Today was spent "out east" of I-75, where SR 70 meets County Road 675. We found Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival, where all number of activities were taking place. It was almost a County Fair, and better than most I've ever attended. I saw no fewer that four venues where live music (Both Kinds - Country and Western) was performed, and over 100 craft booths offered great gift ideas. We found a Christmas gift for Caitlin's unborn son, Cole, who arrives sometime after Thanksgiving. We walked away with lots of neat foodstuffs, and while there I sampled a hot pretzel and fresh squeezed lemonade.
The crowd was large, but fit well within the confines of the farm, and parking was efficient and worth the $5 charge, if only for the opportunity the slide the Corvette through corners of dirt paths (where vegetables probably grew just weeks ago). We got there so early that we didn't pay at the gate (nobody there at opening to collect the $8.00 fee people were paying as we were leaving around noon. Readers know how I love a bargain, so I was even happier on the way out once I saw what I saved by coming early.
A little history of the place - back in 1967, three Hunsader brothers decided to leave frigid Wisconsin and their dairy farm to try their luck raising vegetables in the Florida sunshine. You don't have to get up at dawn to milk vegetables, so it made sense to them at the time, and by 1990, the operation had grown and was handed down to their sons, who gave the property the name Hunsader Farms. The family wanted to show the farm heritage, and opened a barn style Farm Market in 1990, adding a petting zoo in 1991, and the Pumpkin Festival followed the next year. This year would be the 19th running of that event, and we saw a Pioneer Trades Village, a fellow carving wood sculptures with a chain saw, pony rides, hayrides, and a corn maze for adults, with a hay bale maze for toddlers and young people.
It was a great day weather wise, cool but sunny and not a hint of rain. Although it was supposed to be a Corvette Club event, we never saw another member and suspect they all went to the car show in Clearwater - they missed a neat County Fair experience, and we didn't even purchase a pumpkin. We'll definitely go back sometime, as I'm sure I missed a lot of stuff, but the good news is that I intentionally missed the deep fried Twinkies, the deep friend Butter, the deep friend Elephant Ears, and other entrees that feature the sound effects of your arteries slamming shut. An event like this can be a real challenge for a guy on a diet.
Up near the gate, there was an exhibit for the non-profit Lions, Tigers and Bears, Inc., which rescues animals no longer wanted by their owners. They brought along a Siberian Tiger for "show and tell", and the tiger was taking it easy. When I snapped this picture, he wasn't showing a lot of energy although it was a cool day in far eastern Manatee County. He apparently was not aware that mere yards away, a petting zoo was a veritable smorgasbord of tasty treats, including this goat. I'm sure the goat was happy the tiger was in a cage. Tonight, the tiger will go home to DeSoto County, and the goat will bed down at the petting zoo. It's said that good fences (and strong cages) make good neighbors, but County lines are even better should the tiger have been interested in asking the goat out for dinner.
