43
Mill Creek MetroParks Farm sponsors animal baby shower
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
Abby Kelly, 11 (in red), and Sam Kelly, 7 (in blue), visit with a baby duckling at the annual Animal Baby Shower at the MetroParks Farm in Canfield on Sunday afternoon.
CANFIELD
Mahoning County’s 700 farms produce 469,766 pounds of berries each year and more than 5 million pounds of apples and peaches.
Area families learned such tidbits and got a chance to meet the animals Sunday at the annual Farm Animal Baby Shower at Mill Creek MetroParks Farm.
Children got to see chicks hatch and had a chance to pet some animals and take pictures of others. The event kicked off the season for MetroParks Farm, which is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
Brenda Markley, MetroParks’ agricultural facilities manager, said organizers planned for 3,000 to 3,500 people to attend and said up to 5,000 people show up for the event in warm weather.
She said the animal shower gives families a chance to spend time together and that generations of families come back year after year.
Shannon Kerr traveled from Alliance with her sons, Matthew, 7, and Samuel, 4, so they could pet the animals. The boys weren’t the only ones squealing with delight while looking at 8-month-old Anniken, a black pot-bellied pig named after Luke Skywalker’s father from the “Star Wars” series.
The children laughed as the pig splashed in his water bucket.
Pam Rhodes of Canfield said the event is nice because it’s both educational and entertaining for the children.
Her sons, Jesse Yoder, 7, and Gabriel Yoder, 6, said they enjoyed the animals but had a hard time pinpointing their favorites.
“I like them all,” Gabriel said, and then began demonstrating “some really cool moves” in a break-dance style. “This place is awesome.”
Animals on display included sheep, pigs, rabbits, goats, lambs and chicks, all in various stages of life.
Paul Logan of Austintown was touring the farm with daughters Hannah, 8, and Hailey, 6, both of whom love animals. They have a pet dog, cat, frog, guinea pig and fish.
The girls had been to the MetroParks farm on field trips before and said their favorite animals are the horses and ducks.
“They want to take them all home,” their father said and joked, “Yeah, not quite happening right now.”
Debbie Larson of Struthers was looking for background props to take interesting pictures of her niece, Haley Cruz, and her niece’s cousins, Anastacia and Abrianna Reyes. The group, which also included Larson’s friend, Sharon Kraley of Niles, headed to the event after church, excited to be doing something outdoors.
“It gives the kids something to do when we finally get out of the house after a long winter,” Kraley said.