The Great American Petting Farm is back

Kassidy Brown, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·3 min read

Jun. 7—BLUEWELL — The Great American Petting Farm's West Virginia Tours are back for the 31st year with scheduled stops at area Grant's Supermarkets.

The petting farm is an event that began in Texas and is attached to The Great American Entertainment Company that originally started in Grants Pass, Oregon.

"The Great American Petting Farm marks out June for the West Virginia Tour every year for this particular traveling petting farm," said WV Petting Farm Tour coordinator Bob Corey. "It is one of many events that they do at fairs and festivals, but the West Virginia tour started 31 years ago,"

This year's local spots will be Grant's Supermarket in Bluewell on June 10,;Grant's Supermarket in Princeton on June 11; and Grant's Supermarket in Oak Hill on June 12 and all will be from 12 p.m. to 7p.m. rain or shine.

Corey also added, "It originates in Stephenville,Texas, and independent grocers contract the petting farm for this West Virginia tour."

While the Great American Petting Farm does all fairs and festivals in California, Oregon, and Texas, this is the only tour like this that they go to.

"This is the only grocery store locations in the United States that they do because theirs is the premier petting farm, petting zoo-style attraction in the nation," Corey said.

The WV tour started when Corey's brother, Steve Corey, reached out to him about starting the supermarket tours in Charleston, WV.

"The petting farm was a client of my brothers. He was an entertainment lawyer, so this idea of a supermarket location, he wanted to experiment with that," said Corey. "He told me to pick a few locations in Charleston, and if it went over well, we could expand it throughout the state."

Corey's brother died in 1991 of cancer, so he keeps the tradition going because of the people's love for it.

This petting farm is "one of the most visited attractions in West Virginia history" with over 30 stops on the tour that over a million people have attended.

"It's such a wonderful, safe, family fun attraction that never gets old," said Corey. "It's one of the very few things that as a tradition, people want to see it again."

The animals included at the farm are llamas, wallabies, miniature deer, and many more.

"The farm animals roam freely in the zoo, and people go into the farm to cuddle, pet, and feed the animals," said The Great American Petting Farm company.

Corey said that this event helps independent grocery stores because it gives them something that chains can not offer shoppers, and each year, those who participated the previous year get first call on refusal or not.

"What else is out there that going to last 31 straight years, so you really can't buy tradition," he said. "It's something no one ever forgets."

The petting farm admission is free with any purchase at a participating store.