Party with a purpose: Bunnies on the Bayou returns to Houston after two-year break
The nonprofit's flagship event, a massive downtown party on Easter Sunday, sometimes overshadows its fundraising efforts for Houston's LGBTQ+ community.
After a two-year break, Bunnies on the Bayou is back. The popular event isn’t just a big party with some pretty wild costumes, it’s also a benefit for agencies that serve Houston's LGBTQ+ community.
"Bunnies on the Bayou is unique to Houston," said Jacques Bourgeois, who serves as the board's vice president. "When you tell people about it who aren’t from Houston, they’re like, ‘What is Bunnies on the Bayou?’ It’s a large, outdoor cocktail party."
How did it start? Organizers trace Bunnies back to 1979 birthday party
Known for its inclusiveness and expressiveness, it got its start as a birthday party 43 years ago.
"It was a way for people in our community to get together and be their own family," Bourgeois shares. "It goes to the core of how we see ourselves as an LGBTQIA+ community."
To lift up that community, the annual 21+ gathering evolved into a nonprofit of the same name in the early ‘90s.
"The LGBTQ community has gone through pretty tough times, you know," said board president Div Kumar. "Politically, there is always someone that is attacking us or judging us. It is important for everybody to be able to feel free, have a little playfulness, have fun."
Now, Bunnies the non-profit is 100-percent volunteer-run.
"Everything that we raise at Bunnies, everything goes back to the community," explains Kumar. "Nobody is in it for selfish reasons. We are all in it because we want to see our community get better. We want to advance the Houston LGBTQIA community."
He moved to Houston in 2016 and immediately began looking for a way to connect and give back.
"As someone who grew up being gay in a culture that did not accept me being gay, it was important for me to be able to be a part of a community or an organization that supported other young people growing up feeling comfortable in themselves," Kumar said.
He found that in Bunnies, which raises money via a number of events throughout the year, including Bunnies in Heat, Snow Bunnies and, of course, the iconic Houston party Bunnies on the Bayou.
'How we come together' Annual celebration is Bunnies' biggest fundraiser of the year
"It’s an amazing place to socialize, see your community, be out and about," Bourgeois says. "This is just a way our community has always partied. It’s how we come together."
Whether you're wearing bunny ears, a bonnet, a basket or barely anything, the only dress code at the Easter extravaganza is to come as you are.
"Bunnies is very inclusive," said Kumar. "It is a great place for everybody to come be comfortable in their own skin and see other people like themselves out and about."
This year's celebration will take place on Sunday, April 17 from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. at Sesquicentennial Park in downtown Houston. (Ticket information here.) The event will feature live music, including DJ sets from Dan Slater and Tracy Young, as well as plenty of libations.
"Take Monday off," Bourgeois laughs.
A party with a purpose Money helps LGBTQ+-focused organizations in Houston area
Bunnies on the Bayou is definitely a party, but it's a party with a purpose.
"Yes, we put on a big event, but every single dime from our event goes to our beneficiaries. Period," Bourgeois said.
The organization is a lifeline for nonprofits that serve Houston’s LGBTQ+ community.
"We raise funds for the community for cultural purposes, health, empowerment and education," Kumar said. "We support other organizations that need our help."
This year, there are more than a dozen such organizations that will receive grants, including Hatch Youth, Lazarus House and The T.R.U.T.H. Project.
"Because of Bunnies on the Bayou, we've been able to have expansion of our programs, able to have mental health panel discussions over at MATCH," said the organization's founder and CEO Kevin Anderson. "We've been able to have summits, summits that specifically focused on queer folks of color to come together and talk about their whole health."
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The T.R.U.T.H. Project first received funds from Bunnies on the Bayou in 2016.
Montrose Grace Place is also a repeat beneficiary. Every Monday and Thursday, it opens its doors to Houston's homeless youth.
"We take particular care for LGBTQ+ youth, making sure we are always maintaining an affirming and safe space for them. Our program was started because of the gaps in services for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness," said executive director Courtney Sellers.
For a couple hours a couple times a week, the Montrose church is a place where kids in that position can find support.
"It’s a night of dinner, activities, we have a clothing closet to shop in. So we try to meet immediate needs, but also, through mentorship, long-term needs," Sellers said.
She adds that transportation is vital to this community, so another resource her nonprofit provides is bus passes.
"That is one of the things the Bunnies grant funds: our ability to provide transportation to the youth who come to Montrose Grace Place, which opens the world up for you," Sellers said.
Save Our Sisters United is a first-time recipient in 2022.
"At the core, SOSU is really about serving holistic needs for the trans community, so holistic as in addressing psychological needs, medical needs, physical wellness, financial wellness, and social wellness," said a representative of the organization. "We have a very small pool of opportunities for us to get grants. So Bunnies on the Bayou, it's really cool, because it's not only is it queer-based, but it's also Houston-based."
That's something Anderson echoed.
"As a Black, queer-led organization, opportunities are becoming more available, but it hasn't always been this way," he said. "The fact that they have spearheaded supporting queer organizations really, it just means the world, means a lot to us."
As the crowds at Bunnies on the Bayou events have grown, so has the pot from which those grants come.
"When they are able to hand out those, those large checks – $5K, $7K, $10K, $12K checks – they know that that's really making a difference for organizations that may not really be able to secure larger amounts of funding," Anderson said
In 2019, the last time Bunnies put on its namesake event, the organization raised $175,000 that it then gave to 15 nonprofits.
"We’ve come a long way from where we started in 1979," Kumar said.
That’s definitely something to celebrate on Sunday.
He adds: "I think when you have that in the back of your mind, it feels better when you’re out here partying."
At its heart, Bunnies on the Bayou is about chosen family, recognizing that, celebrating that and raising the community up in the process.
"A lot of times, people think, ‘It’s just a party,'" Bourgeois said. "The party is the cherry on top."