The weather during the Thanksgiving long weekend was exceptionally nice for the inaugural Pumpkin Patch Party at the Red Market Barn.
Saddle Ridge Farm, located eight kilometres from Wawota, hosted the event.
Danielle and Colton Frederickson and their two sons, Flynn and Kohen, are the owners at Saddle Ridge Farm and have often been part of the Red Market Barn with their petting zoo.
Frederickson has a passion for animals and over the years, her herd of different critters has continued to grow.
She is asked to host her zoo of animals all over the southeast corner, but got her start at the Red Market Barn, owned and operated by Harold and Brenda Johnston.
The pumpkin party began at 11 a.m. with a host of things to do for the kids all afternoon.
A large pumpkin patch could be seen upon entering. The sizes ranged from minis up to 500 pounds. These pumpkins were sourced locally from several growers.
Next year, Frederickson hopes to grow her own pumpkins for the event, as she feels it may save her time and travelling to locate homegrown pumpkins.
The extreme sized pumpkins were donated by the Windthorst and District Lions Club, who also hold a contest for the largest pumpkin.
Face painting was a favourite throughout the event, as it had a non-stop line up.
Grandparents, parents and kids started streaming through the gate early in the afternoon to enjoy the kid-friendly event.
The one-time entrance fee covered all the events for the day, and the kids could take part in the activities as often as they wished.
They could dig through the straw pile to find trinkets, which was called a needle in the haystack.
A photo shoot area was well attended for families to get that special moment.
Children of all ages took advantage of the huge bouncy castle as parents watched on.
The popular attraction was the petting zoo. Donkeys, geese, rabbits, goats, sheep, Guinee pigs, a pony and pot belly pigs received lots of treats and pets from the little hands.
Timbel Wellborn provided hay wagon rides with his well-behaved horses, which gave hours of rides all afternoon.
Snacks were available for purchase through Broadway Bakeshop out of Redvers.
In the background, Aaron James pumped out some country tunes, which was fitting for the setting.
As guests continued to arrive, the pumpkin patch slowly became smaller, with half the pumpkins finding new homes.
“It took a great deal of work to get this organized,” said Frederickson.
She now knows what to change and make better and more efficient for next year.
From painting signs weeks in advance, to setting up the day before, to an early morning of loading up animals. Frederickson feels it was a highly successful day.
With many families and friends hands helping out, she has plans to continue with the event next year while adding some vendors as well.
For more photos, please see the Observed At page on A9.
