Family Pumpkin Harvest
The traditions we create now will be the memories our children cherish in the future
I was born and raised in a very small city of Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada. “Land of the Living Skies” is surrounded by prairies with winters long and cold, and summers short and hot. Living in the middle of nowhere has its advantages though, a safe and nostalgic feel. The place where you know you will leave but someday return.
I met Kevin in Saskatoon, we married and have two beautiful daughters. Making memories with my family has always been very important to me. I believe starting traditions with your children, big or small can have a wonderful lifetime effect that can be carried on for years and yes, generations. We absolutely love spending time with our children, it’s what we do as a family unit…making memories!
Our daughters grew up doing many indoor and outdoor activities. Music lessons, horseback riding, sports in high school, ballet and dance. We have taken trips within Canada and also to other parts of the world. It was important for our children to experience other cultures and history abroad.
All in all, most of the traditions I started for our family were here at home during the holidays. And one of those traditions was Pumpkin Harvest Fest in October. Every year we would take our girls for a small road trip to the Berry Barn for a day of fresh air with berry and pumpkin picking.
Saskatoon Berry Barn is located about 20 minutes south of the city of Saskatoon. The province of Saskatchewan is known for their “Saskatoon Berries” along the Saskatchewan river. The berries are used for pies, jams and now liqueurs. Saskatoon Berries are so popular they now ship to the USA!
The Berry Barn has been around as long as i can remember. Their business started out in a “barn” and flourished by adding a restaurant and berry picking fields. They expanded to add pumpkin picking for the fall months. They now have a petting zoo, train rides and full operating greenhouse. Its a very big attraction for locals and tourists. It is a place very dear to our family, we have many fond memories driving down valley road to the Berry Barn. Our girls will never be too old for pumpkin picking:)
Saskatchewan, Canada October 2007
We never lost those traditions as family, now we started a Pumpkin Harvest outing with our new granddaughter. No words can describe the feeling of taking the traditions we have made for our own children and starting a new generation of those same traditions. An incredibly blessed feeling of nostalgia has rekindled my heart and so it begins…..
We planned a day with our daughter, her husband and our granddaughter at Demarest Farms here in NJ. It is our granddaughter’s first experience pumpkin picking! Demarest was established in 1886 and is a family run business. It’s one of the oldest and most treasured Farm Markets in NJ. I love everything about their store, the same type of nostalgic feelings from Canada!
Demarest Farms sells fresh produce and the best apple cider doughnuts! Their store sells candy apples, preserves and novelties. They have a petting zoo, hayrides, pumpkin picking and apple picking. The day was filled with so many new wonders for our granddaughter. She was so happy and in awe with the zoo animals, pumpkins and exploring the grounds. Nothing is more precious than those “first experiences”. It was an incredible and blessed filled day just like when we took our own children pumpkin picking in Canada.
New Jersey, October 2021
