Howdy, folks. As everyone knows, the world has gotten a bit more complicated in the last few days. Thankfully, the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t affect much in the way of the Rabbit Room’s day-to-day operations. But as some of you know, we’re scheduled to participate in several homeschool conventions and a Local Show in the next few weeks.
After much thought and prayer, this is what we’ve decided to do in light of these upcoming events:
The Great Homeschool Convention in Ft. Worth, Texas, begins today. Our staff is already there and the convention is proceeding as planned.
However, we want the Rabbit Room and its staff to model responsible behavior during the event, and as such we’ve asked them to politely avoid handshakes and physical contact with the public as well as to use all means available to ensure that our booth and products are safe and hygienic.
Remember that while the virus is relatively harmless to most of us, it can be much more serious for others, and therefore we want to ensure that we do all we can to protect everyone and avoid spreading it as much as possible.
To that end, the Rabbit Room has decided not to attend the next two Great Homeschool Conventions (South Carolina, and Missouri). We regret the need to cancel our talks and presence at these events, but we feel strongly that this is the most loving and responsible way to care for our community and the public in general. These events are not critical to our organization, so there’s no need to put anyone at risk.
At the moment, we still plan to attend the Cincinnati convention in April, but we will continue to monitor the situation and will let you know if that changes.
There’s also a Local Show scheduled for this coming Tuesday, and we’ve made the decision to cancel that as well. All tickets will be refunded and we’ll see about rescheduling the show later this spring.
While some may think these measures unnecessary, I think it’s important to point out that the Rabbit Room is an organization that springs from and fosters community, and in that light, our mission rightly ought to drive us to care for, love, and protect that community diligently. By saying no to these three public events in the short term, I believe we’re saying yes to the well-being of our community in the long term.
We’re not over-reacting. We’re not freaking out. We’re not claiming the world is ending. We’re just taking a few easy measures to be sure we consider what’s in everyone’s best interest.
This too shall pass. And in the meantime, consider this a good opportunity to spend some quiet evenings at home with a book and a loved one.
Pete Peterson is the author of the Revolutionary War adventure The Fiddler’s Gun and its sequel Fiddler’s Green. Among the many strange things he’s been in life are the following: U.S Marine air traffic controller, television editor, art teacher and boatwright at the Florida Sheriffs Boys Ranch, and progenitor of the mysterious Budge-Nuzzard. He lives in Nashville with his wife, Jennifer, where he's the Executive Director of the Rabbit Room and Managing Editor of Rabbit Room Press.
2 Comments
VB
As an immunocompromised person with elderly parents (one of whom recently finished chemo), THANK YOU. Reducing spread in the community keeps all of us safer (even those whose bodies are doing just fine and would easily fight the virus off might need an ER for a broken bone or something while medical resources are overextended).
Kimberly
I’ve been dreaming a little bit about what I would like to be able to buy from the Rabbit Room booth. In my dream you’ve published a small booklet, about 4×6 inches. The book has blank comic book squares so a child can fill in their own art. The first few pages have stickers with art by Jennifer Trafton, Jamin Still, John Hendrix, Ned Bustard, or Zach Franzen. There is another sheet of stickers with phrases or words from beloved Rabbit Room titles. At the back is a sheet with a step-by-step guide for drawing a dragon, a sword, and a hero.
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