Aunt Sally’s Farm to make zoo comeback decades later

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This article was published 09/09/2020 (1874 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Assiniboine Park Zoo is betting on the farm.

Next year, it will open a revised version of Aunt Sally’s Farm, an attraction that closed in 1993 after 34 years of introducing city kids to farm life.

“How exciting it is to be able to share experiences through the generations of a place so precious as Aunt Sally’s Farm,” said Don Streuber, vice-chair of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy, on Tuesday.

The Aunt Sally’s Farm petting zoo was named after Sally Warnock, a local animal activist who died in 1958. The modern version will be a “rejuvenated” form of its predecessor, said Bruce Keats, chief operations officer of the conservancy.

“The new Aunt Sally’s Farm will reflect modern standards for animal welfare and care, encourage playful encounters between children and animals, and inspire the same awe and wonder that many of us so fondly remember about the old exhibit,” he said.

The new farm, set to open in spring 2021, will feature goats, llamas and other domesticated animals, along with playgrounds and a rainbow bridge. The wishing well featured in the original farm will be brought back.

Keats said zoo visitors, many of whom have fond memories of the attraction, had suggested it be reintroduced so their children could visit it.

“Certainly our visitors have remarked about their experiences with Aunt Sally’s Farm, now more as adults bringing their kids to the zoo, and looking forward to that more kid-friendly exhibit where they can get up close and personal with the animals,” he said.

The $1.7-million project is part of a $10-million development of family-friendly exhibits and centres. The city gave $4.2 million to the project and $4 million was received in private donations. The barn will be named the Carolyn Sifton Foundation Barn in honour of the youth-focused non-profit, which donated $1 million.

The zoo’s Education and Program Centre, which opened in 2018, and the rotating exhibit gallery, which opened in 2019, and are part of this plan. An “animal encounter centre” is in the design and planning stages.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

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