By LESLIE KELLY
Kitsap Week
October days are meant for finding just the right pumpkin, trying your hand at a corn maze and taking part in a variety of other fun-on-the-farm activities. And if seasonal fun is on your agenda, there’s a number of places in Kitsap County to go.
Bremerton
Minder Farm: Off of Highway 303, at 1000 Gluds Pond St. NE, Bremerton. Hours are Wednesday through Friday, 3 p.m. to dark; Saturday 10 a.m. to dark and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Info: 360-620-3707.
This is the eighth year of the Minder Farm’s corn maze.
“We’ve got five acres devoted to our corn maze,” said Jim Carlson, an owner of the farm. “And there’s 2.2 miles of trails through it.”
This year, he said, has been a particularly good growing year for field corn, the kind that’s planted to create the maze.
“It’s about 12- to 14-feet tall,” he said. “That creates a pretty good cover.”
Carlson decides what he wants the maze to look like from the air, then he gives the sponsor the idea and a computer generates a design. Finally, the corn is planted.
“The corn is planted with the help of GPS,” he said. “It’s planted at night by tractors that are guided by computer.”
This year’s maze is the Pepsi logo of the sponsors, the Bremerton Bottling Company. Previous patterns have include a Seahawks helmet, the ESPN logo and a buffalo.
In all, there are 90,000 stalks of corn in this year’s maze.
As for the popularity of the place, that, too, is growing every year.
“If we keep the pace going as it is, we’ll have 5,000 visitors this season,” Carlson said.
The maze is open to the public and he offers it to community groups as well as a fund raiser.
“I give them $2 of each admission,” he said. “The Tracyton soccer club made $504 last week.”
In October the farm also includes a pumpkin patch, which is free to wander through. The only cost is for the pumpkin you take home. And while at the farm, enjoy sitting by a fire pit, have a hot dog or some kettle corn, and play a bean-bag toss game or soccer. On Friday evenings, there’s live music, weather permitting.
“It’s just good family fun,” he said. “People just enjoy coming to the farm. Some of them have never been on a farm and they are just happy to experience it.”
Silverdale
Pheasant Fields Farm: 13274 Clear Creek Road NW, Silverdale. Open Oct. 24, 25, 31 and Nov. 1 from 7-9 p.m. $8 per person. Info: 360-697-6224, farmernikkij@gmail.com.
Pheasant Fields Farm is a family-run operation owned by Nikki and Allen Johanson.
The farm is open daily through Nov. 1 for picking pumpkins, decorative gourds, corn stalks, and in-season vegetables. Check in at the farm stand and get all the information about what’s happening that day. Pick up some jam, honey or fresh salsa, too.
There’s a corn maze — larger than two acres — with decorated paths that appeal to all ages. The Johansons say it’s Kitsap County’s first living corn maze. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Cost is $6 for adults and $4 for kids. Adults and children get riddles to solve by finding clues throughout the maze, Nikki Johanson said.
“This year’s themes are pollinators and predators,” she said. “We learn about the importance of bees and not using pesticides, and we identify the footprints of various animals.”
One of the favorites at the farm is the apple slingshot. For $1, patrons get 3 apples to try the slingshot and see how far they can get their apples to go.
“Some of them go way down by the duck pond,” Johanson said.
Wagon rides are planned for Saturdays and Sundays and farm tours including seeing the farm animals also are available.
On Oct. 19 and 26, there’s a not-so-scary walk through the woods along a path through the corn maze that ends with entertainment and story-telling at the theater. That takes place at 1:30 and 3 p.m.
If you’re more the haunted house kind of person, try the “Wild Woods” at Pheasant Fields.
Wild Woods is the biggest, scariest and most fun haunted farm in the Northwest, she said.
“Witches, ghosts, goblins alike are all waiting for you on our Wild Woods nights,” Johanson said. “Come walk our haunted corn maze and trek our five acres of spooked-up woods.”
She added that it is a supervised event — no one is unaccompanied at any time. No reservations are required but children younger than 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
Manchester
Creek House Farm: 6060 East Collins Road, Port Orchard. Open weekends in October and hours are Friday noon to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Info: 360-871-7267, pumpkins@creekhousefarm.com.
Creek House Farm’s pumpkin patch in Manchester, near Port Orchard, offers 20 varieties of organic, heirloom pumpkins selected for the dual purpose of decoration and quality food. The U-pick pumpkins are ready. There are hay rides for the kids, farm animals to touch, autumn crafts and a play area. The pumpkin patch at the farm began in 2009.
Bainbridge Island
Suyematsu and Bainbridge Island Farms: 9229 Day Road East. Info: 206-842-1429
The farms are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 1-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Besides great pumpkins, there is also a corn maze, hale bale maze, and tractor rides on the weekends.
Also coming up: The Bainbridge Gardens 21st annual Pumpkin Walk, 9415 Miller Road NE, Bainbridge Island. Oct. 17 and Oct. 18, 6-8 p.m.
The Pumpkin Walk is a fun, family-friendly, non-scary event hosted by Bainbridge Gardens. The walk features 300 lighted, carved pumpkins glowing along the walkway. There is Harvest Hay Maze and an inflatable Bounce House for the kids, plus festive face painting and carnival games with prizes. Kitsap Konnection will provide the musical entertainment for the night. Food and beverages are available for purchase from the New Rose Cafe.
There is no admission, but donations from the event benefit the Bainbridge Island Boys & Girls Club.
Brian Kelly contributed to this article.
