Not all Halloween events are scary, in fact Purina Farms in Gray Summit MO offers a wonderful family friendly night of fun from dog trials and hay rides to story telling and an a "haunted walk" with costumed barn animals.
My daughter, Becky, and granddaughter, Taylor, in the huge barn loft.
The loft has corn cribs filled with Tonka trucks and kernels for the little ones. The wall have culvert tunnels spread along the loft's length where children can crawl and run in and out (for what seems like hours). My 4' 11" daughter is small enough to chase after wayward children to corral them back towards the "spooky" walk where pigs dress up for trick o' treat and chickens roost awaiting a quick pet on the head.
Everyone dances through the strobe light room, jumping and twirling around.
Don't sit on the "dog" chair- you might find that there is someone inside that costume that will give you a hug when you least expect it! We were one of the first ones there, arriving just as most were getting home from work. Taylor had the run of the place for a bit with the rope swings being her favorite.
The goats were there to wish everyone a Happy Halloween as they exited the spook house.
Below the hay loft the children can look into the animal stalls: cows, sheep, goats, donkeys and miniature horses. If you time it right the kids can help with the milking demos. The petting area allows children to play with baby pigs, chickens, bunnies and whatever else they happen to bring in.
Stray Rescue had an adopt a pet area for those interesting in helping a dog find a good home.
A very beautiful black and white rabbit.
Their famous Cat House, a lovely Victorian with levels and levels of cat fun.
Sofas, chairs, beds and steps for cats to have the run of.
In the runs below, the dogs were dressed up for trick o' treat or at least a pet on the head.
View from above.
The center also offers interactive learning for the kids.
Twirling balls and bright colors make it all the more fun.
Dioramas and other displays are sprinkled throughout the area.
Outside there were magicians, dog herding, face painting and plenty of eats!
The story teller is one of the best recounting how a woodpecker came to have it's red head or how a boy outsmarted the hairy swamp man who wanted to steal his dirty laundry for a scrumptious dinner. When she uses key words the kids are supposed to clap, howl or stomp their feet.
It was a cold night and we thought we might just go home and warm up in front of the tv; however, as we were driving up our road we ran into a hayride! Our neighbor was celebrating her graduation from nursing school with a bonfire and hayride so we changed into even warmer clothes, jumped on the four wheeler, pulling Taylor in the trailer, and headed up the gravel road to the party. Talk about kid friendly- the entire living room was full of her son's old toys! The adults headed to the fire or lingered over chili and cake in the kitchen. We met some really great people, one I liked in particular owns a tea room up north of us and is a quilter to boot! It was a fun evening for both kids and adults.
If you ever get a chance to visit Purina Farms it is well worth the trip. They added a state of the art area for both dog and cat events. They have lots of activities all year long. The next events are scheduled for Nov 3-4 for both their All Breed Cat Show along with Herding Trials.
2 comments:
I've been wanting to go there for years - ever since we started taking trips from IL to AR to see our "future" farm; there were billboards with the Purina Farms on it and I screamed like a little girl every time we passed one. But mean ol' DH never let us stop. Maybe now that we have a daughter, I can use HER as an excuse to go!
Wow, my kids would of loved this when they were younger. The animals are so cute in their costumes.
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