VINEMONT, Ala. – Snead’s Farmhouse in Vinemont has been growing and scheduling more of Owner Judy Snead’s puppet shows and educational sessions. Snead regularly guides field trips through her farm, where students enjoy the petting zoo, see her puppet show, make crafts and learn what it takes to care for the animals on the farm.
On Friday, Snead hosted Falkville Elementary’s second-grade class, which toured the farm and saw a puppet show. Snead’s puppet show is based on her children’s book that explains the beginnings of her farm.
She told the kids that after she began to acquire her animals, she felt that she had to get two of each to keep them from getting lonely. The bubbly and energetic Snead quickly grabbed the children’s attention and kept it throughout her show with help from the puppet version of her famed donkey, Leroy Brown, played by Snead’s Farmhouse volunteer Will Sprouse.
At the end of the play, she explained to Leroy why there are two of each animal except for another donkey. “I began to notice that you didn’t need someone else that looked like you because you didn’t notice that you were any different from any of the animals that lived on my farm.”
She told the students her animals live together in harmony on the farm despite being different species.
She spoke about when she first began her farm, saying, “Not being a farmer, I didn’t know you were supposed to separate your animals. Like you’re not supposed to have your donkeys with your goats…I had them all together, and people come to my farm, and they are like, ‘How do you do that?’”
Snead uses her experiences watching her animals interact and her show as a way to teach kids not to discriminate against those different from themselves. Her interactive and comedic show has been a hit with each of her field trip groups.
She has performed the show at West Point Elementary School and will soon be performing at Hayden and Ohatchee Schools. Snead is currently booked at the Cullman County Library until February 2023. She has been hired to put on shows at the Holly Pond Library during the summer.
“It’s really growing a lot,” she said. “It’s just been amazing.”
To schedule a tour of Snead’s Farmhouse, call 205-807-2549 or book online at www.sneadsfarmhouse.com.
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