They may not be on Main Road anymore, but Gabrielsen’s Country Plant Farm will be in full fall festivity mode this coming weekend.
The popular plant and flower farm stand moved to its wholesale location on Herricks Lane in Jamesport earlier this year after its former Main Road location, which is owned by investors, was put up for sale in late 2015.
But the Gabrielsens will still kick off the season with their first festival weekend Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18.
Everything that Gabrielsen’s fall festivities is known for will be there, including hay rides, train rides, bounce houses, farm animals, pumpkin picking, roasted corn and their greenhouse-grown shrubs, annuals and perennials.
For Tina Gabrielsen, it wouldn’t be fall without the family’s fall festival and continuing that tradition is very important.
“We’re keeping it as similar to what it was,” she said. “We’re going to have the pumpkin field, the corn crib, the restoration buildings, the goats and farm animals.”
This week the Gabrielsens were preparing, painting, installing and setting up, as the farm animals began to arrive. On a particularly hot and humid Friday morning, goats were settling into their new pen complete with a climbing stairwell and platform.
Cows will also be arriving soon. The farm animals are bought upstate as attractions during the fall festival, then sold to nearby farms.
Downsizing from a 37 acre property to about 4 acres has not been without its challenges.
“We’re constricted by space, so we have to scale down a bit,” said owner George Gabrielsen, Tina’s father. “But we’ve been doing this for 14 to 15 years.”
Tina and her sister Stephanie have taken over many of the farm’s responsibilities and plan to operate Gabrielsen’s similar to the way their father ran it.
“It’s part of the whole experience now, people come out for the day, they get their plants, they get the whole combo, and it’s what we’ve done for years,” Tina Gabrielsen said. “We’re part of the destination.”
Admission to Gabrielsen’s Country Farm Fall Festival is $5 for adults and $7.95 for children on both weekends and weekdays. Live music and hayrides are only available on weekends. The farm is open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day and the festival runs through Oct. 31.
Gabrielsen’s Country Plant Farm is located at 200 Herricks Lane in Jamesport. For more information call (631) 722-3259 or visit gabrielsenscountryfarm.com.
