It's the Great Pumpkin Patch Tradition

The sunniest scarecrow ever.

For the third year in a row, we brought Evan to the Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark to check out their annual Fall Harvest Festival.

Yeah, Moorpark -- deep in Simi Valley -- is quite a drive. But it's sometimes nice to get outta town, and Underwood's Fall Harvest Festival is a hit with kids. Admission is $8.50 on Saturdays and Sundays and $3.00 per person Monday through Friday; children under 2 are free. A tractor-drawn wagon ride comes with the paid admission on the weekend.

Like I've written in past years, the other attractions (which cost extra) probably aren't worth the price... just go, enjoy the live music, the corn stalk maze, the pumpkin patch and the tractor ride. The festival continues from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily until Oct. 31 (when kids in costume get in for free). Parking is free.


Tractor ride around the farm -- much longer than last year.


Yeah, they won't be running out of pumpkins.


A green gourd only a mother could love.


Retro John Deere.


It was "tractor weekend" when we visited last week. Lots of tractors. You get the drill.


Pumpkin chicken ravioli, anyone?


Wait, is that Bill Clinton in the train station?!


If it were up to Blogger Toddler, we would have just stayed at this wooden toy train all day. Screw the pumpkins, you can buy 'em at Trader Joe's anyway.

Underwood Family Farms
3370 Sunset Valley Road
Moorpark, CA 93021
805.529.3690

Back to the Pumpkin Patch

It's becoming an annual tradition: Taking Evan to the Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark to pick out a pumpkin and take in their annual Fall Harvest Festival.



Above, Blogger Toddler, Maria and other family members wind their way through the festival's cornstalk maze. (It's a doozy of a maze this year -- took us quite a bit of time to find our way to the middle!)



The price of admission ($7.50 on Saturdays and Sundays; $3 on weekdays -- but kids under 2, including Blogger Toddler, are free) includes a tractor ride around the farm. The fest also includes live music, food, animals, games, etc. The games are pretty pricy -- I'd avoid them and stick with the maze, the tractor ride, feeding the animals, and of course, picking out a pumpkin. That's enough to make the drive and the admission worth your while.

The event continues through Oct. 31, daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. after Oct. 29)


Underwood Family Farms
3370 Sunset Valley Road
Moorpark, CA 93021
805.529.3690

FREE L.A.: Kid-Friendly Halloween Events

We're big fans of the annual trick-or-treat event in Atwater Village down Glendale Blvd. It's a great dress rehearsal for the following week's real Halloween trick-or-treating (plus, we get extra use out of that Target costume), and it's a great way to see the neighborhood up close.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Hugo's will be passing out tacos to big kids and small.

The event, now celebrating its 5th year, is free. Over 68 businesses are participating -- so yeah, that's a lot of candy.

Event takes place THIS FRIDAY from 4 to 5:30 p.m. More details here.



This weekend, Pasadena's Kidspace museum holds its annual Pumpkin Festival. As you can read above, the event is completely free, and features a pumpkin patch, carnival games and music from the likes of Peter Himmelman. The festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Blogger Baby

It's Blogger Baby's first Halloween... and for his first pumpkin, wanted to do something more special than stopping at some lot in town, or (worse) Vons.

That meant driving west. Past the charred fields of the L.A./Ventura county borders to Moorpark, to the Underwood Family Farms, home to their 8th Annual Fall Harvest Festival.

Beyond the rows and rows of pumpkins, the farm boasts a pretty cool corn maze, a petting zoo, games, food booths, live music and other attractions. There's an entrance fee, and some of the attractions cost additional, making it more pricy than I'd like.

But they know how to cater to kids, even infants like Evan. And yes, like the doting new parents we are, we got several obligatory shots of Blogger Baby sitting on a pumpkin.

More images:


Maria and Blogger Baby in the corn maze


Horse rides


Albino pumpkins


Sunflower patch


The festival, as seen from atop a hay bale pyramid