Callie Lenz, 5, of Adams Township feeds her miniature horse Buttercup as her grandmother, Merritt Fasick, looks on. Callie and her brothers, Eddie, 11, and Luke, 8, brought Buttercup and goats to set up a petting zoo Saturday at the Mars Agway open house. Eric Freehling/Butler Eagle

MARS — Visitors to the open house Saturday at Mars Agway, 101 Grand Ave., may have enjoyed the face painter, balloon artist, petting zoo, glass art, stitchery vendors and food truck, but they also were raising money for a good cause. Make that two good causes.

The event was raising money for 6-month-old Hayden Settlemire, the son of Grant and Stefanie Settlemire. Hayden is a just over a month past open heart surgery.

The raffle baskets at the open house helped to raise funds to pay for medical bills related to Hayden’s needs and to do repairs to the home Hayden lives in.

Those proceeds also will go toward the cost of training, equipment and veterinary care for Beny, the New Sewickley Township K-9 officer. Beny dropped in at the open house, which ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Katie Niklewicz, the manager at Agway, said the business has two open houses in June and December and always uses the events to help support a local family and a K-9 dog.

Callie Lenz, 5, of Adams Township has her face painted by Patty Ewing at Saturday's open house at Mars Agway. Eric Freehling/Butler Eagle

“(The Settlemires) are a family in the Mars School District. They were recommended by another customer,” she said.

“We’ve got a good turnout. It’s a lot of work but it’s not that hard,” Niklewicz said.

Jack and Merritt Fasick, of Adams Township, brought their grandchildren — Callie, 5, Eddie, 11, and Luke, 8 — and their animals to set up a petting zoo outside the store. The zoo was stocked with a goat, baby goats and a miniature horse named Buttercup.

Mars Agway employees from left, Jonathan Knapp, Jon "Cupcake" Scherer, Ella Niklewicz, 5, Katie Niklewicz, Ava Niklewicz, 9, Josh Scherer, and Emma Niklewicz, 12, visited Buttercup the miniature horse in the petting zoo during the open house Saturday. Eric Freehling/Butler Eagle

“We do stuff for 4H and Scout projects as well,” Merritt Fasick said.

Patty Ewing, an elementary art teacher in the Mars School District, was painting faces, something she has been doing as a side job for 10 years.

“A gym teacher was starting a party company and asked me years ago ‘Ever think about face painting?’” Ewing said. “It took off. I do a lot of face painting on the weekends.”

“The owners of Agway asked me to come out,” she said.

Ewing said she had been painting a variety of designs Saturday.

“I’ve done two unicorns. Superheroes are big with the boys. Emojis and Minecraft are popular,” she said. Patty said the paint washes off easily, and it’s not just children who ask to have their faces painted.

Fran Martinelli and Erika Opperman, both of Mars, were selling tickets for the 76 raffle baskets.

“We’ve had a great turnout. People are being very generous. And the store was gracious to donate so much of this stuff,” Martinelli said.

Niklewicz said the raffle tickets will be sold until 4 p.m. June 18, and the drawings will take place June 20.