American West Heritage Center hosts Baby Animal Days
Eight baby bears and other new attractions kept visitors entertained at the American West Heritage Center’s Baby Animal Days Thursday through Saturday. The event attracted many Cache Valley residents, despite rainy weather.
“They were so playful with each other,” said Christopher Fairbanks, a senior majoring in sociology. “It was a little surreal to see eight baby bears crawling around playing. I kept feeling as though some huge, angry, protective black bear mother or father was just around the corner looking for the cubs and we were all just bear prey about to be pounced on.”
The bears drew a large crowd, and Baby Animal Day-goers had to wait in long lines to see the animals.
“The line to see them was the longest of all other animal lines. We waited one hour and 45 minutes to see them,” Fairbanks said. “It was worth the wait. We got awesome pictures of them.”
Other animals at the event available for handling included baby lambs, pigs, goats and rabbits.
“I held baby bunnies and baby chickens,” said Heidi Burbank, a three-year-old girl who attended the event. “My grandma and grandpa are going to have baby chickens.”
Although the attendees were unable to handle the bears, they were still a favorite among the children.
“I got to hold a bunny, but the baby bears were my favorite,” said five year-old Emma Limb.
Many attended Baby Animal Days as a family.
“I went with my siblings and nephew,” said Ellena Limb, a freshman majoring in nursing. “I thought it was awesome. I thought bringing the bears was awesome. It was a big hit and the kids loved it. When we were walking back to the car my little sister said, ‘That was such a fun day, huh?’ It was so cute.”
New attractions led to a greater number of people in attendance compared to years past.
“I’ve only been once before, but there was definitely way more people than last year,” Fairbanks said. “I asked the workers why they thought there were so many people and they told me because this year they have baby cubs.”
At 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. each day, a cannon full of candy went off at the festival grounds.
“Most kids ran towards the cannon when they heard it, but my kids ran the other way from it,” said Shea Burbank. “It scared them.”
The candy cannon might have scared Shea’s son Ethan, but he enjoyed his day at the festival. His favorite part was seeing the horses.
“The horsies, two ponies, they were just there to see,” Ethan said. “I liked the goats and puppies. They had nice goats.”
Pony and train rides were available throughout the day from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Fairbanks’s seven-month-old son Landon rode on a pony ride.
“They let him ride a pony and he loved it,” Fairbanks said.
Despite rainy weather conditions, the event remained open all weekend.
“It was cloudy and rained some of the time, but while we were there it got sunny and warm, so that was nice,” Limb said.
American West Heritage Center has extended Baby Animal days to Farm Animal Only Days, held weekly on Saturday.
– haileehousley@aggiemail.usu.edu