Voted one of the best haunts in the Bay Area last year that
attracted more than 20,000 people, the Swank Farms Great Corn Maze
and Pumpkin Patch will open it’s doors once again this Friday, for
another year of fun and fright.
Hollister – Voted one of the best haunts in the Bay Area last year that attracted more than 20,000 people, the Swank Farms Great Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch will open it’s doors once again this Friday, for another year of fun and fright.
The park will open at 10am, and along with getting lost in the maze, which spans across three acres, and finding the perfect pumpkin to carve, visitors can also play in the Kiddy Corral and scream their lungs out in the Haunted Ranch.
“This is a very dark haunt, which isn’t meant for kids,” Owner
Bonnie Swank said. “It’s just really scary. The story of the haunt is about a man who lived there. His wife and daughter died and he went a little crazy. Then the corn began to grow really high and weird things started happening.”
Because the haunted house, with surprises around every corner, is a little too scary for kids, the park also includes the Kiddy Corral, which has plenty of fun things for the little ones. In order to enter the Kiddy Corral, visitors must walk through a gourd tunnel, and once inside, they can enjoy games, writing all over the walls of the chalk house and instead of playing with sand, they can build and tumble in the corn box and haystacks.
“We’ve had a blast putting this together,” Swank said.
In order to build the gigantic maze, which is carved out of a field of thousands of corn stocks, Swank said the preparation begins in the spring.
“There is so much planning that goes into this,” she said. “But it is our biggest profit of the year. I can honestly say this is what keeps the farm running. And it’s a lot of fun to do.”
Swank, who has a background in interior design, and her husband Dick, who is a local farmer, combined their talents in 2000 and created the park.
“It’s sort of like the farmer meets the decorator,” Bonnie Swank said jokingly.
Growing 21 varieties of pumpkins, the patch is filled with “Cinderella’s”, “Baby Boo’s”, “Sugar Pies” and “Jardales” gourds. Autumn has always been Swank’s favorite time of year, but it wasn’t until they opened the park that she realized how many others enjoyed the season as well.
“You know, when my kids were little, we would carve pumpkins and do all the Halloween stuff, but I never realized how many people truly love this holiday,” she said. “It’s just so magical.”
Those who enjoy the tastes and smells of autumn can get a take-home treat at the park as well. Visitors can purchase “Popping Corn on the Cob,” which comes with a bag and instructions on how to pop it at home.
And before leaving the park, visitors can help send the pumpkins that weren’t pretty enough to make it in the patch flying in the 16 foot “Ugly Pumpkin” slingshot.
The park will remain open through Halloween on Oct. 31, but the Haunted Ranch is only open during the weekends. Children five and under are free, daytime maze admission is $8 and night time is $12 and for $15 visitors can go through the maze and the haunt.
For more information, call 636-1295.
Christine Tognetti covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330, or ct*******@fr***********.com.
