WETASKIWIN, Alta. – Some farmers may roll their eyes, others may roll over in their graves upon hearing about entertainment farming.
But an Ontario family has tapped into the new and profitable business and is eager to talk about it.
Instead of growing wheat or milking cows, Saunders Farm invites people to their farm to run through mazes, walk through a haunted house, throw pumpkins, slide down a hill and ride a hay wagon through a haunted forest.
While Saunders Farm still grows pumpkins and trees for plant nurseries, the most profitable part of the business is the one that attracts thousands of people to their 100-acre farm to be entertained and educated.
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“The entertainment part of the farm has far surpassed the pumpkins and landscape tree business. Yet you couldn’t operate one without the other,” said Angela Saunders.
She was in Alberta recently with her husband, Mark, to talk to a group of Alberta farmers who are keen on hosting events and festivals at their farms as one more way to make money and stay on the farm.
Kerry Engel with Alberta Agriculture’s ag entrepreneurship division said many farms are ready to take the next step from having a U-pick operation to hosting a festival or event on their farm.
“Many people are ready to add events to their mix,” said Engel, who hoped many of the farmers at the conference would be inspired by the Saunders’ talk.
Saunders Farm started out like other farms. In the 1970s the family planted 150,000 trees to tap into the landscape and Christmas market, but that was soon saturated.
They also planted strawberries and at their peak had 25 acres of U-pick fruit. By the late 1980s, there were few people willing to drive half an hour from Ottawa to their community of Munster to pick strawberries.
In 1990, the family heard about a fellow who took visitors on a haunted hayride at his farm. Two years later their Haunting Season was born.
Last year more than 50,000 people drove from Ottawa to be entertained on their farm.
In the beginning there were four haunted scenes through the rows of trees and four more scenes in the barn of terror, a converted 150-year old barn.
Now there are 23 haunted scenes through the forest and 18 scenes in the two-storey barn, which is so scary they don’t recommend it for children under 10 years old.
Many of the horror creatures in the barn are made with bits of old farm machinery.
For younger children there is another barn with different scenes that focus on discovering pond life, the seasons or harvest, all based on the Ontario school curriculum.
“It’s the educational aspect to agriculture we try to instill with the public,” said Angela, who added their primary customer is the family.
Each year more activities are added to help create a memorable experience.
They transplanted some of their landscape trees and now have the largest collection of hedge mazes in North America. They have a tractor and trike trail for small children to ride along gravel paths. They created a parade called the March of Monsters with floats made of a few wagons, straw bales and pumpkins.
“It has become one of our most popular attractions and it cost absolutely nothing,” said Angela.
With the extra dirt from a dugout they built a mountain with a gazebo on top and a long slide down the side.
“Kids love long slides,” said Mark.
To shorten the wait into the barn of horror and the hayrides, Angela designed a wacky stage show on a hay wagon.
“People were in the lineup for two hours and didn’t know it,” she said.
They built structures in the shape of a giant truck and locomotive for the children to play on.
One year they added a puppet show. Now, more than 5,000 schoolchildren come just for that.
The switch from farm to entertainment farming wasn’t easy, said Mark. In the first five years it was difficult to get people to drive out. But with constant work and marketing, there is now a steady stream of visitors.
The first year they charged $2.50 each or $3 for two people. In 2003, the charge was $15 for adults and $12 for kids aged three to 10 with almost no complaints from their visitors about price.
“We offer a huge value for what they get,” said Mark, who added it’s important to pick a theme and follow it through in everything from signs to costumes.
The parking lot attendants wear pylons on their heads and have tire tracks on their faces and jackets.
The garbage collectors wear garbage can lids for hats and garbage can backpacks into which kids are invited to throw their garbage.
To expand the month-long October Haunting Season, the family invited people to the farm in the summer to run through the mazes. They also added a Christmas in the Country event when families can cut their own Christmas tree. In the summer, they host company picnics and visitors can play sand volleyball, bocce or croquet.
By adding entertainment to a real farm, visitors can connect to the growing trend of wanting an authentic experience when they’re entertained, said Mark.
“People want to come and feel a sensation,” he said.
