NEWSOMS
Just down General Thomas Highway by a few minutes, scores of people in Boykins were enjoying the Pumpkin Festival on Saturday. Meanwhile, people who stopped at Turtle Creek Farm in Newsoms found plenty of pumpkins — and family fun — just ripe for the picking.

The familiar seasonal gourds dotted the field set aside for just such a crop. Families such as the Crisps from Pendleton, North Carolina, walked up and down the rows looking for the right ones to take home. By visit’s end they loaded a few in a small wagon.

Jenny Bunn, whose family owns and operates Turtle Creek, said that the farm has been around for 10 years. For the first five years, the place would be open just for school tours. But so many parents had been asking about expanding the opportunities for family visits, said Bunn, that the decision was made to do so.

Down a path, many guests that afternoon made their way to a hay ride and other attractions, such as the corn maze.

“We try to add something new each year,” Bunn added. There’s a sandpile in which children may play, and hay mountains from which they can slide. Animals for petting is also an option.

She credits her husband, Blair, as “the master mind” of this project.

He said the experience this year “has been very fun, and we’ve met just a lot of new people from out of the area who have been to visit. It’s just been a good experience for everybody. Everybody seems to enjoy it.

“We want to make it fun for every age group.”

The place, located at 29164 Three Bees Road off of General Thomas, is only open in October for this seasonal activity, and this coming weekend will, of course, be the last one. Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 653-6488 or visit the Turtle Creek’s website (www.turtlecreekfarmva.com)or  Facebook page for directions and photos.