By Staff
THIS ONE'S MINE Heather Vaughn finds the pumpkin she wanted on a recent trip to Lazy Acres Farm in Chunky, as fellow classmates Joseph Page and Audrey Dickey run toward her. The children are students at Newton County Elementary School and recently took a field trip to the farm. Photo by Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star
By Penny Randall / staff writer
Oct. 25, 2002
Imagine close to a thousand bright orange shiny pumpkins. Now image them all in one place.
Lazy Acres Farm in Chunky, known for its sprawling acres of Christmas trees, has branched out. Owner Michael May wanted a pumpkin patch and that's what he got.
About 400 pumpkins popped through the dirt just in time for Halloween. May purchased about 600 more from the Farmers Market in Jackson.
The pumpkin patch is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the pumpkin patch is free.
May got the idea for a pumpkin patch after he accompanied his daughter, Mikayla, on her first-grade trip last year to another pumpkin patch in Pelahatchie.
May said he told his wife, Cathy, "I really think we can do this."
Pumpkin hunters get a hay ride to the patch so they can pick out the perfect pumpkin ranging in size from less than a pound to 25 pounds. Prices for pumpkins are $3 to $8.
There's a hay maze to run around in. Kids can stuff a scarecrow with straw and take their picture with it. Or they can watch rabbits, roosters, reindeer and white tail deer in the animal zoo.
But May said the highlight of the day will be the pig races. At the top of each hour, three young pigs take off on a U-shaped track racing for the prize of Oreo cookies.
To find Lazy Acres Farm, take Interstate 20 to the Chunky Exit. Go north 1 mile and take a left on Lazy Acres Road. Travel about 1 mile and the farm will be on the right. For information, call 655-8264.
HALLOWEEN EVENTS
Today
5 p.m.-8 p.m. Calvary Christian School's Fall 2002 Festival, 3917 Seventh St. in Meridian. For information, call 483-2305.
Saturday
11 a.m.-9 p.m. St. Patrick School Fall Carnival and Spaghetti Dinner, 2700 Davis St. Plates will be served from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. in the cafeteria; the cost is $6. The carnival is from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. and admission is $1. Call 482-6044.
1 p.m. Meridian Restorations Foundation presents a book review and signing of "Shadows and Cypress Southern Ghosts Stories" by Dr. Alan Brown. Followed by a tour of Merrehope, 905 Martin Luther King Drive. $5 per person for tour. For information, call 483-8439.
Wednesday
WOKK's Breakfast Bunch will spend the night at Merrehope, and broadcast live, as a fund-raiser for the "Save Merrehope for Me" campaign. For information, call 483-8439.
6 p.m.-8 p.m. Harvest Festival at First Baptist Church parking lot, 701 26th Ave. Call 484-4600.
Thursday
2 p.m.-5 p.m. Have a Halloween picture made of your children, pets, friends, parents or spouses at the F.W. Williams Home, 905 Martin Luther King Drive next to Merrehope. A $10 donation per picture goes to the "Save Merrehope for Me" campaign. For information, call 483-8439.
6 p.m.-8 p.m. Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center's radiology department will X-ray Halloween candy for free. Use the All Patient Services Entrance and follow the signs to X-ray. Call 553-6894.