Finding and old friends at the Delaware State Fair’s family zoo

HARRINGTON, Del. –  “I’m just in my element. You know?”

Keegan said he grew up in the country, so he feels right at home hanging out with all the animals. Every year when he comes to the fair, he knows exactly who he wants to see: “Every single year we come to see this one horse, and it’s Gabe. We always come to see Gabe because he’s like – we just think he looks cool. He’s like ‘the big horse.'”

Big horses. Little goats. Everything in between. Maddy said this was the first year she’s been able to bring her daughter Elizabeth to the Delaware State Fair, and the family zoo is one of her favorite attractions.

“They’re beautiful. They’re well-kept. It does make me happy to see how many are here and how well taken care of they are, because I feel like some animals don’t have the luxury,” Maddy said.

She said she’s comfortable with bigger animals because she grew up around horses, so she loves getting to feed them: “It gets exciting when they come running to you and you’re like ‘Oh look they’re coming to me!’ So that’s [my] favorite part.”

Feeding your furry friends can be plenty of fun, but it’s not always for everyone.

Emily and her daughter Carmen have fond memories at this zoo, but Carmen can be a bit too nervous to feed the animals: “I’m always kind of like scared to feed them because I don’t want to like lose a finger. They’re just kind of cute to look at.”

Visiting the animals at the Delaware State Fair has become a staple for the duo over the past 10 years. Emily said she has pictures of Carmen feeding the giraffe when she was a little girl.