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By MICHELLE LOVE | Staff Writer

HELENA – Helena Hollow wears many hats in the Helena community. It is a wedding and birthday venue, a pumpkin patch in the fall, and even has a petting zoo. No matter the season, Helena Hollow has something for everyone to enjoy.

This was the goal for Jamie and Amy Griffin when they set out to start their business. Before the Hollow, Amy was an English teacher at a local private school, and Jamie was an operations manager for retail farming stores across Alabama. Amy describes their life before Helena Hollow as “a pretty normal, routine life,” but they ultimately wanted a change of pace.

In 2014, the couple moved their family onto family land in Helena, and sought out to create something special their whole family could enjoy. According to Amy, having their whole family involved was always the plan.

“Running the farm takes a lot of our time and effort,” she said. “We want to make sure our girls are a big part of anything that takes up our time. We really want to instill in our children good work ethic, a healthy work to play ratio, and always want to make sure they feel like their ideas and opinions are heard when it comes to Helena Hollow. After all, our business is based on keeping children happy.”

The venue operates year-round, but their busiest season is in the fall. Families come out every Saturday and Sunday in October to take part in The Patch, which is the venue’s pumpkin-everything season. This year the pumpkin patch starts Oct. 2, and operates from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. “It is a very popular event, and we look forward to improving it and growing it every year,” Amy said.

After a year of uncertainty for so many businesses, the Griffin family is grateful Helena Hollow continues to thrive, and are excited to look towards the future.

“Compared to last year, thankfully our birthday party season has bulked right back up to where it was before COVID,” Amy said. “We are looking ahead and praying for a healthy and busy pumpkin season as well.”

Helena Hollow has become a favorite amongst the Helena community. Families flock every year to experience the various events the Hollow has to offer. Amy said Helena is the perfect place for the venue because “our growing community matches our growing business.”

“Helena is full of young families with young children which is the perfect demographic for the type of business we have and are continuing to grow,” she said.

The happiness and love the Griffin family feels towards Helena Hollow is contagious. Their children love to engage with guests and the animals throughout the farm, while Amy and Jamie work together to provide guests with as pleasurable an experience as possible. They always succeed.

“What I love most about Helena Hollow is that we are truly in the business of making people—primarily kids—happy,” Amy said. “It is such a joy to have a constantly evolving and never ending conversation in our personal household about how to improve our farm and what we can add or change to make the experience we provide better, more efficient or more fun. Albeit challenging, it is very rewarding to walk around the farm during an event and see smiling faces throughout.”

Helena Hollow is located at 6027 Highway 17 in Helena, Alabama. For more information, visit their website: https://www.helenahollow.com/