Rabbit Enthusiasts to Hold Open House Event in Knox
Knox is set to become a hub for rabbit enthusiasts nationwide next weekend as the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) hosts a special open house event to showcase its international headquarters and museum.
Short Summary:
- ARBA to host an open house on June 22.
- Event includes guided tours, a live podcast, and a challenge cup show.
- ARBA aims to increase local community engagement.
Rabbit aficionados from across the country will gather in Knox next weekend for a unique open house event hosted by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) on June 22. The association, headquartered at 6361 Canoe Ripple Road in Knox, will open its doors to the public and ARBA members from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring a range of activities designed to entertain and inform.
“We have people flying in from all over the country to come to the event,” said ARBA executive director Eric Stewart during a work session with Clarion County Commissioners Wayne Brosius, Ted Tharan, and Braxton White. Stewart projects an attendance of approximately 200 people, highlighting the event’s popularity.
The open house will feature a live recording of a podcast interview with ARBA legend Mike Avesing, and guided tours of the ARBA museum, which boasts the world’s largest collection of rabbit and cavy artifacts and periodicals. “We’re in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records,’” Stewart noted. “We have artifacts about rabbits going all the way back to the feudal times in Europe.”
New to this year’s event is a challenge cup show, allowing participants to showcase top-quality rabbits and cavies. “Everyone is shining up their rabbits to see who can compete for the challenge cup,” said Stewart, indicating that each exhibitor can enter two animals.
Although the event is open to the general public, Stewart anticipates that most attendees will be ARBA members. He expressed a desire for the open house to continue growing and for ARBA to become more integrated into the local community.
“We bring in a lot of folks from out of state, but it would be great to be able to support some of the county programs as well,” Stewart mentioned, suggesting potential for a community day to offer educational visits to the headquarters.
The ARBA, established in 1910, is responsible for maintaining breed registries for rabbits globally. “We have 52 recognized [rabbit] breeds, and there are 13 different breeds of guinea pigs,” Stewart elaborated. The breed standards are detailed in the organization’s Standard of Perfection, revised every five years.
Having about 20,000 primary members worldwide, ARBA has had several locations including Pittsburgh and Bloomington, Illinois, before moving to Clarion in 2018 and finally settling in Knox in 2020. According to Stewart, the new location off the interstate has increased visitor traffic significantly.
The ARBA museum is free for members and has an admission fee for the general public. Stewart emphasizes the importance of scheduling visits in advance to ensure appropriate staffing. For more details, interested individuals can visit the ARBA website at www.arba.net.
In other county news, the Clarion County Salary Board realigned several exempt positions following new federal Labor Standards. The board reclassified various managerial roles to hourly employees, a change that impacted vacation time policies. Commissioner Ted Tharan expressed concerns about inequities arising from these adjustments.
Additionally, the commissioners declared June 3-7 as Child Welfare Professionals Appreciation Week and approved several contracts, including a general liability insurance renewal and agreements related to transportation services for elderly and disabled residents.