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Fall Festival

Through life and loss, animals teach compassion and love at farm sanctuary

By Joanne Beck
Sid with Rem at Mockingbird Farm
Sid the goat and Rem, his big beautiful best friend, snuggle in what began as survival and ended up as a nightly ritual of family bonding and true warmth at Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary in Byron. 
Photo courtesy Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary 

As founder Jonell Chudyk and volunteers prepare for the annual Fall Festival at Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary this Saturday, they are doing so with eagerness for newcomers to visit the farm and 47 rescued occupants — from ducks and chickens to donkeys, cows and pigs — while also with heavy hearts about loss in the way any animal lover would.

“Mockingbird has suffered the loss of three beloved senior animals this fall; we are devastated,” Chudyk says. “We haven’t had a death all year, and then we had three. We’re really struggling.”

Although they were senior animals, the lives of Sid, Lucy and Ferris were treated with utmost care and respect. They were overseen by a veterinarian and tested, diagnosed and treated with the expertise of Cornell University and thousands of dollars as part of extraordinary measures taken within the guardianship that Mockingbird vows to provide for each and every creature under its roof. 

In the end, they died of terminal cancer, an unbeatable foe. But this isn’t about the ending; it’s about how it all began for one of these characters — Sid the goat — who liked to hobnob with his furry friends as his personality and reputation grew ever more endearing on the farm. 

Sophie the Holstein

How it all began
Chudyk was alerted to Sophie, a Holstein cow found in a field all by herself a few years back, and went to get her and bring her back to the farm. While there, Chudyk saw another cow and a goat nearby and asked, “What about these guys?” 

“The neighbors were like, well, the woman who lived next door and actually initially rescued these animals, she fell on hard times. Her home was a foreclosure and she was not allowed to come back onto the property. So the neighbors promised that they would do their best to take care of these three," Chudyk said. "But that turned into they had no shelter, no consistent food, no consistent water. So the neighbors really loved Rem and said they had plans of moving them onto their property. So we took Sophie that day in a blizzard. She was the first to get here. That was in 2018."

As time progressed
“We stayed in contact with the neighbors and I said, I'd really love to reunite this family if and whenever there comes a time. So if you guys ever get to the point where Rem needs to move, we will always take them. We will always keep space,” she said. “So a couple years later, I think it was 2021, they called, and they said, unfortunately, we have to move. Will you take them? Absolutely. So we brought them home. And when Sophie saw, especially Sid, I sobbed. We all sobbed. It was Sid, at this point he was 15 or 16. He jumped like four feet in the air. I have a picture of it. He was so happy, and they were running around the pasture like, oh my God, my family, we’re back together.”

Sid in pasture with Rem
Sid and Rem in the pasture at Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary in June.
Photo courtesy of Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary.

And for the next four years, they’ve been a family on the farm, especially Rem, the doe-eyed Jersey cow and Sid the Goat. Chudyk eventually learned that since those two had no stable shelter, Sid would wear Rem as his winter coat, in a manner of speaking, to keep warm. The two were inseparable buddies with a perceptible bond, she said.

Lessons of survival, sharing
“Sid learned to survive by crawling next to Rem and pressing himself up next to Rem for body heat. He would walk right over, and he would press himself up against Rem and tuck his head under his neck and soak up all of his body heat, and then eventually lay down next to him every single night, especially in the winter,” she said. “So I started documenting this, just because it was adorable, and when Sid was (nearly) 18, things were not going well … and we knew it might not be long, so I made one video on TikTok (see video below) that explains this story, this love story, and it blew up. 

“The next day I had hundreds of messages from social media influencers and everybody from animal rights organizations who wanted to share this story and they did,” she said. “And then we had this wild Rem and Sid following, and I would go live and would post videos of them snuggling at night with Rem’s or Sid’s coat on. Like every night they would just be, it’s precious. It’s just unbelievable.”

