Pumpkin House Helps Brings Customers To Farm

Pumpkin House Helps Brings Customers To Farm SPECIALTY/SERVICES Specialty/Services 31-5-44 After one year of selling pumpkins out of the field, Tony Wohlgemuth, owner of Kersey Valley, Inc., an "agritainment" business in High Point, North Carolina, decided to sell out of a structure. The weedy field didn't look very attractive, and parents wondered if they might meet snakes and other creatures while seeking out the perfect pumpkin. Wohlgemuth, who is well known for his outdoor haunted attraction, Spookywoods, understands the importance of presentation. He designed an 8 by 12-ft. house made of green treated 2 by 6-in. planks that form shelves all the way up the wall and even on the "roof," which peaks at about 16-ft. The house holds about 1,500 pumpkins. "It makes it a unique experience when staff use a tractor with a forklift to get pumpkins that are up high," Wohlgemuth says. The house also looks interesting at night, when lit by an exploding fireball that is part of his haunted adventure. The house has been a good marketing tool, Wohlgemuth says. He sells all pumpkins for $5. He scatters small pumpkins on the ground, and young children often choose those. Parents can't convince them to choose a bigger one, so they end up buying additional pumpkins. "A lot of people take photos of their kids in the doorway," Wohlgemuth says, and people like standing inside the building, surrounded by pumpkins. He adds that he starts his season early in September and targets school groups for educational events. Be creative, Wohlgemuth suggests, but also be safe. Children will try to climb the walls and knock down pumpkins so it's important to always have someone on site. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kersey Valley, Inc., 1615 Kersey Valley Road, High Point, North Carolina 27263 (ph 336 431-1700; info@kerseyvalley.com; www.maize adventure.com).

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