Hidden Villa is holding its annual sheep shearing event on the 6th April.
You can sign up here. Note – it usually sells out….
Posts Tagged ‘Hidden Villa’
Upcoming Spring Events
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Hidden Villa, sheep shearing, spring events for kids, spring events in Palo Alto, spring events in the Bay Area, what to do with kids in the Bay Area on March 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »
What’s on this weekend?
Posted in local outdoors outings, Uncategorized, tagged Ardenwood Farm, Ardenwood Historic Hay Harvest, Bay area events for children, Bay Area events for preschoolers, Bay Area events for toddlers, Bay Area outdoors events, Bay Area weekend events, Butterfly and Bird Festival, Crown Memorial State Beach, Elkus Farm, Farm tours of Hidden Villa, Hidden Villa, outdoors events for children, outdoors events for preschoolers, Preschoolers on the Farm, Sand Castle and Sculpture Contest, Sheep to Shawl, Silicon Valley Duck Race, Vasona Lake Park on June 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Saturday June 9th
The first in a three part series of ‘Preschoolers on the Farm’ starts at Hidden Villa, at 9.30am. Advance registration required.
It’s ‘sheep to shawl’ day at Elkus Ranch, Half Moon Bay, 10am-2pm, $7.50 per person. A visit to Elkus makes a fun day trip when combined with an afternoon on the beach. Find the event flyer here.
9am-2pm it’s the Sand Castle and Sculpture Contest at Crown Memorial State Beach. Judging takes place at noon, and prizes are awarded at 1pm. It’s a free event, although there is a $5 fee to park.
Sunday June 10th
There’s still space on Hidden Villa’s 1pm farm tour. See here to reserve a spot.
From 1-4pm kids can help with the Historic Hay Harvest at Ardenwood Farm.
It’s the 5th Annual Silicon Valley Duck Race, 11am at Vasona Lake Park. See here for more information.
It’s the 13th Annual Butterfly and Bird Festival at Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont. 10am-3.30pm. See here for details.
Hidden Villa Summertime Open House – Advance Warning
Posted in local outdoors outings, tagged Hidden Villa, Hidden Villa Summertime Open House and Dance on June 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »
This year’s free Summertime Open House and Dance at Hidden Villa is on Sunday 15th July. This event is lots of fun and sells out very quickly. To make your reservations, see here.
Got Lambs?
Posted in Animal Spotting, Short Hikes, Unstructured Play, tagged Hidden Villa, Hiking with toddlers, lamb season on February 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Hidden Villa is one of our favorite local spots and this week we paid it a spring visit. Hidden Villa is an organic farm and wilderness preserve founded by the Duvenecks in 1924 and dedicated to the cause of environmental education. It’s a wonderful spot for toddlers. There’s an awesome, enclosed Education Garden with rows of different plants and lots of natural playhouses, tunnels and hidden animals for kids to “discover”. My boys will play happily there for well over an hour, running in and out of the tunnels and playing ‘house.’
Making lunch in the playhouse
More tunnels
Further down the path there are animals to visit: cows and sheep by the barn, and chickens, goats and pigs beyond that. Both boys love going into the field with the chickens where they can often get close enough to touch the birds.
Chicken Chasing
Lambs
We go to Hidden Villa fairly often as it changes so much throughout the year. Last time we were there over Christmas, four piglets had just been born. This trip we were able to see how much these babies had grown. The boys remembered the piglets and how they had acted last time and were able to make comparisons with their behaviour this visit. Plus, the farm had just welcomed a bunch of lambs, some in the last two weeks, and the boys were delighted to watch these little “baas” (as The Puppy Dog calls them) frolicking in the muddy field. I love having a place like this close by to visit where the kids can see the cycles of nature in action and note the changing seasons. It’s a great value day trip – Hidden Villa just asks for a $5 donation per car.
