Even though the weather is procrastinating the usual fall cooldown, families are still making their way to enjoy fall fun at local pumpkin patches. In its 22nd season, Fantozzi Farms offers a variety of fall fun at their pumpkin patch and corn maze in Patterson.
Paul Fantozzi is a fourth-generation farmer and runs the Central Valley farm with his wife Denise. They got involved in the agri-entertainment side of farming when their four children were young and corn mazes were just becoming popular. Paul handles the farming and Denise handles all the planning and scheduling for the corn maze and pumpkin patch, as well as the fruit stand operation. Each year the corn maze centers on a specific theme. Fantozzi shares, “This year pays tribute to the upcoming 60th anniversary of local Thompson Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership. Thompson Chevrolet was founded in 1965 by Chuck Thompson (pictured in the maze design). Over the years, Thompson Chevrolet forged an enduring legacy not only as a successful car dealership, but as a community-involved business dedicated to giving back to the local community. Today, Chuck’s son Bruce continues to carry on the legacy.”
The corn maze features three different experiences within one maze. Fantozzi shares, “For our younger maze guests, we have a kiddie-sized maze which includes a game titled ‘Farm Scene Tracks.’ This is the perfect game for 2-year-olds to 8-year-olds. They will search for the animal who stole Farmer Joe’s pie and learn about animal tracks in the process. It is a tactile game that adds to the fun of the maze while allowing them the thrill of solving a mystery. In our next larger corn maze, we have a game titled ‘Farm Scene Investigation.’ In this game, maze guests look for clues to discover who kidnapped Farmer Joe. Guests will look for six location scenes hidden in the maze and will find a picture of a suspect, a weapon, and a location at each stop. To discover who kidnapped Farmer Joe, guests must find all six hidden location scenes and eliminate six of the seven animal suspects. Once the mystery is solved, guests will receive a Farm Scene Investigation badge to wear proudly! Finally, we have 12 hidden checkpoints in our corn mazes. At each checkpoint, guests will punch the number of the corresponding checkpoint on their map. Once all twelve checkpoints have been found, guests can be proud of themselves for mastering the maze!”
This year, everyone has access to both the corn mazes and the courtyard activities for one price of admission. Each year the Fantozzis work to make the experience fun for the whole family with activities for everyone. The classics remain: haystack pyramid, jumping pillow, pipe slide, and large corn pit. The newer attractions also included are the pumpkin punch maze, pedal racers, obstacle course, and archery. New this year is a “pig race” ride where three racers can pump a handlebar ride along a track to see who can make it to the end first. There is also corn hole, tic tac toe pumpkins, basketball, and plenty of shaded structures. The petting zoo is fenced in to feature alpacas and donkeys in addition to the goats; guests are not allowed to be inside the fenced in area, but can feed from the fences (bring your quarters for the feed machine).
For additional fees, the corn cannon, zombie paintball shooting range, and the cow train is available on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The Haunted Corn Maze has returned this year on Friday and Saturday nights from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for $5.
There are plenty of pumpkins to choose from to fit any need. Traditional orange plump pumpkins, gourds, white pumpkins, and more are available for purchase (based on size). Wheelbarrows are available to help aid the picking process and bring back to guests’ vehicles. Photo ops are plentiful to capture your visit so be sure to bring your camera. Fantozzi Farms is $12 (Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.) and $15 (Fridays 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.to 10 p.m., Sundays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.).
