to add a latecomer or two. Tomorrow after work, I'll add any final bunny rockers, should I get any, and will consider the video officially closed. I'll then finish getting the pictures synched to the music, tweak my titles and add the credits. Then I need to convert it for posting and viewing. If all goes well, it will be done Thursday night, but I'm leaving open the possibility that I'll need Friday, too. Wish me luck that it all comes together on the first try!

If you hop over to the Maelstrom site, you'll find the third story of the series, in which Ricky and the band discuss the particulars of the benefit. There is now a link to make an individual donation to Rabbit Rescue, or to any of the charities nominated for the benefit. There is also a link to buy Bunny Benefit Bash t-shirts. Everything else--guest book, video, buffet, and prize giveaway info, will be available sometime after midnight Friday night (in other words, Saturday morning). I'll also post the times when the "band" will be available to chat in the tag box, although partygoers can chat with each other throughout.

Cadbury is very excited about his debut as a rock star and he hopes all his friends are getting excited, too! Binkies!

Monday Bunday: Roll Call!

As you can see, Cadbury is hard at work getting the Bunnies Rock! video ready for you. Below are the bunnies in the video so far. If you aren't here but should be, speak up! If you are here but don't want to be, now's the time to say so.

Our goal is to finish the video on Wednesday, but some bunnies are in here more than once so we might be able to accommodate latecomers. No promises after Wednesday night, though. If you don't see one of your friends here, give them a shout-out.

So for now, here are our Rockin' Rabbits!

• Hans
  
• Buttons
  
• Bailey
  
• Yohji
  
• Mario
  
• Baxter
  
• Princess
  
• Lucky
  
• Savannah
  
• Chico
  
• Goldie
  
• Racer
  
• Zoey
  
• Miss Eve
  
• Neville
  
• Hugo (ATB)
  
• Betsy
  
• Boogey
  
• Elvis
  
• Peaches
  
• Pink
  
• Sydney
  
• Tyler
  
• Fidget
  
• Barrington
  
• Cadbury
  
• Tidbit (ATB)
  
• Abbey
  
• Fez
  
• Cappuccino
  
• Fiona
  
• Orlando
  
• Freckles
  

Bunny Shirts are Ready!

The Bunny Benefit commemorative t-shirts are now available at the Maelstrom Concert Products store. In this picture, I'm wearing an earlier version of the logo, that does not include the url or the names of the bunny charities on the back. New shirts will have the "new and improved" version, which you can see on the Cafe Press site linked above and in Monday's post below.

















The shirts are priced at cost. I had initially thought of including a small upcharge to add to our donation, but there was no way to do that without first declaring it as income and then writing it off, and I'm just not too crazy about adding any further complexities to my tax calculations.

Therefore, these shirts are strictly commemorative and for fun, although some lucky guest at the party next weekend will win a free one of their choice!

Speaking of choices, Cafe Press had a lot of other items that can be customized. The Bunny Bash logo is only suitable for white items, since it's not on a transparent background, but if there's a product you'd like to see, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Let the Voting Begin!

We're all set up to vote! Here's the story, at the end of which is a Voter's Guide. The poll is in the sidebar of the Maelstrom site if you want to cut to the chase and just cast your vote.

Tell your bunny friends to hop on over. We'll run the poll until next Wednesday and then announce the primary recipient. The big fund-raiser will be the virtual party on the weekend of the 28th, and we already have $40 in pledges, thanks to Rabbits' Guy's efforts. Maelstrom's contribution will be based on the number of guests at the virtual party, so spread the word!

As a side note, all charities will be listed on the back of the t-shirts, and more info about the shirts will be available in a day or two. We're also going to have some great prizes at our party, and even though the party is virtual, the prizes aren't. Tell all your friends!

Monday Bunday: Bunny Benefit

No real Monday Bunday here, just a reminder to read the post below and tell your friends about the Bunny Benefit on the 28th. Actually, it'll run all weekend, Saturday and Sunday, so we can hopefully get a lot of money raised. The charities that have been suggested are all so good that I'm thinking maybe we'll vote on one "official" organization that the band will donate to, and list the others as alternates for guests to donate to if they so choose. I think I'll also put all the nominated organizations on the back of the t-shirts, kind of like a rock band's tour t-shirt.

Other ideas welcome, as always!

Bunny Benefit Bash Update

Below is the updated image with date and url. I've put it on a t-shirt ordered a sample for myself. If it looks good, I'll make the shirts available for purchase at the virtual party. There will also be one available as a prize.


















I'm still trying to decide how the fund-raising will work, but the tentative plan is that the band will pony up $2 per guest, up to the first 25 and $1 per guest after. Guests will be counted by comments or guest book signatures (once I have a chance to review guest book options). There will be a direct link to the charity we choose so that people can donate directly. I'd like to find a way to track the donations that so we can give an overall tally of funds raised, but we may just need to go on the honor system. If anyone has ideas, let me know.

In addition to the t-shirt prize, Diana Moll will have one of her prints available for a lucky contest winner. I think we had another prize donor, but I confess I'm buried right now, so get in touch! Prize winners will probably be selected randomly, but I'd also like to have one for the biggest individual donation. Any other ideas are very welcome.

Thanks to everyone who has linked me to bunny rockers or told me to take what I need from their websites. If anyone has some bunny action video they'd like added to the rock video, I'm game for that, too. Rest assured that all bunny rock stars will be duly listed in the credits.

I could use a few more charity recommendations, so if you think of any, let me know. And tell your friends!

In Progress...

So what do you think, peeps? I'm leaning toward a "show" date of March 28. That would give everyone another two weeks to talk this up, and we could vote on a charity next weekend. I'll have the final story in the Bunny Benefit Bash series ready the first week of April, and the donation would be in the hands of our selected organization by Easter.

Anyone have ideas to share?

Bunnies Rock!

Bunny rockers take note! The first story of the Bunnies That Rock series is now up. Go here to read the story, recommend a favorite bunny charity, and find out how to make your bunny a rock star. If you've already directed me to your rocking rabbits' pics, send the link your friends! I'll be taking charity recommendations for about a week, and then everyone will have a chance to vote. On the day of the virtual benefit concert, I'll be contributing to the charity you vote for based on the number of comments I get, so help the band pick a top-notch organization that will give the bunnies something to bink about.

Rock on, Lagomorphs!

Monday Bunday: Fat and Happy

Cadbury: Who's fat? I'm not fat!
Bunnygirl: It's just an expression. Have another timmy cake.
Cadbury: Don't mind if I do!

Monday Bunday: Buns on Film!

For those of you who missed yesterday's fly-by post, I'm putting together a video trailer for Maelstrom's upcoming book release (tentatively planned for April or early May). It occurred to me that a video of the Bunny Benefit concert would be fun and all who are planning to participate could give me bunny pics to include in the concert footage.

Glenna has already informed me that Pink, Peaches and Elvis consider themselves rock stars, and apparently we've got a lot of talent at the Houseful of Rabbits. So how about it, folks? Has your bunny got what it takes? Let me know, and tell me how your bunny wants to participate: either by emailing me a pic to use, or by directing me to one to use from a website.

Bunny Benefit: Preps and Thoughts

Happy March, everyone! As promised, I'm still planning for Maelstrom to do a benefit for bunnies, sometime in the late-March/early-April timeframe. To those of you who offered to contribute prizes, thanks! I'll be in touch shortly.

I've got a new idea for our little bunny concert, though. I've been learning how to make video trailers, so how about I make a little concert video and include pictures of people's bunnies? Let me know what you think!