Pumpkin fun at Willows Farm Village

The countdown is on to one of the most popular times of the year at Willows Farm Village in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

The annual Pumpkin Festival kicks off on Saturday 17th October, and farmers Andrew and Anna have extended the event to two weeks, until 1st November, giving pre-school children the chance to visit for a week before the older children start their half term break.

Over 10,000 pumpkin seeds in a field over 6,000 square metres were planted by farm workers in the spring, using a traditional planting machine, and these will be ready to be harvested during the Pumpkin Festival.

Every child who visits Willows Farm Village will be able to choose their own free pumpkin. There’s an undercover pumpkin carving area with daily prizes for the best carved pumpkin, or alternatively children can take their pumpkins home whole and try cooking a delicious pumpkin soup or pie.

New to this year’s Pumpkin Festival is the Animal Pumpkin Farm, home to many different farmyard animals made out of the pumpkins grown at Willows.

Also new is an exciting Pumpkin Olympics – inspired by the London 2012 preparations. There is a ‘Pumpkin Obstacle Race’, ‘Roll a Pumpkin’ and ‘Pumpkin Relay’ to name a few of the races. They may not feature in the London Olympics but there is plenty of fun to be had and there’s a Pumpkin Olympics certificate for everyone taking part.

Willows farmer Andrew says: “The Pumpkin Festival is a fantastic experience for parents and children visiting the farm. It’s important to us that we give everyone, particularly children, the opportunity to learn more about where their food comes from, and the Pumpkin Festival gives visitors the chance to find out more about these impressive fruits.

“The new Pumpkin Olympics is a great chance to run around, burn off some energy and have lots of fun. There are also lots of other indoor and outdoor activities so there is plenty to keep visitors busy all day.

“Children and parents will enjoy our pumpkin-related activities, from carving competitions through to visiting the Pumpkin Animal Farm.”

Pumpkin Olympics events take place in the Holiday Events Arena at 3.00pm daily throughout the Pumpkin Festival. There is also a full day’s programme of, adventure play, children’s shows, fun fair rides and the indoor play barn Woolly Jumpers.

For more information about the Pumpkin Festival at Willows Farm Village visit willowsfarmvillage.com.