Celebrating PUMPKINS

By LISA LoSASSO

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

October brings with it the anticipation of Halloween and a kick-off for the holidays in the months to come. It is also a month for pumpkin and harvest festivals and if you don’t mind a bit of a road trip, you’re bound to find one.

In the Youngstown area, pumpkin festivals start as early as the first week of October. If you’ve missed the Ohio Giant Pumpkin Growers Association Pumpkin Weigh-off at Park’s Garden Center, Canfield, or the myriad of events around town, don’t despair. The entire month of October is packed with fall fun.

The Cambridge Trading Company Pumpkin Patch, in Cambridge features pumpkins, gourds and harvest decorations as well as hay rides and pick-your-own pumpkins up until Sunday.

Heritage Farms in Peninsula will be holding its “Pumpkin Pandemonium” throughout the remainder of October. The event features pick-your-own pumpkins and a corn maze. In addition, the farm sells fall mums, Indian corn, bales of straw, corn shocks, and mixed gourds.

For a small admission price, children over three, and adults, can enjoy the Maze, the Leaf Pile, the Scavenger Hunt in the Christmas Tree Fields, a Straw Tunnel, and the Bird Nest, just to mention some of the fun available to visitors this season.

For a fabulous mini-adventure, families can go to the Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad in Lebanon, Ohio and climb aboard the Cincinnati Railway’s Pumpkin Patch Express. Upon reaching their destination at Schappacher’s Farm in Mason, Ohio, passengers can observe and feed farm animals, pick their own pumpkins, walk through the corn maze, and enjoy special fall treats, like caramel apples.

Brumbaugh Fruit Farm, also known as “Darke County’s Agricultural Playground,” located in Arcanum, holds its Autumn Farm Fest throughout September and October, every year. Here, families can enjoy hay rides, a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, and a whole lot of frightfully fun activities including Monster Mountain and the Ghost Town Stage. While you’re there, don’t forget to pay a visit to the Farmer’s Daughter Bakery and Brumbaugh’s Market.

Leeds Farm in Ostrander is open for tours and hay rides through Sunday. The farm boasts about 20 acres of pumpkins, gourds, and squash which may be purchased at the barnyard. In addition to the beautiful jack-o-lanterns that we are accustomed to, Leeds also grows blue, heritage, pie, and Fairytale pumpkins. Unique varieties of gourds and edible squash include Swan, Cushaw, Turk’s Turbans, Acorn, Butternut, Delicata and Blue Hubbard. “Pick-your-own” pumpkins are only offered on weekdays.

Also, celebrating its 25th anniversary is the Fall Fun Days Harvest Fest at Circle S Farms through October 31. Located in Grove City, Ohio, the festival features pumpkin picking, hayrides, a six acre corn maze, a sunflower maze, a hay barn with slides, Scarecrow Cave, a petting zoo, and weekend entertainment. There is also a full service bakery, and the Pumpkin Café is open every weekend.

If you’d like to stay close to home, it’s fun to visit local farm markets to pick out pumpkins, buy fall decorations or grab a gallon of apple cider and some cider donuts.

The Mahoning Valley has a wealth of farm markets such as Park’s Garden Center, Whitehouse Fruit Farm, Catalpa Grove Farm Market, or Rhodes Farm Market, all in Columbiana; Haus Fruit Farm and Riversbend Farm Market, both in Canfield; or, Countryside Farm Market in Lowellville.