Haystack Homestead provides custom traveling farm experiences. mobile petting zoos, and party pony rides for families, schools, towns, churches, colleges, and corporate events across North Carolina and nearby regions. Our experiences feature friendly and socially experienced farm animals, hands-on learning, and thoughtfully designed fun interactions that are rooted in animal welfare, education, and care.
FAQ: Farm Expericnces & Animals - Service Area & Location - Booking & Pricing - Logistics & Safety - 🌾Rooted in Care 🌾
Farm Experiences & Animals
What is Haystack Homestead, and what services do you provide?
Haystack Homestead is a North Carolina–based mobile farm experience that brings custom traveling petting zoos, animal encounters, pony rides, and hands-on farm education and fun directly to events and venues. We specialize in creating authentic, educational, and memorable farm experiences for festivals, towns, schools, colleges, churches, corporate events, and private celebrations throughout the Piedmont, Triad, Foothills, and surrounding areas of North Carolina and SW Virginia.
Haystack Homestead is not a walk-in farm or homestead blog. We are a fully mobile service, meaning our animals and team travel to the client’s location to provide safe, engaging, and professionally managed farm experiences tailored to each event.
What kinds of animals do you bring to events?
Haystack Homestead brings a traveling farm experience customized for your event. Our standard farm corral petting zoo typically includes a small cow (steer or zebu), two friendly goats, and a sheep.
You may also add specialty animals, including alpacas, llamas, mini-horses, mini-donkeys, and bunnies. For an extra touch of fun, we offer pony rides or magical “unicorn” rides as an add-on.
Can children interact with the animals? Is it safe for all ages?
Absolutely. Our mobile farm experiences are designed for guests of all ages — from toddlers to grandparents. The animals are carefully selected for temperament, and our staff is always present to guide interactions.
Most farm corral experiences include a supervised feeding station, allowing guests to safely meet, pet, and feed the animals — often the highlight of the event!
Do you provide educational experiences along with the animals?
Yes — education is at the heart of everything we do. Each visit naturally includes age-appropriate learning about the animals, their care, and their roles on the farm.
We love sharing fun facts, answering questions, and demonstrating how to safely feed the animals their favorite treat (sweet feed!). This makes our programs especially popular for schools, camps, libraries, and community events.
Do you offer mobile pony rides in addition to petting zoo experiences?
We do! Mobile pony rides are available as a discounted add-on to our petting farm experiences or as a standalone attraction.
Looking for something extra magical? We also offer “unicorn” rides, which are especially popular for birthday parties and themed events — including our much-loved Pink Pony Party pony (or riding) or tiny mini-horse for fun & photos!
Can you accommodate special events like birthday parties, schools, or community festivals?
Yes! Haystack Homestead specializes in creating custom traveling farm experiences for a wide variety of events. We bring our mobile farm directly to towns, communities, colleges, schools, preschools, churches, retirement facilities, camps, and corporate family days. Each visit is tailored to your audience, space, and goals, ensuring a safe, engaging, and delightfully memorable educational experience for guests of all ages.
What types of events do you serve?
Haystack Homestead specializes in custom mobile farm experiences for a wide range of events, including:
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Cities, towns, and community festivals
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Schools, pre-schools, colleges, and camps
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Churches and faith-based events
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Corporate and company events
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Country clubs and weddings
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Retirement and senior living communities
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Birthday parties and backyard celebrations
Whether your event is large or small, public or private, we tailor each experience to fit your audience, space, and goals.
Location & Service Area
Where do you provide traveling farm experiences (mobile farm petting zoos and pony rides)?
Haystack Homestead provides mobile farm and petting zoo experiences as well as traveling pony rides throughout the Piedmont Triad and surrounding areas of North Carolina. While we’re based in Mount Airy, we regularly travel to Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Huntersville, Elkin, Wilkesboro, Clemmons, High Point, Oak Ridge, Galax VA, and beyond - bringing our mobile farm animal petting zoo and pony rides to events in cities, towns, communities, schools, and special events across a wide service area.
Do you visit schools, churches, or town festivals in the Piedmont and Triad areas?
Yes! We frequently provide traveling farm experiences for schools, churches, towns, and community festivals throughout the Piedmont and Triad areas.
We also serve nearby regions, including Carroll and Patrick Counties in Virginia, and love partnering with communities of all sizes to create memorable, family-friendly events.
How far will you travel for events outside the Piedmont region?
We include complimentary travel within 50 miles (100 round-trip miles) of Mount Airy, North Carolina.
For events farther away, we are happy to travel up to 100 miles (200 round-trip miles) for an additional travel fee. If your event falls outside this range, feel free to reach out — we’re always happy to discuss options when schedules and logistics allow.
Booking & Pricing
How do I book a traveling farm experience?
Booking a mobile farm animal petting zoo or pony ride experience with Haystack Homestead is easy. Simply complete any inquiry form on our website, or email Michele directly at: michele@haystackhomestead.com.
We’ll help you select the right animals, timing, and options to ensure your event is thoughtfully planned and perfectly suited to your celebration.
How much does a mobile farm visit cost?
Our most popular option is our basic traveling farm animal petting zoo, which starts at $260. This full hour experience typically includes a small cow (steer or zebu), two goats, one sheep, a supervised feeding station, and professional staff to handle setup, animal care, and guest interaction throughout your event.
