Baby animals help celebrate spring
Spring was in full swing Easter weekend with the American West Heritage Center’s Baby Animal Days Celebration.
The festival went from Thursday until Saturday. More than 7,000 people went to see the baby animals, Easter activities and Native American history.
Ronda Thompson, executive director of the center, said, “It’s an old fashioned Easter celebration created around the new baby animals.”
The celebration included Easter egg hunts, Easter bonnet making, basket weaving, pony and wagon rides. Rios Pacheco, the center’s Native American coordinator, told stories and performed dances dealing with the Shoshone history.
Easter egg dyeing was also done old fashioned style, with vegetable skins like carrots and onions being used as the egg dye.
Kids were shown sheep-shearing and they were able to feel the fleece and see how the wool is spun and woven.
Baby animals were a major part of the celebration. Piglets, ducklings, lambs, calves, kittens, puppies, bunnies, and chicks were all available for the visitors to see.
“The biggest highlight for the kids was the baby animals because instead of just looking at them, they could come into the pens and hold them,” Thompson said.
Emily Crook, a volunteer at the center, said she enjoyed helping the visitors hold the baby animals.
Stephanie Burke said the main reason she and her family came out to the festival was for the baby animals. She said she didn’t realize there were other activities to do. Despite some adverse weather that occurred over the three-day celebration, Thompson said it didn’t put a damper on things. The celebration went on and she said people were very patient and brought their umbrellas. She said the celebration is always Easter weekend – not decided on by weather predictions.
LaJean Jensen said of Friday’s weather, “We enjoyed the hayride, but we could have done without the storm and hail.”
Thompson said because the American West Heritage Center is a living history center, everything they do is hands-on-oriented for kids and adults.
“We are trying to educate people about the past and we think by doing so, it gives kids a better appreciation of what they have now,” Thompson said.
The celebration was originally a one-day event that last year was expanded to two days, and now this year – three days. Thompson said the event has had so much success that it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
-sarahwest@cc.usu.edu