Background

The Big Beautiful Bunnies in downtown Ashland, Ohio are a new spring tradition launched in 2026, designed by Peggy Yoder and her daughter Liz in collaboration with the same artists who created Ashland’s beloved Pumpkin People autumn displays.

The project originated as a community initiative following the overwhelming success of the fall Pumpkin People displays. Mayor Matt Miller explained that after witnessing how much residents loved the seasonal pumpkin displays, Peggy Yoder proposed bringing a similar artistic celebration to the spring season. The bunnies feature vibrant, artistic designs scattered throughout downtown, creating a playful burst of springtime charm and bringing color and personality to the city’s streets.

This initiative represents part of a broader effort by Ashland to establish year-round seasonal traditions. The city now features unique decorative displays for each season, covering spring with the Big Beautiful Bunnies, fall with the Pumpkin People, and summer with flowering basket displays.

The statues align with the historical Easter tradition of bunnies as spring symbols—an idea with origins dating back centuries to when rabbits symbolized new life and spring, with the bunny becoming specifically associated with Easter beginning in Germany around the 1500s.

The above background was sourced from numerous AI sources.

Impression

Traveling through the I-71 corridor, there are many places and towns that are just an exit away. While heading north one Spring March weekend, we here at Visual Ohio stopped over at Ashland, Ohio.

Honestly, did not even know this was a thing or theme in Ashland. Just decided while looking at Google Maps that this would be a great town to stop by and check out. Luck is always a good thing to have on your side, and luck provided us these, new to 2026, Easter Bunny statues.

These were a fun sight to see, spread out through out the main thoroughfare of Ashland.

We visited on a Sunday, and a lot of the downtown area businesses are closed, so had the place to ourselves!

If you are going through this area, it’s worth the walk around and checking out this art and patronize the Ashland businesses.