Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
we are imports from florida, and are trying to keep up with our holiday traditions. one of the things we have done for some time is go to a "pumpkin patch" to pick out a pumpkin for our jack-o-lantern. i've yet to see one around rapid city (only at safeway & walmart). i figured this would be a good place to start a thread on things to do at halloween. are there any local farms that do hayrides / pumpkin patch tours? any other additions / traditions regarding halloween appreciated!
Hi and welcome to the forum!! I can't really tell you if there's anything available in the Hills area. Have you checked the classifieds? I live in the southeastern part of the state and we get melons and pumpkins from the Forestburg area. They often have trucks parked in an empty lot in town and sell them right off the truck. In the Forestburg area and on up toward Huron, they have melon stands and I believe they may be selling pumpkins, too by now. (Not sure though) You may want to ask around to see if there's anything like that out there.
In our area, Halloween isn't that much of a celebration anymore. Parents don't generally let their children go door to door. They usually stop at the house of grandparents and friends and that's about it. The nursing home usually has a celebration and the children can go from room to room to get candy and also in the lobby. They still wear costumes for fun. Also, at the Middle School parking lot~the high school students get bags of candy together and you can bring your child there and they can get a bag of candy. So, I'm just wondering if there isn't similar things in the Hills. Sorry I can't be more precise for your area. Just trying to give you leads as to questions to ask your neighbors.
If you live in Rapid City, I would go to the fairgrounds to find a pumpkin. Local farmers bring them in and they are usually very nice and sell very cheap. There is also a Haunted House and Pumpkin Patch for kids to have fun in. The Haunted House is VERY SCARY though! I don't know how old you have to be to go in.
Expect pumpkins to be there around the very end of September.
yep - Rapid SUCKS for pumpkin patches - we moved here from Denver and were totally bummed not to find anything like that - we loved doing it in Denver!
Danny is right - you have to go to the fairgrounds area - not a pumpkin patch by ANY MEANS but the kids can walk around and pick pumpkins... a total let down if you are use to the real deal field where you hunt for your pumpkin though!
In Denver we loved to go to the corn mazes, hayrides, pumpkin patches , apple orchird etc for fall and we have none of that here Im afraid!
They do have a couple nice options for trick-or-treating at the mall and downtown for the kids!
I grew up in Spearfish, moved away for about ten years and recently moved back to the hills! I have been trying to talk my family into the idea of pumpkin patches, apple orchards and christmas tree farms. Like we had in eastern SD and Minn. They are so much fun for people of all ages! Someday...I will do this, family or not!
I have to comment on the fact that kids here do not go trick or treating door to door. SERIOUS? What is up with that! I think that is totally ridiculous! Even in Sioux Falls and much larger cities people go door to door! I think the mall idea is great if there is bad weather, otherwise I will take my kids out and I expect to have trick or treaters at my house! Come on Western SD! What is Halloween with out trick or treating? Loosen up, Live a little and get back to the way we did things as kids! If I remember right, life was good! I think the kids need to grow up with the simple things like flash light tag, trick or treating, camping in the backyard! If this country would get a grip on reality and what is really important, like family, friends and good fun instead of food, fashion, drugs, alcohol, money and where they are on the chart of high society! Life could be good again. Keep it simple people, get out and enjoy life! You know where you can take your kids and they will be safe, and if you live a decent neighborhood, turn your light on and get a bowl of candy and enjoy Halloween!
If this country would get a grip on reality and what is really important, like family, friends and good fun instead of food, fashion, drugs, alcohol, money and where they are on the chart of high society! Life could be good again. Keep it simple people, get out and enjoy life! You know where you can take your kids and they will be safe, and if you live a decent neighborhood, turn your light on and get a bowl of candy and enjoy Halloween!
Aw shucks! I live in NW Iowa and we have a couple of pumpkin patches just a few miles from us where you can go out to the patch to pick out your pumpkin. The one we go to has a BIG corn maze for older kids and adults plus a junior corn maze for the younger kids every year. They also have a petting farm and sell freshly made baked goods. It is very busy with families, also birthday parties. Our grandkids LOVE this tradition every year. I would think there would be someplace in the Hills area with something like that, considering location, population, and vacation destination. Our closest sizable town is 50 miles from here, and we have these great patches out here in rural areas. Whoever would start this kind of business out there would have all the business they could handle. WISHING YOU THE BEST OF LUCK in your search!
have been trying to talk my family into the idea of pumpkin patches, apple orchards and christmas tree farms. Like we had in eastern SD and Minn. They are so much fun for people of all ages! Someday...I will do this, family or not!
You should do that! It would have to be a huge success. You wouldn't have any competition in Rapid!!
I would love to see something like this developed in this area. I think the major inhibiting factor is the long growing season pumpkins and the like require. Most pumpkins fall in the 120-140 day range and gourds can be as much as 180! That, and timing the growing season so they are ready in time for Halloween can be a challenge, as the farms in the hills found out last year when it snowed the last day of September, then subsequently froze by the second weekend in October. What was left of the crops was left in the field and ruined. It would have been a smart move for these farmers to harvest what they could before the freeze (we had ample warning) and move them to indoor shelter, and then sold them in a pseduo-pumpkin patch after it warmed up again.
As it was, we were very frustrated in finding pumpkins last year - even the stores left them outside knowing it was going to freeze! What was left of the ones at grocery stores and the like cleaned out quickly, since there were no longer any other options! Not to mention, since there was already a shortage, places were charging up to $10 for a regular sized jack-o-lantern pumpkin. And decorative varieties like Cinderella, Lumina, Provences, etc. are unheard of!
If someone knows where to get a good variety this year, please let me know! You would think that somewhere, maybe even East River, the growing season would work to get a good variety. After all, if a farm in New England can get this kind of variety, we should be able to produce a few things besides Jack-o-Lanterns!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can't really tell you if there's anything available in the Hills area. Have you checked the classifieds? I live in the southeastern part of the state and we get melons and pumpkins from the Forestburg area. They often have trucks parked in an empty lot in town and sell them right off the truck. In the Forestburg area and on up toward Huron, they have melon stands and I believe they may be selling pumpkins, too by now. (Not sure though) You may want to ask around to see if there's anything like that out there.
