Steve and Lissa Boynton will provide Christmas trees to a program called Trees for Troops again this year.
They expect to provide 100 trees for members of the military, Steve said. The couple donated 400 trees last year.
They bought the 27-acre former dairy in 1998.
oWhat: Frightland, a haunted walk through Christmas trees and a theater production intended to be humorous.
o When: 7 to 10 p.m. Oct 22-23 and 29-30.
o Where: La Center Farms, 31215 N.E. 40th Ave., La Center.
o Cost: $2 for the theater production and $2 for haunted woods. Pumpkins are extra.
o Information: 360-573-8965.
LA CENTER — When it comes to pumpkin patches, sometimes small can be just right.
Noting that the popular Bi-Zi Farms dwarfs his pumpkin operation, Steve Boynton jokes, “We’re the not busy enough farm.”
But visitors to the patch at La Center Farms seemed happy on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s cute,” said Irene Wagner, watching her 4-year-old grandson, Torsten, searching for the perfect pumpkin. “I’m used to the tourist attractions. I like this much better … it’s much better for the little children … use their imagination.”
Kirsten Wagner of Ridgefield, Torsten’s mom, agreed. “We didn’t want to go to a place that was hectic. This is fun for the kids. We don’t have to wait in line and it doesn’t cost a lot of money.”
Boynton and wife Lissa are Christmas tree farmers who are slowly getting into the pumpkin business. They have 10 acres of Christmas trees, about 13,000 Douglas, grand and noble firs.
Growing a large pumpkin crop is a challenge, so Boynton brought in two-thirds of the big orange fruit for his patch from another farmer’s field.
But come the next two weekends, the Boyntons will give show business a go.
A one-time milking barn will become the theater with a witch in her creepy abode, giving advice on how to get a man, Boynton said.
Plus, visitors can try the “Haunted Woods,” a ramble through the Christmas trees with scares along the way. An outdoor movie screen will be showing “The Addams Family.”
It’s all called Frightland and it’s $2 for the theater production and the same to go through the spooky woods.
Long-term planning
For daytime visitors, Boynton has rigged up a maze in the Christmas trees that 8-year-old Riley Galster tried, and then announced, “It was hard.”
Riley’s mom, Daina Galster of La Center, said she was enjoying her trip to the small patch on Sunday.
“It’s part of our little community, and we wanted to support them,” she said.
Sam Glackler, whose family moved to La Center in April, said the patch was perfect for his 20-month-old son, Jack.
“It’s a nice, small, simple event,” he said. He said an earlier visit to a Sauvie Island, Ore., patch was “chaotic.”
oWhat: Frightland, a haunted walk through Christmas trees and a theater production intended to be humorous.
o When: 7 to 10 p.m. Oct 22-23 and 29-30.
o Where: La Center Farms, 31215 N.E. 40th Ave., La Center.
o Cost: $2 for the theater production and $2 for haunted woods. Pumpkins are extra.
o Information: 360-573-8965.
“This is kind of more Jack’s speed,” Glackler said.
Then, father and son selected a pumpkin. Jack brushed away dirt in a pumpkin washer as mom, Trista Redfield, took photos and brother Adam, 16, looked on.
Farmer Boynton, retired from jobs in the Coast Guard and as a fire marshal, kept talking to his patrons.
“I’m trying to get feedback and then we keep changing things,” he said. He guessed about 400 people came to the patch over the weekend.
He said it’s a challenge to have a Halloween event, offering, “I’ve been working on this since January.”
