It’s just days before Easter, and Buckley Homestead’s beloved pet bunny Flopsy has gone missing! The farm is in absolute chaos upon learning about his disappearance and is asking for your help to bring him home safely in time for the big holiday celebration. If you think you have what it takes to reunite Flopsy with his family, hop on over to the homestead for the inaugural Find Flopsy event on Friday, March 29 to put your detective skills to the test.
Find Flopsy, a hands-on interactive farm tour hosted by Lake County Parks and Recreation, is designed for families and people of all ages to enjoy. Be prepared to tour the farm, solve puzzles, and help the Buckley family get ready for the holiday. You'll get to see, touch, and taste the fun as you join in the farm life shenanigans.
“It involves a little walk, some fun activities and tasting of goodies, a hayride, a little obstacle course, and you're also solving mysteries as you go through,” said Lake County Parks Assistant Superintendent of Special Facilities and Recreation Kara Mackey. “It's like all the best Buckley Homestead programs rolled into one event! This event was planned to happen during most local schools’ spring breaks and since many families are off on Good Friday, too.”
Find Flopsy will consist of 10 different rotations of groups of up to 25 people at a time. Each rotation will last two hours for everyone to fully immerse themselves in the experience with ample time to bring Flopsy home. Lake County Parks has a lot in store for the event and is beyond excited to invite the community to the Buckley Homestead with this fun, fictional tale.
“The lovely Buckley children have lost their pet bunny, and they're getting ready to have a holiday celebration. All these guests are arriving, and they're enlisted to help the Buckley family with their farm chores while keeping their eyes peeled for Flopsy. Then, of course, the Buckley rascals are evading their farm chores, so it has a lot of different elements to keep people of all ages entertained,” Mackey said. “While you might be doing a hands-on activity as a main activity for children, the adults would be able to walk around and get a brief tour of the historical sites as well.”
A cast of around 25 people has come together to make the magic happen. There’s also an additional character pertinent to bringing this event to life: Buckley Homestead itself. The farm has become a Region hotspot in the fall with events such as the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” event and the Fall Festival, yet it also has many wonderful attractions to offer year-round. Mackey and the Lake County Parks team came up with the concept of Find Flopsy to shed some light on the neat activities happening at the farm during the spring months.
“We designed Find Flopsy to fit this specific location, so we already know it has such a walkable loop. People who come here are typically interested in history and farming, so we wanted to play into what we already know our guests like. That's why we came up with an event to highlight the changing of the seasons,” Mackey said. “At Buckley, we have so many baby animals, so we're really able to utilize those as the finale of the experience. We have beautiful heritage breed bunnies and rabbits the families should get to see (if they can find Flopsy!). We also have baby chicks and a few animal friends to enjoy. Guests throughout this experience will be able to do some homesteading type of hands-on activities in addition to feeding and maybe even petting the animals.”
An Easter celebration just isn’t complete without the bunny, so it’s time to sign up to bring Flopsy home today! Tickets can be purchased at the link here, but spots are filling up quickly, so be sure to book your slot as soon as possible for a fun-filled day with family and friends.
“You can't go wrong with a day spent at Buckley Homestead Farm, and this is an opportunity to have quality time with your children or your parents,” Mackey said. “It's something for all ages that seems like the right fit for a holiday weekend activity to do together – I don't think you're going to have another opportunity like this anywhere else.”
For more information on Lake County Parks and Recreations, visit lakecountyparks.com.
