Underwood Family Farms' 21st Annual Fall Harvest Festival begins on Saturday, September 29 & Sunday, September 30 with the first of 5 themed weekends titled Friends of the Farm Weekend celebrating our 1st Responders. The proceeds from this weekend's gate will help benefit The Ventura County Sheriff's Explorers Program, Search and Rescue Groups, K-9 Unit, Air Unit, Volunteers in Policing, Disaster Response Team (DART), Sheriff's Foundation (supporting women in law enforcement) and The Ventura County Fire Department's Charity Groups.
The weekend will be filled with demonstrations including fire trucks, ambulances, members of the VCSO Bomb Squad with their bomb robot, SWAT members with SWAT Bearcat, Search and Rescue Snow Cat, K-9 Demonstrations, Disaster Action Response Team displays (DART), Office of Emergency Services, Police Cars, Police Motorcycles, Search and Rescue Displays, a Dozer plus MUCH, MUCH more! There will even be free displays outside the gate and once inside, AMR CPR chest compression training, child fingerprinting, the Bomb Squad and Bomb Robot demo at 12:30, & the Sheriff's Department Pig Race at 1:00pm. Don't miss the popular Pumpkin Drop, where a pumpkin filled with candy is dropped from 150 feet up in the air! Over $30,000 was donated from last year's Friends of the Farm Weekend with the hope to beat that number this year!
On Saturday, October 6 & Sunday, October 7, country music fills the farm! Local Ventura County bands will perform throughout the weekend on the Main stage for Farm Country Weekend which will take place from 10:30am - 5:45pm and country station KHAY will be on hand to kick the festivities up a notch! Every weekend following, beginning at 10:30am, live bands such as CRV, Rocky Neck Bluegrass Band, Acadiana, Big Tweed, Ventucky String Band & The Catterwailers, will keep everyone's toes tapping until the end of the day!
Underwoods is always excited to have the Topa Topa Flywheelers at the farm for Antique Tractor Weekend! On Saturday, October 13 and Sunday, October 14, there will be antique tractors, farm equipment & motors as well as demonstrations and 3 daily tractor parades! Also on display, will be John Deere's newest tractors. and NEW this year - a cotton picking slide to accompany our extremely popular combine slide!
Wild West Weekend returns on Saturday, October 20 & Sunday, October 21 from 10:00am-3:00pm. The weekend will be filled with cowboy entertainment such as stunt ropers, a gold miner, a covered wagon, music, magic and more! Tumbleweed Rob, the Billhillies and Jumbo Shrimp Circus are just some of the amazing acts that will be performing this weekend.
The final weekend of October is dedicated to pumpkins with the theme being "All About Pumpkins." Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28 marks the final weekend for picking out the perfect pumpkins and decorations for those Halloween parties. The artistic members of the Underwood Family Farms' staff will have specially designed pumpkins throughout the farm to help inspire visitor's decorating styles. Shoppers won't be disappointed by our Country Store filled with all their decorating needs as well as holiday books, jarred products and gifts! The farm is a great place to grab those last minute pumpkins and celebrate the harvest.
PLEASE NOTE: Underwood Family Farms' Fall Harvest Festival is open to the public for a $15.00 entrance fee on September 29, September 30, October 6 & 7 and $20.00 on October 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, & 28. Weekday admission is $6.00. Parking is free as well as admission for children UNDER 2. Advanced ticket sales will be available on-line for $12.00 for the first two weekends beginning September 1 through September 28. On September 29, on-line tickets will be available for $14.00 for the first two weekends. Active military, fire, police personnel, and first responders will receive free admission on September 29 & September 30 with valid ID.
Attractions include a farm stand with fresh produce grown on site, pick-your-own fruits and vegetables and three hundred tons of hard-to-find pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, colors, and varieties that are grown especially for the Festival. The Fall Harvest Festival is the only place where visitors can ride around the farm in wagons pulled by massive draft horses. Back this year are stilt walkers, Heide on Horse, a singing cowboy, a live chicken show and a real combine slide! Of special interest is the complex maze of corn stalks constructed to challenge young adventurers as well as the corn stalk labyrinth. As in year's past, there will be country games, face painters, a train, temporary tattoos, the sling shot and corn cannon, a scarecrow booth and giant pyramids of hay bales for children to climb.
Underwood Family Farms' ever-changing Animal Center is home to numerous animals such as ponies, cows, sheep, emus, pigs, goats, donkeys and rabbits - just to name a few! And visitors are continually awed by Underwood's specially designed goat ramp, a structure built above visitors' heads on which a herd of pygmy goats scamper. Be sure not to miss the Animal Show held throughout the day on the weekends at the hand-painted outdoor theater as well as our 11th year of Pig Races!
The Fall Festival is also a fundraising opportunity for organizations such as 4-H Groups, Scouts, and many local high school bands and groups. In return for their help with the activities, the farm makes a donation to each of their organizations. In addition, the Camarillo Lions Club barbecues hamburgers and hot dogs, and roasts fresh sweet corn to benefit their charitable work. Last year, over $100,000 of the revenue went towards non-profit organizations.
The farm is open every day from 9:00am to 6:00pm March through Thanksgiving and weekends the day after Thanksgiving through mid-December. Underwood Family Farms is located right off the 23 Freeway between Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, and Simi Valley. Make sure to visit our website at www.underwoodfamilyfarms.com
