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By MICHELLE LOVE | Staff Writer

HELENA – Helena Hollow opened its gates Saturday, Oct. 2 for everyone’s favorite fall activity: pumpkin picking. Due to the threat of poor weather, Helena Hollow’s owner Amy Griffin said turnout opening weekend was not its usual volume, but everyone came out their second weekend ready for pumpkins and sunshine.

“We almost reached 1,000 people, but that’s clearly not our normal amount of people,” she said, gesturing at the large crowd scattered throughout the field. “This weekend is much better weather and much better for crowds.”

The sun shone particularly bright on Saturday, Oct. 9, giving families the perfect opportunity for pictures with members of the Helena Belles and even Disney princesses like “Frozen’s” Anna and Elsa. Every inch of the venue was full of families enjoying fall-centric activities. Griffin said the animal farm has always been a favorite, with guests barely an arm’s distance away from animals like goats and sheep to the more exotic like llamas and emus. The most popular attraction this year has been the corn pit, which is a large, shallow trench filled with corn kernels (reminiscent to a ball pit) that children can play in.

“Everybody loves the corn barn,” Griffin laughed. “We also have a new attraction called ‘The Floor is Lava,’ so it’s a big artificial volcano in the middle, and it’s just like a giant obstacle course.”

Even with the devastating storm that occurred on Wednesday night, Oct. 6, Griffin said they were extremely lucky to not have endured severe damage to the venue.

“Our parking was hit really hard, not our gravel parking but the pasture parking has struggled a bit,” she said. “But we were so grateful and so lucky that we didn’t get hit too hard, and we had two dry days right after. We’re thankful for that for sure.”

Helena Hollow will have the pumpkin patch every Saturday and Sunday in October, and operating hours are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., though Griffin said they are planning to close early on Halloween.

“We are closing down at 4 p.m. on Halloween day,” she said. “It just fizzles out at that time of day on Halloween because everyone goes home to get ready for Trick or Treating.”

Tickets for Helena Hollow are available online or available for purchase at the gate, with ticket prices being $12.95 online and $15 at the gate. Children under the age of 2 get in for free. Pumpkins are $3 no matter the size, shape or color.

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