Make your plans now to enjoy a day of family fun where the food is delicious, the music is great, and the buffalo still roam. It's all at Cook's Bison Ranch Annual Calf Day Celebration!

You can hitch a free wagon ride to see and feed the buffalo, learn how buffalo hair is spun, watch as smoked bison jerky is made over an open fire, interact with local musicians, and bite into a tasty buffalo burger and other concession food.

There will be plenty of kids activities, including pony rides, a petting zoo, a moon jump, and interactive folk music with Shipshewana Nancy.

Admission is FREE (a minimal parking fee may apply) with donations accepted to support a local youth group.

—Erica Cook

In 1999 my husband, Peter Cook, and I attended a National Bison Association conference in Denver, CO. During that conference, we sat in a workshop about hosting farm tours.

During that workshop, the tour owner mentioned that, in addition to hosting tour groups at her ranch, she also had an open house each spring to welcome additional visitors. She referred to the open house as "Calf Days" because the spring season is when the calves are born.

As a newly-married couple and being in college, we decided that starting a tour business would be a nice extra income.

With people always driving slowly past our farm to get a peek at the bison, we knew we could attract the clientele, so we began our tour business in 2000.

That next June, we decided to host our own "Calf Days" event, designed to welcome local guests to our ranch to let them see what our business was all about.

In 2001, we welcomed a surprising 250 guests, and now the event draws about 1,000 guests each spring.

Calf Days has become a popular event in our area. It is a day for the family to enjoy a fun and unique day. We began just hosting free tours, and now provide additional activities including musical entertainment, bison hair spinning, a petting zoo, and more.

This event is designed to raise money for a local group, and we do this by collecting donations. Calf Days has been a great way to connect with people in our community, and we look forward to its continued success.

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