Sinkland Farms kicks off the first of five pumpkin-celebrating weekends on September 28th with a packed slate of entertainment including a five-acre corn maze, a barn full of animals and hayrides to the pumpkin patch.
Visiting the farm’s picture-perfect, rolling fields is an annual tradition for many Southwest Virginia families. Sinkland expects 30,000 visitors to its Pumpkin Festival. Face-painting, aww-inducing farm animals, appearances by a live scarecrow and the 12-foot-tall HOKIEtron are among the Sinkland Farms’ offerings popular with children — or they are, at least, for young’ins who can be dragged away from the Kidz Zone, which boasts new giant slides this year.
Setting itself apart from other pumpkin patches, Sinkland Farms makes sure to gear some of the farm fun to adults. Tastings of Virginia wines and craft beer from the new Sinkland Farms Brewery are available each day, along with a packed schedule of live music. Chainsaw carving, corn shelling, blacksmith and lasso exhibitions draw big crowds. Visitors can also enjoy the arts and crafts booths and carved and painted pumpkins by the New River Valley’s own Ed Kirkman.
Spotty precipitation in June and July combined with a wetter August and September resulted in one of the best pumpkin crops in Sinkland Farms history. In addition to the pumpkins, squash in many varieties, shapes and colors will be on sale along with hay bales, corn shocks and colorful mums. Food for sale includes home-cooked barbeque, pinto beans, hot dogs, muffins and other baked goods. A coffee bar, apple cider, Kettle Korn and hand-dipped ice cream will also be available.
Henry and Susan Sink were recent college graduates when they purchased the scenic farm off Virginia 8 near Riner in 1980 to run as a dairy farm. Over the years, the couple diversified the farm’s offerings with crops ranging from strawberries to Christmas trees. After attending a pumpkin festival in Craig County, the Sinks decided to stage a similar event on their farm. Those first pumpkin festivals touted antique tractor displays and 50-cent hayrides. Today, a mainstay for the community, Sinkland Farms’ Pumpkin Festival has been voted a “Best Fall Festival” and ranked the “Best Pumpkin Patch” in Virginia.
When Henry Sink died in a motorcycle crash in May of 2007, Susan Sink knew instinctively that she would continue with the Pumpkin Festival on her own. “There’s never been a question in my mind that we would not carry on,” she told the Roanoke Times.
On Fridays, Sinkland Farms opens for an abbreviated Pumpkin Festival that runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Free admission with $2 hay rides and $5 tickets to the corn maze. The Pumpkin Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $10 per person.
Seniors and members of the U.S. Armed Forces receive a $2 dollar discount. Children under the age of three are free. Admission includes parking, one hay ride, one trip through the maze and admission to the Kidz Zone, animal barn and all performances. Ride-a-Rescue horse trail rides are $12.
Please check the website for live music and a full schedule: www.sinklandfarms.com.