Party

Thanksgiving 2012, Pt. 2

November 24, 2012 by J.B.

A few more photos from Thanksgiving day at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest…

Jody enjoyed the sweet potatoes:

Burrito tried to get every last bite of cranberries out of his cup and ended up coloring his face red:

Negra ate her Field Roast Grain Meat in the comfort of a nest:

Speaking of nests, the chimps made some nice ones after their big meal:

Annie was the big winner of the day. She was the only one who noticed that there were nuts and seeds in the decorations, so she quietly gathered them all before anyone else caught on. She also got the Thanksgiving pinata.

You know how can you tell when Foxie is happy with her food? She rubs her toes together.

It’s not hard to tell when Missy is having fun:

Missy’s birthday

August 23, 2012 by Debbie

Today is Missy’s birthday, and we decided to set up a whole frozen fruit forage in the greenhouse this morning. Volunteer Patti brought some awesome ’80s-style headbands, leg warmers, and socks in honor of Missy’s goofy and kooky athleticism. After decking ourselves out in the gear (and of course putting most of it in with the party enrichment for the chimps) we let the chimps into the party area and listened as they food squeaked with excitement over the whole frozen fruit. I have been around chimps for 7 years, and this group for nearly the whole time they’ve been at CSNW, and I have never heard so many food squeaks at once. They loved it, and it is just what we needed after the last week and a half of recovering from the Taylor Bridge wildfire. All of the staff were present as well as volunteers Patti and Jennifer. Watching the chimps happily enjoy their forage was definitely just what the doctor ordered—both for staff and for the chimps, too! They have certainly been through a lot in their lives, and getting to see them enjoying their time here so much brought such a huge smile to my face. All I could think about was that we are all so fortunate to be here with them.

Enough of that sappy stuff — here’s some pictures from the party!

Negra enjoying some fun forage boxes (that look like Rubix cubes) made by Patti, and filled with pieces of chow:

Foxie:

Annie:

Jamie, looking very regal as the boss should:

Jody, taking a huge mouthful of watermelon:

Burrito, mid-food squeak:

The birthday girl herself, Missy:

And lastly, some of the ’80s gear on us humans (Diana was taking the picture, but she was also decked out, and somehow J.B. stayed out of the photo even though he was wearing an awesome pink headband)

From left to right: Jackie, volunteers Jennifer and Patti, Elizabeth, Sarah, and myself (Debbie)

Thank you so much to Robbi & Dick Brown and Patti for the fun enrichment, to all that have been so supportive and donated the amazing amounts of produce we were able to freeze for the party, and everyone that has been so willing to offer their help as we cope with the effects of the fire. And of course, to all of Missy’s pals!

Cinco Mil de Mayo Party

May 5, 2012 by Diana

In celebration of reaching our goal of 5,000 “likes” (fans) on the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest Facebook page (an increase of over 300 since yesterday!), we threw a Cinco Mil de Mayo party for brunch this morning.

On the menu was guacamole in lettuce with tomatoes and a side of watermelon, accompanied by sparkling seltzer water with lime wedges:

And what’s Cinco de Mayo without a pinata?

Negra loves both avocados and lettuce, so she was very pleased with the party menu:

Missy also really enjoyed the lettuce guacamole wraps. She had a technique of licking the guacamole off first, then eating the lettuce:

Jamie enjoyed the refreshing sparkling water, served in plastic shot glasses:

Burrito‘s strategy was to gather as many pieces of primate chow as quickly as he could:

Annie also enjoyed the chow, though in a slower fashion:

Guess who got the pinata? Yes, indeed – the leader of the group, Jamie, claimed it as her own:

She must have left some nuts inside, though, because Negra was eating a walnut later in the party:

It was a pretty windy day, but Foxie took some time to explore on Young’s Hill with Dora:

Negra decided the party was not complete without fresh grass from the hill, so she went out and helped herself:

For dinner, J.B. served the chimps baked sweet potatoes, corn, and celery. Here he is serving celery to Jody:

Of course, dinner was capped off with the traditional Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest night bag of seeds, popcorn, nuts and dried fruit. Jody lied down to eat hers:

Thanks and happy Cinco de Mayo to everyone who liked the FB page for the first time yesterday and for those friends who recruited new fans of the Cle Elum Seven! Please explore the blog and the rest of the website to learn more about your new friends! And if you’re local, join us on May 20th in Ellensburg for Race for the Apes – our first 5K run / walk fundraiser.

Hoppy Easter!

April 8, 2012 by Jackie

Today was a full day of mini-parties! First, we had a juice forage in the Playroom (something all the chimps love), then we set up a lunch forage in the greenhouse, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt on Young’s Hill! On the menu for lunch was Easter baskets of cut up fruits and veggies in a bed of lettuce, courtesy of volunteers Stephanie and Katelyn. The chimps were so excited!

Missy:

Foxie got a couple of new trolls, thanks to Katelyn and to Dick and Robbi Brown, who donated tons of new toys for the party:

Jody with her head in the game

Burrito always has his head in the game!

Jamie and her loot:

Negra and Jody enjoying their lunch together

Negra was so happy!

After lunch, the chimps went out on Young’s Hill for an Easter Egg Hunt! We were so excited to be able to see them search 2-acres for plastic Easter eggs filled with peanuts and berries. There were also carrots stuck in the ground, allowing them to “harvest” their own carrots! What a fun day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17, 2012 by J.B.

The chimps enjoyed a St. Patrick’s Day feast this morning. Volunteers Katelyn and Connie brought potatoes, brussels sprouts, and Field Roast grain meat, as well as green fruit & vegetable juice. And while the staff were disappointed to see snow on the ground this morning, the chimps were more than happy to eat it – especially with a little bit of juice poured on top.

The Great Pumpkin

October 31, 2011 by Debbie

As Diana mentioned in a blog post from earlier, Jamie and I share a birthday today! I can’t think of a better way to spend my Hallo-birthday than by throwing a party for Jamie and the rest of the Cle Elum Seven!

We have a lot of folks to thank for making today’s party a huge success. Robbi & Dick Brown and Tamela donated a lot of fun new toys and decorations, and volunteers Steph and Katelyn brought some new things with them today as well. We also want to thank Deborah G., Barbara B., Jessica K., Tamela, and Jeani G. for donating towards Jamie’s big celebration today! And of course we can’t forget all of Jamie’s Chimpanzee Pals: Cherie Breaux & Robert Bochnik; Kathy Carlson; Candy Crannell; GFWC Cascade Woman’s Club; Debbie Kray; Pam Lehnert & Marc Warner; KC McCarthy; Jackie Mulanax & Brad McNeice; Debra Redwine; Pam Reid; Kathleen Roan; Tony Silvia; Nicole Sturn; and Jackson Walkden-Brown.

Steph and Katelyn brought with them a giant pumpkin, with Jamie’s named carved in it (and the “J” was made into a boot!) The following photos are of the Great Pumpkin (as I’ve decided to call it).

Jamie with her pumpkin: