CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Did you know you can play with alpacas, goats and chickens at a farm in east Charlotte?
Cedarbrook Alpaca Farm, an urban farm just 15 minutes outside of Uptown, was founded by owners Jay Como and Nicole Sparago when they moved to the Queen City from Boston, Massachusetts back in 2019.
Sparago said when she and her fiance first started the farm, it was never really for the public.
"It was non-intentional that we would actually open up to the public, however, I'll blame it on COVID," Sparago said. "COVID kind of changed that path for us."
At the beginning of the pandemic, the couple started posting some photos of their farm animals on their Instagram and Facebook pages as just a fun way to brighten people's days. Sparago said they were immediately getting requests from families to visit their farm.
"We had people reaching out to us asking how much do we charge and if they could bring their kids," she said.
Sparago said that's when she and Jay began to really discuss the possibility of opening up their little family farm to the public. The two did their research, contacted the city, and got all of the necessary permits to officially open their farm.
"I think parents were just looking for something to bring their kids to," Sparago said. "Especially something outdoors and in a little bit more of a safer environment."
Como and Sparago began doing just private tours with two to 10 people at a time. But as news of the farm spread, the two knew they had to expand their tours quite a bit. They started offering larger tours and more activities.
Having a farm just minutes from the heart of Uptown has allowed Como and Sparago to introduce the farm life to "city kids." Sparago said they'll get some kids who have only seen chickens at summer camp.
"They're not always accustomed to livestock and farm animals," Sparago said. "They don't understand personalities of them."
Since Como and Sparago treat each animal on their property like family, the two have been able to make their farm tours a truly interactive experience.
"If they want to hold a chicken, they can hold a chicken. If they want to hold a baby goat, they can hold a baby goat," Sparago said.
Sparago said she and Como are really grateful for their neighbors who are always willing to help out when needed. Sparago said when they go on vacation they know their animals are well taken care of.
"We rely on them to come and sure everybody's water buckets are filled, and they don't mind doing it," Sparago said. "Because they just love that this is right next door to them."
The two said they are grateful for the families that want to visit their farms but ask that people book an appointment before stopping by.
"We try our best to accommodate wherever possible," Sparago said. "But we do smaller tours just because of the pandemic."
The two have also expanded some of the activities you can do on the farm and are now offering a Paint & Sip with Alpaca nights for adults.
"We figured you know what, the kids have all the fun right now, let's expand it out a little bit," Sparago said.
Click here to follow Cedarbrook Alpaca Farm on Facebook and Instagram.
Contact Meilin at mtompkins@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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