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Sheep join moviegoers for Fall Festival kickoff

Sheep join moviegoers for Fall Festival kickoff

Children and parents mingled with sheep prior to the outdoor screening of the film “The Sheep Detectives” at the Scoville Memorial Library Friday, Oct. 9.h

Patrick L. Sullivan

SALISBURY — The Scoville Memorial Library kicked off the Fall Festival with a baa on Friday evening, Oct. 9, hosting an outdoor movie screening with live sheep among the guests.

About 100 people gathered in the courtyard behind the library to watch “The Sheep Detectives,” most bundled up for the chilly weather and equipped with folding chairs and blankets.

The sheep came from Le Petit Ranch in Sheffield, a nonprofit organization that specializes in animal-assisted activities at libraries, schools, nursing homes and other settings.

Having brought sheep to the library before, the Le Petit Ranch crew quickly set up temporary fencing. Before the movie began, children and adults carrying bags of sheep snacks visited the animals inside the enclosure.

Admission was free, and attendees received tickets for a complimentary box of candy and a bag of popcorn.

Rob and Mary Spencer of Ancramdale, New York, arranged the screen, projector and popcorn machine.

As darkness fell, the refreshment table was moved from the library doors toward the parking lot to make room for more seating.

The unusual evening became even more memorable when the real sheep began talking back to their on-screen counterparts.

Library director Karin Goodell surveyed the scene with quiet satisfaction.

“I’m so pleased we have such a good turnout,” she said.

Patrick L. Sullivan
Senior Reporter
Patrick Sullivan has been a reporter for The Lakeville Journal since 2004, covering everything from town meetings to local characters and the outdoors. He grew up in Northern Virginia but spent summers on Mount Riga in Salisbury, giving him a lifelong connection to the Northwest Corner. A graduate of Denison University, Patrick is also the author of Tangled Lines, the newspapers’ popular fly-fishing column—making The Lakeville Journal, as far as anyone knows, the only newspaper in Connecticut with a regular fly-fishing columnist. He once received a fan letter from England, which he considers sufficient evidence that his work has achieved international acclaim.
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