Jeter Farm near Bonsack was started in 1853. Ned Jeter explains that his grandparents started this annual festival years ago, “My grandmamma just did it as a pumpkin patch. Schools came up. They liked seeing kids.”
Visitors ride aboard a trailer being towed by a tractor to the pumpkin patch. Among them is a young boy named Josh with his grandparents. Josh is clearly impressed at the sight, “Look! It’s a pumpkin patch! It’s – it’s – it’s a BIG pumpkin patch!”
At the tractor ride drop off, visitors are greeted with the chance to fire an air cannon, which shoots small pumpkins and apples hundreds of feet across a pond.
A family is searching in the pumpkin patch - each is looking for the “perfect” pumpkin. A young girl named Esther seems quite satisfied with her choice. When quizzed about what her plans are for her pumpkin, she explains that she intends to carve it with a scary design for Halloween.
At Sinkland Farms in the New River Valley, Sarah Coleman tells how their family’s visit has become an annual event. “We have been coming here for over 10 years as a family. It’s family tradition now. And we always have to go out in the pumpkin patch and get our big pumpkins.”
The experience of exploring the pumpkin patches is akin to going to a Christmas tree farm and getting to cut your own tree. Enterprising farmers recognize the appeal and have added activities that make for a fun-filled day for everyone. At Sinkland Farms, those activities include pig racing – featuring cute little pigs that are a favorite of children.
The farm’s owner Susan Sink understands the appeal saying, “I think that today, all ages of individuals are looking for more than just a transaction. They’re looking for an experience.”
She and her husband ran a dairy farm here for years, and they had a pumpkin festival just as a way to earn a little extra income. When he passed away in 2007, she decided to turn the farm into an events center.
Like the others, Layman Family Farms in Montvale offers a pumpkin patch and a host of activities. But the real attraction is their massive corn maze.
Shannon Dunn estimates the area of the maze to be eight acres. She goes on to explain how the maze design is cut into the cornfield. “Whatever design we chose – they GPS it out for us – and then we start cutting.”
Those entering the maze can scan a QR code that provides a diagram of the maze on their phone. That’s helpful, but not a guarantee to keep from getting a little lost.
