gmhTODAY 22 gmhToday Oct Nov 2018 | Page 55

With your pumpkin purchases completed, it’s time to turn your attention to the attractions. “Our most popular attraction is the train ride,” Melton said. “The trip is seven minutes long and nearly a half-mile in length.” Two trains navigate the course: The steam-engine replica Allan Herschell Iron Horse, which can carry 107 passengers, and the sleek Arrow Streamliner—the full-sized version of which defined passenger travel starting in 1934—which carries 32. “And the second is the hayride,” Melton said. “Pumpkin Pete narrates a tour that passes by the Sunflower Gallery and Marigoldland with 100,000 hand-sown marigolds.” Every year, the two-acre corn maze is redesigned, down- loaded to a tractor’s computer, and laser cut. A map and emergency phone number are provided as you enter the maze—just in case. For the younger kids, there’s the pony ride, petting zoo, the Bootsie the Bee Kids’ Corn Maze with textured friends that light up at night, and the cow train ride. Older kids can enjoy a large jumper made of giant hay bales to bounce on, and everyone can take a shot with the pumpkin cannon that shoots mini-pumpkins 90 miles per hour at stationary targets. On the weekends, the carousel, jugglers on stilts, food vendors, and live music create a country fair atmosphere. The Pumpkin Lab demonstrates the lifecycle of the pumpkin; and Bootsie’s Honey Hut features a bee- hive with live bees so visitors can see them at work. From October 1 st through 31 st , the Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park opens its doors and invites young and old to visit the world of the pumpkin. Those who’ve enjoyed the comic strip “Peanuts” will remember how Linus van Pelt was convinced that the Great Pumpkin would appear in the pumpkin patch that is the most sincere, and would fly around bringing toys to sincere and believing children. Maybe the Great Pumpkin will come to the Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park this year, but even if he doesn’t, everyone is guaranteed to go home with their very own Great Pumpkin. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 Pumpkin Weigh-Off October 13, 2018 14485 Monterey Road San Martin 408.778.7225 morganhillpumpkins.com gmhtoday.com 55