Entertainment - Entertainment News

POSTED: Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Pumpkin stories get kids in the spirit for Halloween

Possibly our favorite family video from the girls' elementary school years is a little-known wonder called "Pumpkin Circle," an entertaining 20-minute documentary on the life cycle of a pumpkin.

It's produced by the late George Levenson, a Santa Cruz filmmaker who also produced the heart-rending "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes."

But "Pumpkin Circle," with its time-lapse photography and simple animation, is a true gem - narrated with glee by the actor Danny Glover and set to a soundtrack by pianist George Winston.

It also has a companion book, written in verse and illustrated with photographs by Shmuel Thaler, a former colleague of mine at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. But it was the video, really, that captured our family's imagination and sparked a love affair with the orange gourd.

Every year since the kids were little, we'd make a big production of planting some pumpkin seedlings, especially oddball varieties such as Jack Be Little, Munchkin and Lumina. And every year, they would fail to grow. The only pumpkins we've ever harvested were the ones we let grow from random sproutings out of our compost pile - plants my wife Rebecca calls "volunteers."

Often, whether we harvest pumpkins or buy them, we invite our friends and neighbors to an "Orange Food" party featuring Rebecca's favorite squash and kale soup with yellow lentils. Then we spread newspapers on the living room floor - and the porch and patio if the weather's nice - and we all carve pumpkins and chat, sipping mugs of coffee, tea and cider.

Another fall harvest book we enjoy is "Too Many Pumpkins," by Linda White and illustrated by Megan Lloyd. It's a picture book about an old woman who hated pumpkins as a child, but comes into accidental bumper crop of the gourds. It's one of those "if life gives you lemons" lessons and a joy to read.

VHS and hardcover copies of "Pumpkin Circle," and hardcover copies of "Too Many Pumpkins," are available though the Bellingham and Whatcom County libraries. "Pumpkin Circle" also is available in DVD format from informeddemocracy.com.

IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH

Friends of ours recently took their young boys to gather pumpkins at Stoney Ridge Farm, a quaint little place out Everson way. Judging from the photos posted on their Facebook page, they had a blast.

It's been a while since I've been there, but I accompanied our daughter Emma's second-grade class during a field trip several years ago. The kids had fun checking out the corn bin, running through the corn maze and getting up close to some farm animals. They truly relished getting to pick out their own pumpkins.

Stoney Ridge Farm is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays until Oct. 31. There's a large U-pick pumpkin patch, cider and doughnuts, hot dogs, hay and train rides, farm animals, a corn bin and corn maze - plus a craft and gift shop and a pie shop with some tasty baked goods.

Admission is $2 on Thursday and Fridays, $3 on Saturdays. Kids under 3 and seniors 55 and older are admitted free. Groups of four are $10. Stoney Ridge Farm is at 2092 Van Dyk Road, off Everson Goshen Road.

For more information, call (360) 966-3919 or see stoneyridgefarm.com.