Yellowed cornstalks rustle and crackle in the mild fall breeze.
Hundreds of people scramble across furrowed fields to take advantage of an October harvest.
Where?
Mortimer’s Family Farms, at the intersection of Hwy 69 and at State Route 169 in Dewey.
It is estimated an 18,000 to 20,000 visitors will wander through pumpkin patches and corn fields. They will also see farm-fresh produce: tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and, of course, beef and poultry.
Many visitors will relish the trip as a two- or three-day vacation. They will stay in campgrounds or nearby hotels and motels or with friends and eat at local restaurants as well as at the Mortimer Farm food vendors. They will spend a lot of money.
Primary attractions during the annual Pumpkin Festival are the 25-acre pumpkin patch and 15-acre cornfield maze, says Sharla Mortimer, who owns the 350-acre family farm with her husband, Gary.
“We’ll have visitors from Central and Northern Arizona and from throughout Arizona and the Southwest drive up for a fall fling on the farm,” Mortimer said.” We’re always stunned by the number of families who bring kids and grandkids to see a real working farm.”
“One husband and his wife and their three kids told me that they think farming must be in their DNA, for they have been coming up for years,” she chuckled.
She says staff members at the farm track ask where visitors are from, and thousands come from the greater Phoenix area. But hundreds come from adjacent states. Some are from foreign countries throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin and South America.
What Do You Do with 100,000 Pumpkins?
She told of one family from Denmark who was in New Mexico and had seen something about the Pumpkin Festival on TV. “They rented a car and drove over here just to see it.”
She continued, “I’ve had parents tell me they came from farming and ranching backgrounds but their kids had never seen something growing in the field. That’s why they bring them up here. We’ve had three and four generations deep of families visit.”
Parents take kids, especially younger ones, into the pumpkin patch and let them “…pick their very own pumpkin to take home to carve for Halloween. Some take two or three, and they range from ‘minis’ up to 100 or 150 pounders.”
Mortimer estimates that more than 100,000 pumpkins are in the patch.
She said they would sell about half of them. That leaves another 50,000 or so of the cultivar of the squash family on the ground, though.
What happens to leftover pumpkins?
After the festival, farmhands string electric fence around the field and turn cattle in, according to Buzz Fornier, a farm employee and 20-year resident of nearby Humboldt.
Fornier described the cattle feeding as “…. something to see. The skinny cows come in, stomp on the pumpkins to shatter them and then gobble ‘em up like candy. Those cows will gain two pounds a day.”
Cornfield Maze is Unique in Arizona
For the past five years, the Mortimers have dedicated a 15-acre patch of corn as a maze, the kind where people wander through the eight-foot tall cornstalks in a meandering puzzle. In fact, Mortimer says, three mazes are designed into the cornfield.
She explained, “The smallest maze is intended for little kids and takes only a few minutes to navigate. The second maze is for older kids – pre-teenagers, usually. But the big maze is complicated. You can wander around it for 45 minutes or so.”
What makes the maze unique is that it has been created on a computer by a design firm in the Midwest. Viewed from overhead, it is an intricate image commemorating an event or a specific site.
This year’s image, when viewed aerially, is that of a rectangle. At the very top, carefully spelled out in two lines: Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Under that is a stylized image of a nurse kneeling beside a wheelchair-bound child holding a teddy bear. Under that is Mortimer Farms.
“We chose that maze design this year because several years ago, physicians at Phoenix Children‘s Hospital saved our then-nine-month old son’s life. We wanted to thank them with our maze,” Mortimer said.
Two years ago, the maze commemorated the 19 Prescott firefighters who lost their lives in the Yarnell fire.
Visitors often ask, “How did you create that complex maze?”
Fornier explained, “Once we get the GPS design, we walk through the cornfield when it is 12 or so inches high. We spray an herbicide on the corn where we want the maze paths to be. The corn rows next to the paths then grow, creating the complex maze.”
Fornier frequently steers the 1939 International Harvester McCormick Farmall tractor pulling a hayride wagon during educational farm tours.
Rewarding Fall Activities Appeal to Visitors
Beyond wandering in pumpkin patches and cornfields, visitors of all ages can participate in a variety of activities. More than 50 Mortimer Farm staff members, many of them teenagers from the immediate area, direct guests to various attractions. The Farm Market Store and Grandma’s Kitchen are favorite stops for everyone.
For Kids:
- Farm animal petting zoo
- Pony and calf rides
- Farm slide and bounce playhouse
- Barrel train
- Straw maze and corn bath
For Teens:
- Hay rides
- Live music
- Roping dummies
- Climbing wall
- Mutton busting
For Adults:
- Live entertainment and barn dance
- Tractor pull
- Family hayrides on tractor-drawn wagon
- Local craft vendors
“We feel honored to be able to share our historic farm – one of the best in Central Arizona – with visitors,” Mortimer said. “We want people to know about agriculture and crops, so we try to teach what real farming is all about. Most of all, we want to help people create some meaningful family memories of an Arizona fall.”
Festival Dates & Hours
Oct. 2-4 Fri-open noon; Sat & Sun-open 9 a.m.
Oct. 9-12 Fri-open noon; Sat & Sun-open 9 a.m.
Oct 16-18 Fri-open noon; Sat & Sun-open 9 a.m.
Oct. 23-25 Fri-open noon; Sat & Sun-open 9 a.m.
Oct. 30, 31-Nov. 1 Fri-open noon; Sat & Sun-open 9 a.m.
Admission–$15 per person; Children 2 and under-free
Graphic caption:
The master design for the intricate 15-acre cornfield maze honors the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. (
Photo by Ray Newton Suggestion—turn this image into a cornfield green color