AUTUMN IS HERE.
The leaves are starting to change color and sprinkle down from the trees like confetti. Kids are beginning to pick out their Halloween costumes and Sunnyside Gardens is kicking-off their Fall Festival this weekend.
The celebration, begun by Sunnyside Gardens’ owners Bonnie and Ned Chapman 30 years ago, was a gift to their then 7-year-old daughter.
“My birthday is in October, so they decorated and my class came. That was the start of it,” said Heather Chapman.
Sunnyside Gardens has turned the event into an annual tradition but now this party has grown into a festival lasting 45 days and attracting thousands of people.
SEASONAL FAMILY FUN
Cool, crisp air, gorgeous rich colors and warm comforting smells are the simple fall pleasures you’ll find when you step out of your car and into Sunnyside Gardens’ secluded fields. Just minutes from downtown Saratoga Springs, this 25-acre agricultural wonderland is so close by but very quickly gives you the feeling that you are much further away.
“There’s so much area to go to. Sometimes the parking lot is full and we’re like, ‘Where are all the people?’ They’re out in the fields, in the woods, out front, or in the store. It’s just really spread out so it doesn’t feel too crowded,” said Heather.
A place for families to all feel welcome, the fall decorations here are wholesome and handmade instead of scary or gruesome.
“It’s just a nice relaxed atmosphere. Each place has its own niche. Because we are family- run and based, ours is geared toward young kids. They just want to be outside, run around and play,” she said.
SO MUCH TO DO
Kids will find huge hay sculptures of their favorite characters from books and movies inviting them in to come and have some fun.
The farm center is divided into different themed sections every year. This year, the side field has a “funny farm” theme filled with friendly animals. The woods are home to a variety of characters, including those from “Ghostbusters,” “Harry Potter,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “My Little Pony.”
“The little kids immediately know who they are and run over to them,” said Heather.
Children and adults alike delight in the butterfly house where monarch, painted lady, buckeye and swallowtail butterflies flutter freely.
“We have feeders around but there’s so many in there, they’ll just come all around you,” she said.
A local hatchery has provided 300 butterfly chrysalises, so you may be lucky enough to see them hatching, as well.
The magic of trains is brought back to life through a massive indoor train set. Decorated in a variety of autumn scenes, the joy of searching the tiny towns and small figures is outmatched only by the bright blue ride-on train outside.
“We have the only actual ride-on train. All year my daughter looks at it and touches it, just waiting for it,” she said.
REVIVING TRADITION
Working at the garden center is different for Heather now that she has her own young children, 3-year-old Claire and 9-month-old Hannah Hensel.
“It’s like a whole new beginning for them,” she said.
The families that came when she was little are now coming back with their little ones, sharing their stories and creating memories for the next generation. Even though her sister often brings her 2-year-old, he still loves the fall on the farm.
“My nephew stands there all day watching the train,” said Heather.
Although she has worked other places, Sunnyside Gardens is home.
“It’s hard to go somewhere else when you’re still invested in it here. We live here, love it and I never think about doing anything else. When you’re away, you miss it,” she said.
Her parents never expected their children to come back and work there she said, but she and her brother, Kip Chapman (who also runs a D.J. service), have done exactly that.
TOO GOOD TO STAY AWAY
The tastes of the Sunnyside Gardens Fall Festival are just too good to pass up, even after 30 years.
“The donuts – I must eat at least two a day,” said Heather of the fresh, warm, soft confections. For Kip, it’s the cider that he finds irresistible. He said he likely drinks five cups of it every day.
Both enjoy watching kids dancing to the live polka and bluegrass bands that come in to play on the weekends during the fall season. The band Adrenline Pumpkin even plays a song called “Uncle Ned” written just for their father, Ned Chapman.
It’s also fun for them to watch the faces of people walking through the “Hall of Flame,” a tunnel of 300 carved and lit foam pumpkins. Free to go into, they do match donations and give them to Saratoga Center for the Family. They also donate to the Community Hospice and the Franklin Community Center.
“We like to gear our donations towards helping kids because they shouldn’t miss out,” said Heather.
THE GREAT PUMPKIN
Expert pumpkin carvers come in to Sunnyside Gardens to cut out the pumpkins sold at the annual “Touched by an Angel” Community Hospice fundraiser.
“These people are artists, what they do is really detailed,” said Heather.
Sunnyside Gardens also plans to host a variety of fall events including a Pumpkin Paint and Sip night and a How to Make Gourd Birdhouses workshop. The Saratoga Pumpkinfest, which drew in 7,500 people last year, has gotten too big for their space and will be held Sunday, Sept. 30 on the front lawn area of the Lincoln Baths in Saratoga Spa State Park. Sunnyside Gardens will be manning a booth at the event which features New York’s Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off and is sponsored by the Saratoga Chamber Of Commerce, Saratoga Spa State Park, and the Spa City Farmers’ Market.
The biggest pumpkins they grow and sell at Sunnyside Gardens are 500 pounds. They offer a total of 20 different varieties of pumpkins in all sizes however, including the white moonshine, bumpy knucklehead, blue jarradale, striped pumpkins, and munchkins, among others.
Their selection of fall plants is the largest in the area. Fall pansies, asters, decorative kale and Swiss chard sit alongside a collection of nearly 8,000 colorful chrysanthemums.
“We’re all growers here. We plant, grow and sell them ourselves,” said Heather.
They also have the corn stalks, hay bales and other decorative elements that will make your home look like it was pulled from the pages of a catalog this season.
“We’re a one-stop shop. You can get your decorating, flowers, pumpkins and you can take the kids,” she said.
