Fair Weather Acres Tries to Weather Damage from Hurricane Irene

Fairweather Acres kicked off its annual The Corn Maize and Fall Festival Saturday, Sept. 10, a week ahead of schedule, as the family business attempts to absorb a million dollars in crop losses caused by Hurricane Irene.

 “We lost over two-hundred acres of string beans, almost $800,000 wholesale,” said Fairweather Acres manager Michele Collins. “We lost forty acres of pumpkins, nearly $100,000. And the rest in mixed vegetables.”

The business is attempting to offset some of the financial devastation by expanding its annual festival, a popular local event that customarily opens on the third weekend in September and extends through Halloween, but this year will run from Sept. 10 to Nov. 6. The final two days will feature a special “Pumpkin Chunkin” weekend during which guests will get to take four pumpkins home instead of the standard single pumpkin they usually receive.

“With the extra days and all the improvements we’ve made, we believe we might be able to get 30,000 visitors this season, double what we did last year,” Collins offered hopefully.

As Collins indicates, this year’s Fall Festival features more additions than just calendar dates. And the enhancements are designed to provide new enjoyment opportunities for all ages.

For children, the festival has added go-kart tracks with nifty, tractor-modeled go-karts. It has also expanded its two kiddie-corn mazes and enlarged the corn pit in which children play as they would in ball pits at arcades.

Guests on the other end of the age spectrum will be entertained by new scarecrows and other stuffed mannequins that have been strategically placed to offer prime photo spots. They will also find ample spots to rest on the extra benches that have been installed around the grounds. And the tractor-pulled wagons that serve as transportation for guests are now wheelchair-accessible, which will permit service not only to disabled seniors but other non-ambulatory visitors.

But the attraction that commands the most interest from all age-groups between children and grandparents is Fairweather Acres’ corn maze, cleverly dubbed “The Maize.” Filled with labyrinthine pathways hewn out of the towering cornstalks and multiple dead-ends, guests can spend several hours inside if they want to explore its expansive layout in-depth.

After building their appetites by taking part in the numerous activities, hungry guests will enjoy the inaugural presence of a Da Vinci Pizza booth that provides some variety to the normal fare offered at the regular concession stand. Guests also will not want to depart the grounds without visiting the enlarged gift stand, which sells pumpkins and festival-related souvenirs and novelty items.

Fairweather Acres’s Corn Maize and Fall Festival will run on Saturdays and

Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Nov. 6. Admission is $13, which includes full-access to festival attractions.