Local residents who are looking for an opportunity to support the victims of the wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta, will have a chance to do so on May 14.
The Mathieu Farm near Midale will host a fundraising petting zoo, raffle and barbecue at their farm, which is located on the 702 Grid Road. Kyla Mathieu and her 17-year-old daughter, Rebecca, are organizing the event, and Rebecca said they have been looking to do a fundraiser at their farm for some time.
“We just weren’t really sure whether we wanted to do something for people locally or in other parts of Canada,” said Rebecca.
After the wildfires broke out in the Fort McMurray area, and homes were destroyed in the fires, they knew they wanted to help people who lost everything.
“We can take one day out of our lives to help so many more people,” said Rebecca.
The fundraiser will run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Proceeds will be directed towards the Canadian Red Cross. The family doesn’t have a goal for how much money they would like to raise.
They are not charging an admission fee, which they hope will encourage families to attend, but they will be accepting donations for the Red Cross.
The original plan was to have just a petting zoo, but then they decided to add the raffle table and the barbecue. Hot dogs and drinks will be available for a donation.
The petting zoo will feature horses, ponies, a donkey, a blind calf, pot-bellied pigs and piglets, chickens and chicks, turkeys, peacocks and lambs.
Rebecca noted the Mathieu family has been on the farm for just a couple of years. It started with a couple horses, and grew into a hobby farm. All of animals that will be in the petting zoo are their own, except for the lambs.
People can reach the farm by turning right onto the 702 Grid Road at Midale’s southern town limits. They will then travel east for about 2.5 kilometres before reaching the farm.
