Aunt Sally is making a comeback at Assiniboine Park Zoo.
Aunt Sally’s Farm, the petting zoo exhibit that closed decades ago, is being rebuilt and officials say the exhibit will be ready to open next spring.
“The new Aunt Sally’s Farm will offer a modern zoo experience inspired by those wonderful memories so many of us share of the original exhibit,” said Assiniboine Park Conservancy CEO Bruce Keats, in a release Tuesday.
“We can’t wait to welcome visitors next spring and start building joyful new memories together!”
First opened in 1959, Aunt Sally’s Farm included a wide variety of barnyard animals for those visiting the zoo to stop and pet. The attraction was named in honour of Sally Warnock, a Winnipegger the zoo says had a lifelong dedication to animal care and welfare in the city.
While they’re not exactly sure when the original attraction closed, officials from the zoo said it would have been in the late ’80s or early ’90s to make space for the Winnipeg Down Under exhibit that opened in 1993.
The zoo says the new exhibit is inspired by the original and will include a barn and barnyard filled with goats, llamas, donkeys, a pot-bellied pig and other domesticated animals.
There will also be a playground complete with more goats as well as bridges and “rainbow platforms” for the goats to climb.
Fans of the first farm will be happy to hear the wishing well from the original Aunt Sally’s will also be returning.
The exhibit is part of a collection of projects the zoo says are designed specifically for young children and families, including the education and program centre which opened in 2018, a rotating exhibit gallery opened in spring 2019, and an animal encounter centre that’s in the early stages of planning and design.
Funding for the projects — which come with a $10 million price tag — has come through city grants and private donations.
“We are delighted to support the return of Aunt Sally’s Farm, which will provide the Zoo’s youngest visitors with wonderful opportunities for exploration, discovery, and playful encounters with animals,” said Micah Sifton LaLeune, who spoke on behalf of her family foundation, whose gift of $1 million will be recognized with the naming of the Carolyn Sifton Foundation Barn.
“These are meaningful experiences that will create lasting memories for a whole new generation of visitors.”
The zoo says more than $4 million has already been raised through the ongoing fundraising efforts, and donations can still be made online or by calling 204-927-8080.
Comments