Papa’s Pumpkins Are Peekin’ Through!

It’s true. We’ve felt more like the Pacific Northwest than North Dakota this spring. Even so, the pumpkins at Papa’s Pumpkin Patch are peeking through. The fellas in the photo are called Lil Orange Mons; think Pump-Ke-Mons except the speckles on the Lil Orange Mons will be yellow rather than white.

In addition to Lil Orange Mons, the corn for Papa’s Corn Maze is up and anxious to see the sunshine. It’s four to six inches tall, and we’re sure as soon as we have a week of summer sun, it will triple in height!

Last year, Broom Corn was a big hit for guests at Papa’s Pumpkin Patch, and Papa’s broom corn is coming on strong in 2013. Folks loved picking up one or two bunches of broom corn stalks to add to fall displays and harvest arrangements in their homes. Papa’s got one bunch of multi-colored broom corn arranged in a heavy pottery vase that looks as beautiful in June as it did last October.

In case you don’t have our 2013 dates on your calendar, Papa’s Pumpkin Patch will open Saturday, Sept. 14 at noon. We’ll be open through Saturday, Oct. 19 from 12-7 pm daily. If we get on the other side of our rainy season soon, we may be able to open earlier, and if that happens, we’ll be sure to let our friends know!

Take Good Care.

It Takes More Than a Little Snow to Make a Polar Patch

Up until this past weekend the answer to the question was easy. Papa needs snow to host a polar patch. We got about 5″ of snow this past weekend (Dec. 8) and now the answer isn’t as easy.

What is Papa’s Polar Patch you ask? In the years when we’ve had enough snow, Papa transforms his pumpkin patch into a bit of a winter wonderland — complete with snow caves (a winter version of the bale mazes), old-fashioned sled rides (see the photo to the left), horse-drawn sleigh rides, an ice pond for slipping and sliding, and sometimes a giant snow hill for short sled rides, climbing and tunneling.

Papa’s big red barn becomes a warming house complete with hot chocolate and warm chocolate chip cookies. There’s even all of the fixin’s for s’mores and a bonfire to prepare them.

Back to the question at hand: will there be a Papa’s Polar Patch this winter? We don’t know yet, and here’s why: if nothing changes, we have enough snow for one day of a polar patch. With all of the foot and sled traffic we’d generate, by the end of the day most of the pumpkin patch-turned-polar patch would be mud — including the parking lot.

The weather forecast is mixed and so here’s the bottom line (which isn’t helpful for our friends who love to have everything planned in advance): please keep an eye on Papa’s website and Facebook page. If we get a major snow fall and it looks promising, we’ll let you know as soon as we decide about opening Papa’s Polar Patch in 2012.

Thanks for your interest, and best wishes for a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas!

We Are Grateful for You!

Happy Thanksgiving! We are entering a season of gratitude, and today Papa is mindful of the hundreds (really, it’s over 500) volunteers who made this season’s pumpkin patch a reality. It’s hard to imagine and yet amazingly true. In 2012, we welcomed well over 50,000 guests, and our volunteers from every walk of life made your visit to Papa’s a memorable one.

Papa and the family extend a heartfelt thank you to the teachers, students, doctors, nurses, musicians, dancers, insurance agents, bankers, attorneys, financial advisors, pharmacists, accountants, business owners, firefighters, youth pastors, special olympians, retirees, programmers, mechanics, farmers, electrical linemen, administrative and HR professionals… The list is long and we are grateful for each of your contributions.

Many of these volunteers represent the 49 organizations who have or will soon receive support from Papa’s in 2012. Our goal was to contribute $30,000 this year, and with your help, we were able to far exceed that.

The ad you see here will be in the Sunday, Nov. 25 edition of the Bismarck Tribune. It lists the 49 groups Papa supports in 2012, features some children doing what they do best at Papa’s — remind us all how to enjoy life, and most importantly, says THANK YOU!

Papa’s 2012 Season in Photos

Papa’s Pumpkin Patch is truly blessed with talented people who share their gifts with us. One of those people is talented Bismarck photographer Amy Taborsky. Amy has captured the spirit of Papa’s for the past several years, and she also volunteers her time during the week to assist with the many field trips we have scheduled.

We’ll share some of our favorites from Amy’s 2012 collection over the next several weeks on Papa’s Facebook page. There are some priceless expressions from visitors that truly deserve the perfect caption and we’ll let you offer your ideas. For example, check out the little princess in the background.  What do you suppose she’s thinking right about now?

Another bonus of having Amy photograph Papa’s Pumpkin Patch is her husband, Larry, who happens to be a pilot! The two of them were overhead circling Papa’s on two occasions this fall and captured some wonderful shots of Papa’s “footprint” along the Missouri River. This image is from the north and gives you a bird’s eye view of the marketplace, the many bale mazes and the nature trails. On the left you can see the start of the corn maze, and at the bottom you’ll see the horse-drawn hayride headed back to the patch.

If you’re undecided about how you feel with the first snow on the ground, perhaps a look through a few of these wonderful fall scenes will warm you up for a few minutes!

Here’s one from the pumpkin patch itself. I don’t know about you, but the idea of focusing on a single pumpkin with a handle that’s lying down wouldn’t cross my mind. Still, look what character this pumpkin has amidst all of his “normal” handled friends!

We’ll continue to share Amy’s work on Papa’s website. You can also visit Papa’s photo gallery on Flickr if you need a mental break and want to wander north of Bismarck and stop by Papa’s Pumpkin Patch during the off season!

Happy Halloween from Papa’s!

The official end to fall — Halloween — is here, and Papa is prepared. This happy jack-o-lantern was carved for Papa in a past season and we still like it best.

In the days since we closed, much of the pumpkin patch activity has revolved around clean up and putting away before the snow flies.

Last Saturday, Papa hosted his annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. We are so grateful to the (literally) hundreds of volunteers that make Papa’s a reality. Keep your eyes open around Thanksgiving: we intend to publish a list of all the 2012 volunteers and the charities that benefited from this season!

Remember Papa will announce the winner of the cookie contest at 8 pm on Halloween. If you’d still like to take a guess at how many pumpkin cookies Papa shared during the 2012 season, post your guess on Papa’s Facebook page. The winner gets a FREE dozen pumpkin cookies!

Enjoy Halloween and stay safe!