Cupertino Rotarians and city officials hopped over to the Chamber of Commerce on June 20 to check out 12 rabbit sculptures set for installation around the city.
In total, 38 fiberglass sculptures are due to be installed as part of the Cupertino Rabbits Project, spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Cupertino and the Foothill-De Anza Foundation. The public art project is intended to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit in 2023.
It’s also a fundraiser for the Ukraine Project, helping build residences in Kharkiv, Ukraine to replace those destroyed in the war. To date, about $11,000 has been raised toward the effort.
Bidders can purchase the rabbits at a public auction at the close of the exhibition on Sept. 9. Proceeds will fund Rotary-supported initiatives such as Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley, SunWork solar panel installations and Winterfest at Via Services.
“We’ve wanted a project to bring our community together in playful and positive ways, and the Year of the Rabbit exhibition is just that.” Cupertino Rotary President Steve Onishi said in a statement. “This charity event brings a timely humanitarian focus by helping families in Ukraine.”
The rabbit sculptures unveiled last week include “June Bloom” by Sarabjit Singh, “Rabbit of Hope” by Eunyoung Oark, “Flower Child” by Barbara Bussler, “Peace Rabbit” by Kalpana Adesara, “Geometric Origami” by Jean Samson and “Ohlone Alebrije” by Edna Hernandez Amezcua. The latter was installed in front of the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce.
“Y, a Rabbit” now welcomes visitors to the lobby of the Northwest YMCA. The sculpture, designed by Irv Webster and painted by Xuan Li and Julie Yang, sports the Y’s logo on its chest and is dressed for a workout and holding a barbell.
Community garden opens
Rotarians turned out to the Y on June 24 to celebrate the completion of another project with the grand opening of the Northwest YMCA Community Garden.
Shelkie Tao, principal at Water Efficient Gardens and Cupertino Rotary Club member, provided the design, and George Denise, also a Cupertino Rotary Club member, served as project manager. Along with YMCA staff and dozens of volunteers, the Rotarians transformed an 8,000-square-foot lawn that went largely unused into a community garden with vegetable beds, native plants, a drip irrigation system, a rain garden, a decorative fence and gateway, walkways, interpretive signs and benches. Still to be added are a pergola and a garden shed.
The opening marked the culmination of nine months of work by 132 volunteers over 1,163 hours. Besides Rotarians and YMCA members, volunteers included Boy Scouts from seven troops and students from Cupertino High School.
For more information on the Cupertino Rabbits Project, visit http://cupertinorabbits.com.
Source: www.mercurynews.com