This year’s Portland BunnyCon, an Easter-themed bar crawl, will take place on April 4 at 3 p.m. The exact location will be announced soon. There is no cover charge.
All donation-based proceeds will go to support Janus Youth Programs, a local organization providing care and treatment for runaway and at-risk youth.
This year’s bunny crawl will pit stop at several bars and breweries on the east side of the Willamette River.
Portland BunnyCon is hoping to encourage a more intimate crowd than previous events, such as SantaCon, which can draw over a thousand participants.
Brad McCray will be this year’s Portland BunnyCon fearless leader.
“The route will be announced soon, but it will be on the east side around Belmont and Grand,” McCray said. “All the other bar crawls have been downtown proper, so we thought it might be fun to try something new. We will have prizes and egg hunts at each venue.”
Aliesha Comfort is a regular Portland BunnyCon attendee.
“I attend every year to celebrate my birthday, and we have a blast every year,” Comfort said. “It’s fun seeing the creative costumes and dressing up. Just like Halloween but with a really happy vibe. Everyone is out to have a good time, plus it’s for a good cause.”
Costume ideas can range in creativity, from pinning white cotton balls to your rear to donning the iconic fuzzy, pink bunny pajamas in A Christmas Story. More flirtatious souls can rustle up a black leotard, fishnet tights and charming ears, but let’s just remember: It’s for the children.
Janus Youth Programs has worked with the community since 1972, offering resources to runaway, homeless and at-risk youth.
“Teens are kind of stuck,” McCray said. “They look like adults, but they have no rights. Sometimes they can’t even legally get jobs. If teens are being abused at home, where do they go? If you come home from school and your mom has the crack pipe out again, and her creepy parole boyfriend is leering at you, what would you do?”
Janus offers a variety of readily available resources, ranging from transitional housing and volunteer teams building relationships with street youth to rehabilitation recovery housing.
“Janus does great work but has a constant battle with funding,” McCray said. “I’m not silly enough to think that one bar crawl will make a huge difference. But maybe one day. Primarily, I hope to raise awareness of the programs.”
And what better way to raise awareness than to draw attention to a large group of drunk adults dressed as bunnies?
“The silly little games make you feel like a kid again and there is never a dull moment,” Comfort said.