The two were super close, she said, and were never without one another. And that closeness translated through the video and across social media to viewers’ hearts. They had at least 10 million views and counting, from the United States and abroad, including England, Germany and the Netherlands. 

Remembering a friend to the end
Jonell and volunteers wanted to respect Sid’s life every step of the way, including when he entered palliative care. That meant allowing his best friend to be there with him, to touch noses when Sid was on an IV for his nutrition, and after he laid down for his final nap. 

After Sid died, his fellow mates, cows River and Cici, visited him first in his bed, and Cici bellowed a knowing grief, Chudyk said. Rem came in next and sniffed at Sid and began to drool a lot, which, according to behavioral studies, indicates emotional distress, she said. 

“Rem was just drooling and was just soaking it in, and he knew he was gone, and then he walked away, and then he came back,” she said.  

“Sophie came in, and I’ve never seen that look on her face, and her eyes got huge, and she sniffed him from hoof to head, and then she looked in his little bedroom, like, is he in there? And then she was drooling and drooling and drooling, and she just stood there,” Chudyk, a licensed therapist, said. “The feeling in that barn was so palpable. I mean, you cannot deny the animals don’t feel these things. And we’ve all been worried about how Rem would do. Thank God he’s got the other cows and Sophie because they have not left each other’s side. 

“Sid was a goat, he couldn’t be out in the beating sun with the cows laying, he had to take care of himself as an old man, so he would sometimes come into the barn to get some shade. And Rem would always kind of just check on him and make sure he was good. But now Rem lays out in the sunshine with the cows, and they’re all four of them just are together all the time,” Chudyk said. “And there is a very deep heaviness of loss on the farm, especially with all three being gone. But Sid was genuinely larger than life, he was the sweetest goat on the planet. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, he would come up to every single person and rub his head on you and he was so kind and gentle, but also so sassy. He was Houdini, he could break out of anything. But just never wanted to be without Rem.”

As hard as it was to talk about the mighty duo, she wanted to share not only their real life tale of survival and overcoming hardship together despite the obstacles, a separation and unlikely pairing, but also the message that shines through it all. 

Grieve, and tell the happy stories
“I guess I think that at a time when it feels like we as the human species, we're so polarized, and maybe feel like we have very little in common with one another like this, to this story of unlikely friends, like big and small and two different species have kind of, all on their own, shown the whole world how beautiful compassion for one another can be. And I think we really all need that right now,” she said. “And grief is a natural part of life, but supporting one another through that and reaching out to others and crying and telling happy stories, I mean, I still can't look at pictures of them, but yeah, I think at the end of the day, this is just one of a million stories we have here at the farm like this of these bonds. But this one in particular really hit the world.”

This year’s third annual Fall at the Farm Festival and Fundraiser is from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at 5978 Upper Holley Road, Byron. The farm’s goal is $10,000 to cover medical expenses and winter hay for what has been “the most unimaginable heartbreaking month,” she said, so everyone is pulling together for what they hope to be the biggest festival ever.

Visitors can see Rem and his friends, buy some fresh produce snacks for the animals, get a walking farm tour, and shop at the barnyard sale stocked with some “seriously amazing” items and 26 vendors. There will also be a pumpkin patch, raffle baskets, live music, lots of children’s games and activities, a scavenger hunt, three vegan food vendors and a coffee stand, giveaways, face painting, temporary tattoos and a kids craft table.

Suggested donation of $10 at the door includes 10 raffle tickets. 

Remote video URL
Submitted Video.
Mockingbird birds and llama
Photo from Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary.

Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary to host fall festival October 7

By Press Release

Press Release:

Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary is pleased to announce the 2nd annual Fall at the Farm Festival on Saturday, October 7 from 1 - 6 p.m. The sanctuary grounds are located at 5978 Upper Holley Rd, Byron. The suggested donation for admission is $10/person to help us reach our goal of raising $15,000 to stock our winter hay supply.

