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ONE TANK TRIPS: Mrs. Heather's Pumpkin Patch
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ALBANY - Now that the fall season — and weather — is here, it's the perfect time to spend the day outdoors with your whole family. What better way to do so, than with some autumn activities?
Since 1996, Mrs. Heather's Pumpkin Patch has been a one-stop shop for all things fall! A $10 entrance fee grants you and your kiddos several opportunities for fun.
Heather Hughes, who owns and operates the pumpkin patch in the fall and a strawberry farm in the spring, came from a family of farmers. Her husband did too, and when they first married, they ran a dairy farm. It wasn't until they saw a newspaper article that they thought to try growing a few pumpkins.
“My husband said, well let's plant some pumpkins, not thinking what we was going to do. We just figured we’d sell to a couple people," Hughes said.
Soon enough, her tiny pumpkin patch began to attract a tiny audience when she welcomed school field trips to the farm!
“When we first started we painted their face and I would talk to them about growing pumpkins...and then the next year I would just add little things as we went along and that’s kinda what I’ve done every year I add a little something to it," Hughes said.
Nearly three decades later, those children who first visited are now bringing their own children, while Hughes continues her tradition of wholesome family fun.
According to Hughes, she goes through 30,000 to 50,000 pumpkins each fall. She can't grow them all, so she relies on sharecropping with farmers from surrounding areas.
Each person gets a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. Other activities include face painting, a corn pit, a corn maze, a jumping pillow, a zipline, a playground, an area for milking cows and tons of opportunities for pictures. Hughes also suggests parents bring snacks and drinks, but they are available at the gift shop upon request.
“Bring a picnic, let the kids play, and have a good time," Hughes said.
Mrs. Heather's Pumpkin Patch is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until early November. Her strawberry farm will open in the spring.
Where should we go next? Let us know at onetanktrips@wbrz.com
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