Animatronic zoo and deep-dish cookies coming to Farmacy Market Sunday

Farmacy Market will host “Wild Adventures: A Smart Zoo Experience” from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at 301 N.E. Front St.

About 800 people are expected for a traveling family attraction featuring lions, tigers, dinosaurs, a 40-foot cobra and I Heart Cookies

MILFORD, Del. — Lions, tigers, elephants, dinosaurs and a 40-foot smoke-breathing king cobra are coming to Milford Sunday — along with a truckload of deep-dish cookies.

Farmacy Market will host “Wild Adventures: A Smart Zoo Experience” from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at 301 N.E. Front St.

Nearly 800 people have indicated interest in the event, according to the event’s Facebook posting.

The traveling attraction is presented by I Heart Cookies, a mobile dessert and entertainment company that combines its oversized cookies with family attractions at stops around the country.

A zoo without live animals

Despite the name, Wild Adventures is not a traditional zoo.

Instead, families walk among large, hyper-realistic animatronic animals designed to move and create the feel of a wildlife attraction.

The traveling exhibit features lions, tigers, elephants, pandas and monkeys, along with dinosaurs and its signature 40-foot smoke-breathing king cobra.

Other activities include fossil dig pits, soft-play areas for children and photo opportunities. A virtual-reality aquarium, face painting and temporary tattoos also have been offered at the company’s other stops, with some activities carrying an additional charge.

The result is part zoo, part dinosaur attraction and part traveling children’s entertainment experience — with no live animals involved.

Cookies are the ticket

I Heart Cookies uses an unusual admission model.

There is no conventional entrance fee. Instead, each person attending must purchase at least one of the company’s deep-dish cookies.

Cookies cost $5 each or six for $25.

The cookies are not simply concessions sold alongside the attraction. They are central to I Heart Cookies’ traveling business model, with its dessert operation moving from community to community alongside the animatronic displays.

The company has taken Wild Adventures to communities across several states this year, setting up for a few hours before packing up and moving on to another stop.

Farmacy becomes the Milford stop

For Sunday’s visit, Farmacy Market will serve as the host site and will remain open until 6 p.m.

Farmacy, known for fresh produce, meats, seafood, cheeses, baked goods and products from local farmers and makers, moved earlier this year to the larger Front Street location. The additional space and parking have given the market greater ability to host community events such as Sunday’s attraction.

The market opened originally in downtown Milford in 2023 with a focus on healthier food, local producers and its guiding idea that “food is medicine.”

Sunday’s crowd could introduce hundreds of additional families to the market while giving Milford children something they aren’t likely to encounter on an ordinary grocery run — an elephant, a dinosaur and a smoke-breathing cobra waiting outside.

TO GO

What: Wild Adventures: A Smart Zoo Experience
When: Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4
Where: Farmacy Market, 301 N.E. Front St., Milford
Admission: One I Heart Cookies cookie purchase required per person
Cost: $5 per cookie or six for $25
What you’ll see: Animatronic lions, tigers, elephants, pandas and monkeys, dinosaurs and a 40-foot smoke-breathing king cobra
Also: Fossil digs, children’s play areas, photo opportunities, virtual-reality aquarium, face painting and temporary tattoos; some activities may cost extra