Frank Ferrari stood next to the goat enclosure on the farm his family purchased over 100 years ago.
As he walked over the uneven dirt, goats and pigs vocally welcomed a family of five who passed nearby.
He talked about how the farm transforms each year to host the Annual Fall Festival, which welcomes countless people beginning in late September. It’s been a local tradition for 27 years.
It began when his parents decided to open their farm to the public with a small pumpkin patch in the corner of a big field. People could come and choose a bright orange gourd to carve or decorate for Halloween.
Today, that small pumpkin patch has grown into the Annual Fall Festival — complete with a petting zoo, vendors, and a haunted corn maze.
Ferrari has been working on this farm his whole life, starting at five or six years old helping his dad grow potatoes and onions.
The farm, he said, holds a special place in his heart.
“This is the same ground that my grandfather worked, my dad worked, I work,” Ferrari said.
This is the first year Ferrari is preparing and hosting the fall festival by himself, both his children have moved away from Reno to go to college. Ferrari works from sun up to sun down, clocking in 20 hour days, seven days a week. Cultivation starts in March and the planting of the corn fields is in May.
There are two corn fields on the property, one is a simple loop corn walk and the other is a five acre corn maze with lots of twists and turns.
Ferrari doesn’t use any high tech equipment to design or cut the maze. He will go in and do it all on foot by hand.
“It's hard and it's a lot more difficult than if you had a company come in and do it, but at the same time it's kind of pride,” he said.
The maze is located in the back of the farm across the river that runs through the property. On the weekends when day turns to dusk, it becomes haunted. With the trick corners, dead ends, and many quick turns, visitors tend to get lost in the maze. Ferrari said it’s all part of the fun.
“We’ll go in at the end of every night and make sure everybody’s out,” he said.
This fall festival is also known for the scenic hayride that follows the streaming Truckee River and through the beautifully dense fields.
Every year he tries to bring something new to the festival, last year they partnered with Chewy for the Pups in the Patch.
“The Pups in the Patch is a costume contest for the pets and their owners. We have a stage up there and there's prizes for the top winners,” he explained.
This was such a hit that they will be holding the contest again this year.
There is also a small country shop filled with apparel and gift items for purchase. Ferrari’s girlfriend, Shannon Orozco, runs the store and said they sell over 800 candles in eight days. She hand makes all the soaps and candles with lavender grown on the farm.
Orozco has been helping on the farm for four years, but started coming to the farm 27 years ago with her own kids.
“This is my happy place. There's just something about this farm that's just so soothing and the fact that it's a working farm, not commercialized,” she said.
As Ferrari bent down to pet one of the baby goats near the barn, he reflected on his favorite part of the festival.
“Having people come that came when they were kids and now they’re bringing their kids, that’s a pretty cool thing,” he said.
He said his parents, when they were alive, enjoyed watching all the people come in and see everyone so happy. Even though working and owning a farm takes a lot of long days and hard work, his family still decides to be open and create a fun family oriented space.
The festival is open through November 3, Sunday-Thursday from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. and
Friday-Saturday 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
