Michelle Verne and Rossana Woo
In the vast space beyond the concrete grounds of the Pierce College campus lies an immense world of open land occupied by mooing cows, stacks of hay and plenty of “kowchips” scattered around.
On Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., those cows, along with horses, sheep, goats and pigs, were paid a visit by thousands of people at the farm at Pierce to enjoy the 15th annual Farmwalk event.
According to Vicki Michaelson, secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources Department, about 3,500 to 5,000 people attended, which was about the same turnout as last year. This was because of similar weather patterns to last year’s event, which were cloudy skies and rain.
“It turned out quite well. Everybody was happy. All the people who exhibited were happy and the people who came and visited were happy,” Michaselson said. “It was just a perfect day.”
Activities at the event included a hay ride, petting zoo, sheep shearing, KowChip Bingo, demonstrations on how to shape a horseshoe, wool spinning, face painting, a scavenger hunt, music by the band Simply Marie and her Canyon Country Cowboys as well as plenty of farm animals to see.
New to this year’s event was the comedy team Room to Improv, ropers and the Equestrian Drill Team, who have attended Farmwalk only a couple years, according to Michaelson.
“It’s a great event. It’s just wonderful to see families and kids out here,” Pierce President Robert Garber said. “This is really why we have to keep the farm a permanent part of the Pierce College environment.”
Earlier that day, Garber rode around the farm with Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis P. Zine, who had attended Farmwalk a few times before and had a booth set up at this event.
According to Garber, Zine presented Pierce with a city proclamation as an appreciation for Pierce for retaining the agriculture environment in the midst of this city.
Popular among all the guests were the free fresh strawberries given to promote the newly-opened Pierce Farm Market, which also sells fresh produce and is open until Sept. 15. Many devoured the strawberries as they took nature walks and listened to live music.
“I like the cotton candy and the petting zoo the most,” said 5-year-old Brooke Kier of North Hills.
“This is my first time bringing her here. I never knew the college did this before.
” It’s really amazing because the kids can learn a lot about animals and nature and it’s free (for children),” added mother Elaine Kier. Adults were asked for a $5 donation.
Despite the sporadic rainy weather, which made the skies a gloomy gray, many of the volunteers and visitors were in high spirits.
“I really think this is a good environment for the kids to come and learn about the animals,” Pierce student Ashley Short said. “For those who are aspiring vets, it’s kind of like a window into the opportunities to see what they can take care of and what they can do.”
Short is a member of the Pre-Vet Club, which was at the event showing their support and facilitating activities for children.
The arts and crafts table that Short was in charge of was set up by the club. It was a place for children to draw using animal stencils, draw on balloons and participate in a scavenger hunt.
The objective of the scavenger hunt was to visit all the animal units of the event, get a stamp of the animal, answer questions related to the animal then report back to the arts and crafts table to receive a prize. Prizes for the scavenger hunt included choosing a toy from a bag or getting a few pieces of candy.
Face painting was also offered at another table where Pre-Vet Club President Leigh Trout was working. Having been at that table since the beginning of the event, Trout recalled the steady pace of children and non-stop line.
“It’s fun to talk to [the children] about what animals they’ve seen, what they’ve learned and also what their favorite animals are,” Trout said.
The club was also selling T-shirts. The profits will go to support the club, feed the animals and continue the pre-vet program, according to club member Ana Barajas.
Just behind the club’s tables was a petting zoo where sheep and cows were roaming around for people to feed and pet.
Pierce’s own Jersey cow Daphne, along with her daughter April, were on hand for passers-by to pet. Allison Inlow, member of the Pre-Vet Club, was with the cows all day.
Inlow recalled how a lot of people had never touched or even seen a cow before in their lives.
The hay ride was another activity that allowed people to get up close to farm animals was the hay ride.
For $1, visitors would partake in a 10-minute ride on one of the ford tractors around the perimeter of a field where they could see cattle, sheep goats and pigs.
According to Pierce student-volunteer Abe Hilfman, more than 500 tickets for the hay ride were sold.
The horses were showcased throughout the day in “live” events that took place at the equestrian arenas. The children squealed when the miniature horses were introduced and listened with intent as the presenter explained how they came about.
“We have an adopt-a-horse program now that our director just started. People who come through here can donate a little bit of money and adopt-a-horse.
” They get a picture and a profile of the animal if they contribute a little bit to the program,” said Rynna Poulson, pre-veterinary Pierce student. “It’s a new program that seems to be going well. We actually had our first adoption today.”
“We have 18 horses that we get from a packing outfit out in Bishop.
“They are there during the summer and then we get them during the school year,” said Poulson.
The equestrian exhibits offered the best in horse education. Signs with horse facts were on all the stables. Some stables displayed different types of saddles others demonstrated all types of horse equipment.
A short walk up the hill led to where sheep were being sheared and wool was being spun.
Debbie Schoenberger explained how, after shearing a sheep, the wool is washed and combed.
The reason behind spinning wool is to make the fabric strong so it won’t tear.
The wool spinning demonstration was provided by the Greater Los Angeles Spinning Guild, which does demonstrations of spinning wool at festivals like Farmwalk.
“This is my first demonstration ever spinning,” Schoenberger said. “I’ve had a good time.”
A far cry from the small animals were the two 400-pound pig sisters Heather and Feather, who had Pierce student Chrissy Wiggs accompanying them.
Wiggs was in charge of that animal unit, stamping children’s hands and scavenger hunt papers with a red pig stamp.
Normally shy, Wiggs confessed that the opportunity to volunteer at Farmwalk helped build her communication skills.
“I’ve seen a lot of kids, talked to them and gave them a lot of information about the animals,” she said.
Though the main reason Wiggs volunteered at the event was because it was a requirement for a class, she definitely plans to participate next year.
Nearby Tarzana resident Ayako Hinoue went to Farmwalk with her boyfriend Jack and 15-month-old son Leone. Hinoue enjoyed her time there but was dampened by the rain.
“If it was a nice day it would have been better,” she said.
For the Hallett family, Farmwalk went too fast.
“It’s so nice just to get out to this big open space,” Maxine Hallett said.
Maxine was with her husband Steve, son Johnny and daughter Hannah.
“It was fun!
“I loved the hay ride, I loved the horseys, I loved seeing everything up close and I loved the hamburgers, I mean cows!” joked Hannah, 8.
1: Jim Townsley, from Chatsworth, performed a lasso demonstration for children attending the fifteenth annual Farmwalk Sunday afternoon at the Pierce farm.
2: Country band Simply Mari
e and her Canyon Country Cowboys: lead singer Marie Wise-Hawkins 18, from Santa Clarita Valley, has been with the band since age twelve. (left to right) Larry Schallert, Darryl Harrelson, Art Bergem and Glenn Calkins. The band collectively performs for the “Cowboy Poet in Schools” program, reaching 3000 elementary school kids each year through performances.
3: Ron Naslund, of Northridge, member of Kiwanis Club, mixes up some sweet cotton candy.
4: Lambs in a pen near the petting zoo were on display for visitors to the Farmwalk. Too young to be handled, the lamb pictured at right still had its umbilical cord attached.
Susan McWhorter, riding on “Rudie,” competes in the Jumping Demonstration at the 15th annual Pierce College Farmwalk Sunday. Her daughter Brittney McWhorter also competed in the competition. (Jerry Goodman)