Charles Paddock Zoo celebrates spring with baby chicks
by Christianna Marks and Camille DeVaul
PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles Main Street Association invited back the Easter Bunny, after a three-year hiatus, to the Holiday House “Hop to It” event in City Park. On Saturday, April 1, families lined up alongside 12th Street to visit with the bunny, and some even opted for face painting that was available next to the Holiday House.Â
Five-year-old Jose Lopez, who attends Almond Acres, said this was his first time meeting the Easter bunny. His conclusion to the meeting was, “I love Easter bunnies.”
Easter was welcomed to the North County with some long overdue sunshine and warm weather. To celebrate, local wineries and churches held Easter egg hunts and brunches.Â
Also on April 1, the Pleasant Valley Community Foundation held its community Easter Egg Hunt at the original Pleasant Valley one-room schoolhouse in San Miguel and in Bethel Park in Templeton, local Real Estate Agent Jordan Traub held the Easter Egg Hunt & Spring Social.
On Saturday, April 8, The Floral Parlor invited families to its shop on Spring Street for flower crowns and a whimsical visit with the Easter Bunny. Windrose Farm in Paso Robles welcomed families and spring with farm tours, live music, and an egg hunt. On Easter Sunday, families met at the Loading Chute for a classic Sunday brunch.
With Easter just passing and spring break well on its way, Atascadero and its residents have been busy getting out and enjoying the beautiful spring weather while spending time with their families.
On Easter Sunday, April 9, Refuge Church held an outdoor Easter service in Sunken Gardens for anyone in the community to attend. The service started off with a free breakfast at 9 a.m. and was followed by the worship service at 10 a.m.Â
The Charles Paddock Zoo has been celebrating the arrival of spring with its much-loved Spring Festival. The festival started on April 2 and is continuing through April 16. During regular opening hours, the festival and all of the additional activities are included with general admission into the zoo.
This year, the festival is downsized while the zoo prepares to switch its focus to featuring pollinators and plans to talk more about the pollination side of spring in the future instead of featuring baby animals of spring.
Zoo Supervisor Flavia Parotti said they did bring back the adored baby chicks this year because they are always such a big hit with zoo patrons.
“We have another whole week and a half of chicks being here at the zoo,” added Parotti.
The chicks are borrowed from Atascadero Hay and Feed, where they are returned after their stint at the zoo.
This week the zoo has also been doing scheduled animal feeding for the public along with zookeeper talks. Thursday at 11 a.m., you can see the Aldabra tortoises eat, and on Friday they will be feeding the tiger.
In addition, the zoo is providing the community with Spring Camps for the first time. There are still spots open for their Jr. Zookeeper Sessions on Thursday, April 13, and Friday, April 14.
Feature Image: Cousins Keira Edwards (left) and Jose Lopez, both 5, are all smiles posing with the Easter Bunny during the the Holiday House “Hop to It” event in Paso Robles City Park on April 1. Photos by Camille DeVaul/PRP
