MEETING THE DONKEY
Getting up close with livestock is one of the highlights of Old Home Week
While there are many agricultural aspects to the provincial exhibition, one of the biggest highlights for kids attending the fair is being able to get up close and personal with some of the animals.
Old Home Week may be growing an agriculture interest in some of P.E.I.’s potential future farmers.
While there are many agricultural aspects to the 130-year-old provincial exhibition, one of the biggest highlights for kids attending the fair is being able to get up close and personal with some of the animals.
Mila MacDonald, 3, and Tabor May, 4, were just two of the youngsters who got a thrill out of petting goats, chickens, llamas and other livestock at the exhibition’s petting farm on Saturday.
“They love the animals,” said Mila’s mother, Mandy MacDonald, adding that the two young friends attend the exhibition together every year. “We look forward to Old Home Week every year and always make plans for them to get together a couple of times.”
A heavy rain on Saturday gave patrons an opportunity to take a break from the midway rides and explore what the 130th annual provincial exhibition had to offer indoors.
Maeve Doiron was another youngster who was fixated on some of the petting zoo animals.
“It’s become a tradition,” said mother Katie Callaghan Doiron, on attending the exhibition.
While attending the exhibition is a tradition for many Islanders, this year was the first for Alex Buffett.
Buffett, who is originally from Cape Breton, is in the pre-veterinary program at UPEI and had a good first impression of Old Home Week.
“It’s really cool and it was crazy seeing how quickly they can set this up… it’s really well run,” said Buffett, who was working at the petting farm exhibit on Saturday.
The exhibit has been a busy spot since the exhibition’s opening on Thursday, especially with Saturday’s weather sending many inside and under tents.
“The kids are having fun and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters,” said Buffett.
“Kids love being able to see the animals and ask questions. They like being able to touch them and say ‘oh look this guy is soft’ or they’ll feel the bristles on the pig and stuff like that and think it’s really cool.”
Apart from the petting farm, there were a number of other kids and family activities indoors, including the opportunity to learn how food is produced at the Celebrate Agriculture exhibit.
The rain didn’t stop the highly celebrated harness racing events on the weekend, which will continue until the climax of the Gold Cup and Saucer Race late next Saturday night.
More than 80,000 Islanders and tourists are expected on the fairgrounds throughout the week for a plethora of activities that also include the traditional livestock shows.
Many attendees may have to take multiple trips in to the exhibition to do everything they want.
MacDonald will be one of those, noting that she and the youngsters will be coming back through the week for the midway rides and to catch some of the harness racing.
“(Saturday) was a great day to get some indoor stuff done,” she said.
“It’s kind of like a closure to the summer, in a way, it’s sad to see the summer come to an end but it’s always an exciting time and the kids always look forward to it.”