With the closing of the Pierce College Farm Center comes the death of the famous Halloween Harvest. For years this event has been a go-to festival for families and teenagers. Everyone is shocked to hear this October will be the last time he or she can visit the farm. From picking out the perfect pumpkin to riding the itchy-but-enjoyable hayride, the times spent here will never be forgotten. The Halloween Harvest has created thousands of unforgettable memories of family bonding over the past decade since its opening in 2004. The always-spooky corn maze will be making its last appearance this year and after that, valley kids will be on the loose, searching for a new maze and other attractions to help them work through the grief of this devastating loss.
“This event is a family tradition for my family and many others every year,” said sophomore Lindsey Rosenblatt. “Even as I get older, I still look forward to it at the beginning of fall and cannot imagine it leaving forever.”
Although Pierce College has always supported the Farm Center, they cannot afford to maintain the 32-acres any longer. With the loss of the farm comes the loss of food for more than 300,000 people and jobs for students at Pierce College. The farm center has contributed $2.1 million to the school in the past decade, but Pierce College still does not have the money to keep the land. The beloved year-round corn maze will be a memory from the past after Dec. 26, when the whole farm has to be evacuated.
The Halloween Harvest has been a favorite of everyone. Some of the most popular Halloween attractions the festival has to offer include a haunted house, hayride and multiple kids’ rides. At night after the children leave, the spooky After-Dark attractions open. The haunted activities include a scarier version of the corn maze, a haunted trail filled with eerie creatures and a haunted house that is not for the faint of heart.
On Nov. 2, as the rides take their last breaths, everyone will participate in a moment of silence to recall their memories. Visit the Halloween Harvest and say your final goodbyes before the heart of Halloween Harvest stops beating.
