By Gail Lambert
This is outdoor family fun that used to exist only in children’s books for non-farming families. Today you can drive to
Layman Farm, in Bedford County, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, only 15 minutes from downtown Roanoke. The Pumpkin Festival runs on weekends from September 19 through November 14, right when the summer heat has vanished and wintry winds have not yet arrived, when nothing will do but a day in the country.
Admission fees, starting at $10 for adults down to free for the under-2 set, include the 11.5-acre Corn Maze -- the first one in Virginia. My family was awed by the height of the cornstalks, and was entertained by the questions and clues at cornstalk junctions.
Save time for a hayride out to the 25-acre Pumpkin Patch, to pick out and haul back for purchase a Halloween pumpkin and shop the Farm Store. Shoot the Corn Cannon at targets in a field and the Pumpkin Blaster, a giant slingshot contraption. Little kids have a 10-car Cow Train to ride and their own Mini Pumpkin Maze, hay jump and sandbox alternative called the Corn Crib. There are rubber duck races, tube slide down a hill, a goat walk bridge and farm animals.
No outside food is permitted, but there’s a concession stand with drinks, hot dogs & barbecue and picnic tables. Bring a flashlight for after dusk.
For more information, contact Layman Family Farm, 1815 Mountain View Church Road, Blue Ridge, VA 24064. Visit
www.laymanfamilyfarms.com.