Love to Laugh and Learn

Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival Review

Are you looking for some fun fall activities; apple picking, some interactive fun, a wagon ride or a pumpkin patch? How about all of that in one place? You will want to check out Stuckey Farm’s Harvest Festival.

Stuckey Farm has been one of my favorite apple orchards for many years. I first started going there on field trips with preschool classes. My husband loves it because he can pick his favorite apple there; the McIntosh.

This is Stuckey’s second year of celebrating fall with a Harvest Festival. We missed it last year but are really glad that we were able to attend this time. With our 3 year old great-nephew in tow, we headed off to the festival. The weather conditions weren’t the best. As you can tell from this picture it was a “little” windy, which made it very cold (therefore the expression on our great-nephew’s face).

We decided to grab a couple of bags for apple picking. Then we climbed onto the wagon, looking forward to a ride around the orchard. As we sat waiting, something to the left of us caught my eye. It was a tree with moving eyes. The tractor driver told us it was a talking tree, and we had time to go check it out before the wagon needed to leave. We went to investigate. The driver wasn’t kidding. It was definitely a talking tree. It asked Jeremiah his name and carried on a conversation with him. Jeremiah was very impressed and quite fond of the tree. As a matter of fact, he liked the tree so much we had to go back two more times.

We went back and hopped onto the wagon for a ride around the orchard. On our ride we saw the fun play area, Adventure Acres, and a pumpkin patch. I had no intentions of going to the pumpkin patch because it had rained the night before, but once Jeremiah saw it he said he wanted to go. I told him we would wait until after we picked the apples to see how he felt, because he was pretty cold. He looked up at me and said, in his sweet 3 year old voice, “I’s okay now.” Of course, he was still shivering but I realized he really wanted to go to the pumpkin patch.

Once we dismounted from the wagon, we walked into the orchard to pick our apples. I was after Red Delicious and Jonathan’s this day. I love watching my husband and great-nephew interact as they pick apples.

Once the bag was full, Jeremiah wanted to carry it. He assured us he was strong enough. My husband gave him the bag and he made it several steps before he decided to give it back to Uncle Pat.

After both bags were full, I asked Jeremiah if he wanted to go play or was he too cold and wanted to go home. I bet you will never guess what he wanted to do. My husband took the apples back to the car while Jeremiah and I warmed ourselves in the store. There are so many wonderful things to look at and purchase. We were able to watch some ladies make apple cider donuts (of which we bought a half dozen). They were delicious. There was a large variety of jams, jellies and honey. We even watched the bees for a while.

Then we headed out to the play area. We were told that everything was adult friendly so one (or both) of us could ride with Jeremiah. There was a huge slide, decorated like a caterpillar. Jeremiah and my husband both went down it.

Jeremiah and Uncle Pat raced on some pedal carts. Big thanks go out to the young man that pushed Jeremiah around the track. His little legs weren’t long enough to reach the pedals but the young man offered to push him. Jeremiah had a blast racing his Uncle.

Next, the guys rode the barrel train which is pulled by a tractor. The cars are decorated to look like farm animals. They received a nice long ride around the outside edge of Adventure Acres.

There were a couple of great climbing areas; some old tractor tires and some bales of hay stacked to look like a tractor.

There were several other fun activities that we didn’t get to. There was an electronically timed maze game, for the kids, called Punchin’ Pumpkins.

There was also a large corn maze, which I wanted nothing to do with. I am no good with directions and get turned around easily. Associated with the maze is a fun “Secret Agent” challenge. If you kids are a little older, than Jeremiah, they would really enjoy it. Here is an entertaining video that explains more about the challenge. It’s worth watching even if you don’t plan on going through the corn maze.

Last but definitely not least, we headed to the pumpkin patch. I’m really glad we didn’t skip that part of the trip. The ground was packed fairly hard so we didn’t have a lot of mud to contend with. I enjoyed watching Jeremiah’s reaction to the vines. He was quite interested in the vines and what they were used for. My husband explained that the leaves and vines help bring food to the pumpkins so they can grow.

Jeremiah wanted a “big, huge” pumpkin but we told him that he would have to carry it. He ended up choosing an adorable little one.

There were still plenty of pumpkins throughout the large patch. You won’t want to miss out on that part of the trip.

Stuckey Farm is located just north of Indianapolis, in Sheridan, Indiana. It sits right between Sheridan, Westfield and the Indianapolis Executive Airport. The Harvest Festival goes through October 26th. The cost to enter the festival is just $5 per person. That price includes all the rides and activities at Adventure Acres. You will want to bring some extra money for warm apple cider donuts and other yummy treats. Don’t forget you can also pick apples and pumpkins for all your special fall activities. If you aren’t interested in attending the festival, but still want your apples and pumpkins from Stuckey’s, then come on a weekday or during their special Saturday picking times. The special Saturday times are between 7:00am – 10:00am and 5:30pm – 8:00pm.

Don’t forget to stop and say good-bye to the talking tree. You might want to show off the cool pumpkin you picked.