CALENDAR LISTING:

CONTACT:    

Barbara Russo - 718-265-3428; brusso@wcs.org

Max Pulsinelli - 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org

WCS’s Queens Zoo and Prospect Park Zoo Host Annual Sheep Shearing and Fleece Festival Events

Sheep Shearing at the Queens Zoo

Saturday and Sunday, May 2 & 3; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fleece Festival at the Prospect Park Zoo

Saturday and Sunday, May 16 & 17; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

New York – April 28, 2015 – The WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Queens Zoo and Prospect Park Zoo have Sheep Shearing and Fleece Festival events planned at each facility in May.

Sheep Shearing at the Queens Zoo: Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Breeds of sheep at the Queens Zoo: Jacob’s four-horn, Suffolk and mini Southdown sheep.

The wonders of wool will be explored throughout the weekend. Activities planned for this year’s event include felt bead and bracelet crafting; opportunities to learn about sheep and wool; and live wool processing demonstrations. Professional wool spinners will demonstrate their craft both days.

More information about Sheep Shearing is available at www.queenszoo.com. 

Fleece Festival at the Prospect Park Zoo: Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Breeds of sheep at the Prospect Park Zoo: Jacob’s four-horn and Cotswold sheep

Farming and farm life will be the theme throughout the weekend. Professional wool workers will demonstrate felt making; wool washing; basket weaving and other fiber arts. Zoo volunteers will give chats on the barn stage about farming, composting, and domestic animals. Live animal encounters with rabbits and chickens are part of the fun in the zoo’s Theater and Discovery Center.

Prospect Park Zoo sheep are #51 of the 120 ways #NY is Wild, so intrepid sheep photographers should tag their freshly shorn four-horn and Cotswold pics with #51 and #NYisWild.

The weekend of wool continues at the Lefferts House, located in the Children’s Corner outside the zoo. Activities include felt-making crafts and spinning-wheel demonstrations.

More information about Fleece Festival is available at www.prospectparkzoo.com.

*Members of the media wishing to cover these activities should make an appointment in advance.  Only Saturday appointments will be arranged. Contact Barbara Russo at brusso@wcs.org or 718-265-3428.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo – Open every day of the year. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10am to 5pm weekdays, and 10am – 5:30pm weekends, April through October, and 10am – 4:30pm daily, November through April. The Queens Zoo is located at 53-51 111th Street in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park in Queens. For further information, call 718-271-1500 or visit www.wcs.org.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo – $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. weekdays, and to 5:30 P.M. on weekends and holidays, April through October. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. November through March. The Prospect Park Zoo is located at 450 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. For further information, call 718-399-7339 or visit www.prospectparkzoo.com.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.youtube.com/user/WCSMedia  Follow: @thewcs.

Special Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a Web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to wcs.org.

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