Fall fun on the farm
Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins
is a treat for all ages

Photo courtesy of the Boeing Co. and Stocker Farms This year, Stocker Farms partnered with the Boeing Co. to design its annual corn maze. The 10-acre maze, which features a design of the aerospace company’s 787 Dreamliner, takes an average of two hours for participants to complete, said Keith Stocker.

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

The days are getting shorter; the weather is getting cooler; and, at least at my house, televised football games have become a weekend mainstay. Yes, autumn is here — almost. I still have to find the perfect pumpkin.

For that, I’ll turn to the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.

Now in its fifth year, the October festival is a cooperative venture of a half-dozen Snohomish-area farmers whose pumpkin patches, corn mazes, hayrides and family fun have attracted more than 110,000 visitors to the area annually, said Keith Stocker, president of the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins Marketing Association.

Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins Participating farms Bob’s Corn & Pumpkin Address: 10917 Elliott Road, Snohomish, WA 98296 Phone: 360-668-2506 or 866-bobscorn Carleton Farm Produce Address: 830 Sunnyside Blvd. SE, Everett, WA 98205 Phone: 425-334-2297 Web site: www.carletonfarm.com Craven Pumpkin Patch Address: 13817 Short School Road, Snohomish, WA 98290 Phone: 360-568-2601 Web site: www.cravenfarm.com The Farm Address: 7301 Rivershore Road, Snohomish, WA 98290 Phone: 425-334-4124 Web site: www.thefarm1.com Pumpkin Place Address: 8203 Marsh Road, Snohomish, WA 98296 Phone: 425-314-2436 Stocker Farms Market address: 10622 Airport Way, Snohomish, WA 98296 Corn maze and weekend pumpkin festival address: 8705 Marsh Road, Snohomish, WA 98296 Phone: 360-568-7391 Web site: www.stockerfarms.com For more information on the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins, including a full slate of areawide events and a detailed listing of participating farms, go online to www.festivalofpumpkins.org. The Web site also offers a coupon for $1 off the cost of a corn maze ticket at all participating festival farms. — Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins Marketing Association

This year, the festival is joining forces with the Snohomish Chamber of Commerce, the city of Snohomish and other local organizations to make it an areawide seasonal celebration, with a craft show, pet-and-owner costume contest, children’s carnival and a pumpkin river race among the events taking place throughout October.

“It’s truly our vision that we will be in October what the Tulip Festival is in April,” Stocker said, referring to the annual Skagit Valley tourist attraction.

Among farm participants, the Snohomish festival boasts more than 80 acres of pumpkins, 30 acres of corn mazes and an atmosphere to fit any age or leisure preference.

Have little ones? Craven Pumpkin Patch has nursery-rhyme scenes, baby farm animals, a children’s carnival and photo opportunities to go along with 20-plus acres of pumpkins.

“We’re a lot more kid-oriented, for preschoolers probably up to about third or fourth grade,” said Judy Craven. “We don’t do anything scary or gruesome.”

Craven Pumpkin Patch also has a 12-acre corn maze, with a section created for younger children.

“What’s really neat is we have kids coming, (who came) when they were little tots, now bringing their children back to the pumpkin patch,” said Craven, whose pumpkin patch has been in operation for the past 25 years.

Another fall favorite is The Farm, operated by the Krause family, which offers a petting zoo, pig show, story trail and wagon rides in addition to 34 acres of pumpkins and a corn maze.

For families with teenagers seeking a thrill, some of the festival’s farms have night mazes, including The Farm and Bob’s Corn & Pumpkin, which operate their night mazes by appointment only, and Stocker Farms, whose Haunted Field of Screams is open Friday and Saturday nights beginning Oct. 7.

And for those seeking autumnal simplicity, there is Pumpkin Place, also owned by the Stocker family.

At Pumpkin Place, there are no children’s games or petting zoo, no corn maze or hot dogs. There is a pumpkin patch, fall decorations, farm-fresh produce and honey, cider and espresso, and jams and preserves.

“What my wife and I felt was missing was a place for families to go get a pumpkin without all the bells and whistles,” Stocker said. “Not everybody wants a carnival environment.”

Like Pumpkin Place, many of the participating pumpkin farms sell produce, homemade treats or specialty items.

“In our produce stand, we have all the fall products — corn stalks, gourds and decorations,” said Reid Carleton of Carleton Farm Produce. “We do have quite a line of gourmet-type salad dressings, barbecue sauces and jams, which are great gifts for Christmas.”

Carleton Farm Produce also has a new espresso stand, no doubt to help fuel visitors who are eager to test their wits inside the Cornfusion maze before or after they’ve visited the farm’s 11-acre patch.

With so many prospective jack-o’-lanterns among the festival’s farms, that perfect pumpkin is just waiting to be found. And then autumn truly will have arrived.