Petting Zoo Means Lots of Monkeying Around During PrairieFest

Carnival rides and cotton candy. Live bands and kangaroos.

All will be part of this year’s .

Thanks to Vogel’s Exotic Animals Petting Zoo, festival attendees can pet a kangaroo, feed a baby zebra or even get up close and personal with an African antelope.

For about a decade, Kevin and Kelly Vogel, owners of Vogel’s Exotic Animals Petting Zoo, have been bringing their collection of about 40 animals to Oswego. Camel and pony rides are also part of the show.

“People love it, they really do,” Kevin Vogel said. “We’ve been going to this festival for a long time and they remember different animals we’ve had during years past. And they always remember the camel ride. It’s a good tradition for PrairieFest.”

Vogel’s Exotic Animals Petting Zoo has been around for 16 years.

Kevin Vogel has always been drawn to more unusual animals.

“Since I was in high school,” he said. “I started out with a pet raccoon. Then I got a few other animals and it kindof took off from there. You have one, then two, then you have 10. It just kept on growing.”

The Vogels, of Sanborn, Minn., enjoy their profession.

“It’s just a good way of life,” said Kevin Vogel. “It’s given me some freedom I wouldn’t have if I had regular job. It’s like a paid vacation going to these events.”

The business has become a family affair for the Vogels, now that their children are old enough to travel with the show.

“My daughter comes with quite a bit,” Kevin Vogel said. “My son just turned 7 so he’s starting to be a good help. It’s definitely a family business.”

Other animals at the show will include large tortoises, African porcupines, ring-tailed lemurs and even monkeys, though the latter will be on display only.

“We have a real nice variety of animals,” Kevin Vogel said.

Vogel’s Exotic Animals Petting Zoo will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday.