Christmas comes to life
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 8 years AGO
Jackson Webb of Coeur d'Alene, 9, left, and Tayla Ruchti, 7, of Coeur d'Alene, smile ear to ear as Tayla's big brother Lukas Ruchti, 10, feeds a carrot to Dolly the camel Saturday afternoon during the Downtown Live Neigh-tivity and Santa Visits in Sherman Square Park. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
DEVIN WEEKS/Press Dominic Dodd, 5, of Coeur d’Alene, sweetly nuzzles Razz-Berry the miniature donkey’s face during the live “neigh-tivity” in Sherman Square Park on Saturday. Hundreds of families meandered through the event, which featured live animals, carolers and a manger scene photo booth. It was presented by the First Presbyterian and Trinity Lutheran churches and the Coeur d’Alene Downtown Association.
Alyssa Anderson of Post Falls and Callen Hannibal of Rathdrum make friends with Esteban the miniature zebu (a humped, South Asian bovine) during the live "neigh-tivity" Saturday in Sherman Square Park. The free event welcomed hundreds of families as they interacted with the live animals and got into the Christmas spirit. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — It was a zoo in Sherman Square Park on Saturday afternoon, but it was the best possible kind of zoo.
"I was so excited when I saw this," said Alyssa Anderson of Post Falls. "This is so great."
Anderson and her good pal, Callen Hannibal of Rathdrum, made friends with Esteban the miniature zebu as they meandered through the live "neigh-tivity" event. A unique-looking animal, a zebu is a humped bovine from south Asia.
The friends smiled as they reached through the fence to pet Estaban, who was happy to take any extra petting-zoo food off their hands.
"It's really fun seeing an active community," Callen said.
The park was indeed full of activity during the third annual Downtown Live Neigh-tivity and Santa Visits, presented by the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association and the First Presbyterian and Trinity Lutheran churches.
A manger scene photo booth gave families opportunities to dress up in nativity costumes and make memories with their children. Free hot cocoa and coffee warmed hands as the interaction between the humans and animals warmed their hearts.
Luckily, Dolly the Camel never got tired of eating carrots, because the kids never got tired of feeding them to her.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for kids to get to come and see live animals and to experience what Christmas is all about," said Coeur d'Alene mom Becky Webb.
Her friend, mom Misti Ruchti of Coeur d'Alene, agreed.
"(The kids) were super excited when they walked in," Ruchti said. "Immediately that was where they wanted to go first was to feed the animals."
At least 300 families came through the event, estimated Lou Pennebaker, the director of children and family ministries at First Presbyterian.
"This is an opportunity for the church to share the real meaning of Christmas and just be a part of Trinity Lutheran and First Pres," she said. "It's for the community, by the community. And everything's free! We just want people to enjoy it. It's our gift to them this Christmas."
The live animals were provided by Cute as a Bug Mobile Petting Zoo, which brought six animals that fit into the story of Christmas — goats, a sheep, the mini-zebu, the camel and a miniature donkey.
"There are a lot of people who see it on Facebook and come down because they know it's here, but the most fun is the people who don't know what's going on and they go, 'Wait, that's a camel. That's a live camel!'" she said with a laugh. "The camel is a big draw, but the kids just light up and they love seeing the animals.”
Pennebaker said the photo booth was also a family favorite, as dads donned angel wings and real babies were held in the manger scene as photos were taken.
"It just makes Christmas come alive," she said.