Evelyn Paulson from Port Coquitlam was smiling as the goats crowded around her and mom Morgan at 91原创's Aldor Acres farm on Sunday, March 23.
"You're so cute," Evelyn told them.
It was raining hard, but that didn't deter the many visitors, who showed up in rain gear, with umbrellas.
Courtney Chambers and daughters Riley and Madison came in from South Surrey-White Rock.
"We were coming rain, shine, sleet, snow," said Chambers, who booked the visit two weeks in advance.
"I got tickets, told the girls, and every day they were saying, are we going to the farm? Are we going to the farm? So the day has finally come."
It was opening day at Aldor Acres, dedicated to Parkinson's Awareness Month and farm co-founder Dorothy Anderson, who was diagnosed 10 years ago.
Anderson said the farm has hosted Parkinson's events before.
"One year it was a walk where we went around on the roads, and last year it was incorporated into what we do at the farm with animals," Anderson told the 91原创 Advance Tines.
"Meeting people, you find out a lot of people have Parkinson's and you think, oh my goodness, that's a terrible thing, but we all manage now," Anderson said.
Anderson said after a decade with Parkinson's her handwriting isn't readable any more, she can't drive a car, and must rely on her husband Albert to be driven around.
"I haven't been driving for a few years now," she said.
Aldor Acres farm in 91原创 opened Sunday by marking Parkinson Awareness Month, a deeply personal issue for founder Dorothy Anderson.
鈥� 91原创 Advance Times (@91原创Times)
On Sunday, Anderson had some good news to share 鈥� the recovery of the golf cart she requires to get around the 80-acre farm in Glen Valley.
Five days after it was stolen, in February, the family posted an open letter to tell the thieves they didn't just steal a golf cart, they took away the 81-year-old Anderson's ability to get around.
"You withdrew a little old lady's sense of freedom," said the online message.
"You took one of the last threads of our grandma鈥檚 independence. Honestly, if you鈥檙e reading this, we just want you to know that if you really felt you needed to take this to get by, to pay your bills, to put food on the table, you could have just asked us for help instead."
Twelve days after it was taken, the golf cart reappeared, Anderson revealed.
"Everything was still on the back of it, and it was left down at the corner, almost by the stop sign, just sort of pulled in a bit to the edge of the road by the field," she described.
"No damage, no damage at all."
Anderson said after news of the theft got out, the family had many offers of help.
"It was amazing, the response, the people who phoned, people wanting to buy me a new one, and that wasn't what we needed or wanted or anything," Anderson related.
"They wanted to do so much for us."
Sunday, Anderson was looking forward to getting back in her cart to chat with visitors.
Partial proceeds from the day were to be donated to Parkinson Society British Columbia.
Aldor Acres, online at is a three-generation working farm, known for its pumpkin patch, sunflowers, Christmas trees, as well as spring and summer farm tours, and hands-on educational farm experiences.
