Fort Saskatchewan said “baah-bye” to some of its beloved lawnmowers on Labour Day. A flock of some 50 sheep were joined by hundreds of people parading through the town. The hooved animals are hitting the streets back to their farm after spending the summer grazing 12 acres of land around Legacy Park. The annual tradition, which has been running for 34 years, is one Mayor Lisa Makin says everyone looks forward to. “We’ve had the sheep grazing program since about 1992. They come and mow for us … It’s really just an environmental way (to do it), and it gets the community out,” she said on Monday. “It’s certainly an endearing thing we have. The community really gets behind it.” During the summer, visitors are able to see and feed the sheep four days a week. “The sheep are well beloved in our community.” Shepherds Pien and Jannik Steinbush, who are tasked with corralling the sheep as best they can during the event, say the animals may love it more than the humans. “I know as they were walking up the hill, they were a little bit angry. I think they were a little annoyed with each other,” Pien said. “But then they come out here … They love the attention.” The sheep will return to Fort Saskatchewan for their favourite job in June. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum
