CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Folks can pick their own pumpkin and take part in a host of activities during the annual Fall Festival over the next two weekends at the Chesterfield Berry Farm.
Anchored at the end of Pear Orchard Road in Moseley, the 400-acre farm is big enough to build a small neighborhood or a golf course.
"We opened in the fall of 1983 a little over 40 years," Aaron Goode, the farm's owner, recalled. "We do strawberries, we do sunflowers during the summertime and then in the fall season, we do sunflowers and pumpkins and some commercial vegetables."
And for the fall harvest season, the farm is busy with activities.
"For us, it means the pumpkins are ripe and so people are buying pumpkins to decorate," Goode said. "And they're coming out for entertainment and stuff like that."
The farm offers the option to pick your own pumpkin — and there are a lot to choose from.
"We don't just grow regular pumpkins anymore," Goode said. "We grow the stacking-type pumpkins and the gray and striped pumpkins."
Goode said the fancy pumpkins, which are a type of squash, are easier to stack and decorate. He credits the the queen of the domestic arts for making the practice popular.
"Martha Stewart was doing it and it's just kind of trickled down, you know," Goode said.
You too can be creative at the farm's Fall Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 14 and 15 and again on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 21 and 22. The farm's pumpkin harvest also continues through Tuesday, Oct. 31.
There are activities for kids and adults, like a sunflower maze and the eight-acre "Alien Invasion" corn maze.
"And it has all these pathways through there with the signage and everything in it," Goode said. "And we also have something called 'Maze Tracker' this year where you can put it on your cell phone and use your cell phone as a guide going through the maze. Which is pretty cool."
Other activities include duck races, paintball shooting and a jump pad.
"We have a pumpkin blaster where it shoots pumpkins out, and the wagon ride to the field, and of course the sunflowers is a big hit this time of year," Goode said.
If you plan on coming out, wear comfy shoes and bring your cameras as the sunflowers are perfect for picture taking.
Operating a farm is not easy, and with more than four decades running the Chesterfield Berry Farm, Goode said it is always rewarding to see the fruits the team’s labor.
"It is gratifying because it is a lot that goes into all this and it is weather-related, which is always a concern, but it is really gratifying to see people having fun and having a good time," Goode said
Click here for more informationabout the Chesterfield Berry Farm's Fall Festival. Be sure to check the farm's website for updates on times and inclement weather.
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