The festival will bring together local vendors featuring everything from artwork to a plant truck. Farm Fest attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase and taste a wide variety of local vegan food from vendors including Grass Fed Rochester, New Ethic Pizzeria & Cafe, Isotope Ice Cream and Desserts, and more.

Visitors will enjoy complimentary family-friendly activities like face painting, crafts and games, live music, and more. In addition to a donation-based pumpkin patch, there will be giveaways and a raffle. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet some of the 52 animals by taking a self-guided walking tour of the farm. Last year’s festival drew hundreds of attendees.

For more information about attending as a member of the media, please send an email to Mockingbirdfarmny@gmail.com. We hope to see you at the festival!

Sponsored Post: The City Church hosts their Annual Fall Festival on Monday, October 31st from 6-8PM

By Lisa Ace


The City Church is hosting their Annual Fall Festival on Monday, October 31st from 6-8PM.  This will be located at the St. Anthony's Community Center at 114 Liberty St in Batavia.  Everyone is welcome to come on out.  There will be hayrides, games, bounce house, food and candy for the kids!  Visit our Facebook page or www.thecitychurch.com for more infomation.

Reminder: PCD Kiwanis annual Car Cruise & Fall Festival is tomorrow at Pembroke Town Park

By Billie Owens

Information from Penny Arnold:

The Pembroke Corfu District Kiwanis Club will hold their 12th Annual Car Cruise & Fall Festival tomorrow, Sept. 15, at Pembroke Town Park on Route 77 (next to the high school).

Time is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rain or shine!

Why not take a ride in the country and head over to the Pembroke Town Park (8799 Alleghany Road (Route 77)) for an afternoon of fun, and support a great cause at the same time?

There will be music, an awesome basket raffle to benefit Crossroads House, plenty of vendors, and delicious food options available -- Babz BBQ, hamburgers and hotdogs from Crossroads House, Pink Cow with breakfast sandwiches and ice cream, pizza from the wood stove, and awesome desserts.

Plus more than 200 cars are expected.

New this year is a free Kids Car Cruise for ages 8 and under, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Kids register your ride-on vehicle and get a kid's goody bag.

Cruise registration starts at 9 a.m. Preregistration fee is $10 per car; $15 day of the cruise.

For cruise info, call John at (716) 937-9918 or email him at drogicd@gmail.com

To preregister, download a car registration from the PCD Kiwanis website here.

Participants vote and trophies are awarded at 3 p.m.

Vehicle owners assume liability for vehicle damage.

Proceeds from the cruise registrations will benefit the PCD Kiwanis Kids Projects.

Unique dash plaques and goody bags are guaranteed for the first 100 cars. The big question of the day will be: what does this year's dash plaque look like? Come and see!

There will also be: a Kiwanis party package raffle; Crossroads House HUGE BASKET RAFFLE; 50/50 raffle; and more than 40 venders, many of them new vendors with very unique products.

File photos from the 2015 Car Cruise & Fall Festival.

Fall Festival at the Willow Bend Inn - Holland Land Office Museum

By Holland Land Office

Sunday, October 25th from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, the Holland Land Office Museum will be at the Willow Bend Inn at 3489 West Main Street Road to celebrate our annual Fall Festival! Live music provided by Red Creek. Delicious food and drink specials all afternoon. Costumed re-enactors will be firing off rifles and sharing local history. Activities and games for children, and a basket raffle of local produce and more for adults. $5.00 cover at the door, FREE for kids.

Event Date and Time
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Kiwanis Fall Festival

By Rick Franclemont

The Pembroke Corfu Darien Kiwanis Fall Festival and Car Cruise took place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18 and held something for the whole family at Pembroke Town Park.

In addition to the great turn out of vehicles for the Car Cruise (more than 80 cars), there were vendors, non-profit groups, face-painting for the kids, pony rides, pumpkin patch carriage rides and a chicken barbecue by Krolick's.

 

 

 

More pictures from the event can be found here.

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