Additional options — such as pony or unicorn rides, extra animals, or extended visit time — may be added to customize your experience.
Do you offer package options for different numbers of animals or event lengths?
Yes. We offer one core petting zoo package as a starting point, then allow you to custom-build your mobile farm experience from there. This approach lets you choose the number of animals, visit length, and add-ons that best fit your event, space, audience, and budget.
We’re always happy to help you design an experience that feels just right — whether your event is large or small.
Logistics & Safety
How do you keep the animals safe during travel and at events?
Animal safety and well-being are two of our highest priorities. Our animals travel in appropriate trailers and are set up in comfortable, well-managed corrals designed specifically for public events. Guests interact with the animals under the close supervision of our experienced staff, ensuring calm, respectful handling at all times.
Many of our event animals are longtime “volunteers” from our nonprofit Serendipity Sanctuary (501(c)(3)), while others are beloved personal pets. All are carefully chosen for their calm temperaments, strong human bonds, and comfort in public settings. They truly enjoy attending events - especially the attention, gentle interaction, and supervised treats of sweet feed from guests.
Do you provide handwashing or sanitation after animal interactions?
We provide a sanitation table with hand sanitizer for guests to use after interacting with the animals. When sinks or restrooms are available on-site, we recommend washing hands after sanitizing, especially for young children, as an added precaution.
Are you insured for events?
Yes. Haystack Homestead is fully insured for traveling farm experiences, petting zoos, and animal visits. We are happy to have our insurance agent provide an official Certificate of Insurance (COI) upon request, as required by many schools, municipalities, and corporate venues.
How much space is needed for a traveling farm experience?
Our mobile farm setups are surprisingly flexible. A single farm corral typically requires approximately 15’ x 15’ of fairly level space. We also require a nearby area (within 50' of corral) suitable for parking our truck and stock trailer to ensure safe and efficient setup and breakdown.
How much parking space do you need at an event?
Please reserve a minimum of 50 feet of parking space within 50 feet of the corral location. This allows us to unload, set up safely, and monitor the animals throughout the event without disrupting guest flow.
Do you need to be set up on grass?
Grass is preferred but not required. We can set up on grass or hard surfaces such as pavement or concrete. If your event will be on a hard surface, please let us know in advance so we can bring protective patio mats for the base of the corral.
What happens if there is bad weather on the day of our event?
Weather safety is very important to us - for our animals, our staff, and your guests. In cases of rain, wind, or any other inclement weather, we generally allow the client to decide whether to proceed or to postpone the event to another mutually available date.
Haystack Homestead: Rooted in Care
Why choose Haystack Homestead Traveling Farm Experiences in the Piedmont / Triad areas and beyond?
Haystack Homestead offers authentic, educational mobile farm experiences - farm corral petting zoos and traveling pony rides designed to create meaningful connections between people and animals. Serving the Piedmont Triad and surrounding areas, we specialize in thoughtfully curated petting zoos and traveling pony rides that are calm, engaging, and age-appropriate. Our animals are well-cared-for, people-friendly, and handled by experienced staff who prioritize safety, education, and genuine interaction. Whether for a school, community festival, church, or private event, we focus on quality over quantity, creating memorable farm experiences that feel personal, purposeful, and unforgettable.
Are you an insured LLC and/or nonprofit organization?
Haystack Homestead is a fully insured LLC registered in the state of North Carolina, and we are happy to provide an official Certificate of Insurance (COI) upon request.
In addition, Haystack Homestead Traveling Farm Experiences proudly supports our nonprofit Serendipity Sanctuary (501(c)(3)), a registered and approved North Carolina and U.S. nonprofit organization. The majority of our work helps fund the ongoing care of animals in need, allowing every event to support a greater mission.
Can you provide an educational experience that aligns with school curriculum or community goals?
Absolutely. Our goal is to combine education, interaction, and fun at every traveling farm experience. We are happy to collaborate with schools, educators, and community organizers to align our presentations with curriculum standards, learning objectives, or community goals, while keeping the experience engaging and accessible for all ages.
How do you make farm experiences authentic, educational, and fun?
Our animals come to events straight from our working farm and sanctuary, bringing their real personalities with them. We love sharing both their individual stories and their roles on a traditional farm.
Most of our animals are dairy or fiber animals, and we enjoy teaching guests what they eat, where they live, how fiber is harvested, how much milk they can produce, and how different species interact with one another. The learning happens naturally — through conversation, curiosity, laughter, and hands-on interaction.
What makes your traveling farm different from other petting zoos?
Haystack Homestead is different because we focus on authentic relationships - not just animal displays. Our animals are not rotated through high-volume attractions; they are carefully selected, deeply bonded to us, and treated as individuals.
We prioritize animal welfare, meaningful education, and calm guest interaction, creating an experience that is personal rather than commercial. Combined with our nonprofit mission, professional standards, and genuine love for what we do, our traveling farm experiences leave guests with more than photos — they leave with lasting memories and a deeper appreciation for farm life.
Many of our event animals are longtime “volunteers” from our nonprofit Serendipity Sanctuary (501(c)(3)), while others are beloved personal pets. All are carefully chosen for their calm temperaments, strong human bonds, and comfort in public settings. They truly enjoy attending events - especially the attention, gentle interaction, and supervised treats of sweet feed from guests.