Kids, adults and farm animals converged on the Marshalltown Public Library (MPL) lawn on Wednesday morning, ignoring the more than 90-degree heat.

Hovick Family Farm Petting Zoo, located near Roland, answered the request of petting zoo animals made by MPL Youth Librarian Joa LaVille.

“This is the first time we’ve had a full petting zoo,” she said. “We’ve always had animals and will have more in the first week of August.”

Held within some pens were a mini pot-bellied pig, mini cow, pony, mini donkey, llama, alpaca and a variety of goats and sheep. They poked their heads between the bars of the fence, eager to get the treats – pellet feed made with grains and molasses contained in miniature cups – held by the hands of Marshalltown children.

An animal lover, LaVille jokes that by the time she retires she will have created “Joa’s Ark.”

“If I named all the kinds of animals we’ve had, and this is my 26th year . . . we’ve had a lot,” she said, laughing. “We love having animal programs and it always brings people out.”

Even though LaVille thought there would be an increase in the number of library visitors, there were more than what she expected, especially with the heat.

“It’s fun to see how happy people are to have these experiences,” she said. “Not everybody can go to some of the great venues we have in central Iowa. It always makes me very happy to know that we’re providing some of these enriching experiences for families who might be on a stay-cation and they can enjoy something special right here in town.”

Fortunately, LaVille said MPL did not have to meet any requirements in order for the animals to arrive. The business even offers to clean-up afterward, which made LaVille very happy as the library lawn will serve as a gathering spot for RAGBRAI riders on July 22.

This was the first time the petting zoo owners, Nathan and Sarah Hovick, had brought the full attraction to the Marshalltown library. Nathan said they brought some baby llamas two years ago, and was not expecting the high number of people engaging with the animals.

“We definitely draw a crowd everywhere we go,” he said. “But this is busier than what we expected. I don’t know what the library staff expected, but I was shocked there were this many people here.”

The Hovicks have operated the petting zoo for 18 years and go to 100 events each year. So, Nathan was prepared for the questions asked by Marshalltown kids and adults.

“The most common question we got today is what the llama and alpaca are,” he said.

Overall, Nathan enjoyed the Marshalltown experience and giving the youth the chance to engage some agriculture animals.

“We definitely educate a lot of kids, because being an ag state, there are a lot of kids who have never gotten to be around farm animals,” he said. “It’s fun to bring them.”

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.