Pumpkin Season
By Etelvina Castillo
If you have never been to a pumpkin patch, you are seriously missing out on the fun. What better way to welcome fall than by going out to the Banducci’s Family Pumpkin Patch.
The pumpkin patch is family owned and has been open to the public for the past 25 years. Nancy Banducci and her husband began harvesting a few pumpkins for their kids to sell and for them to make some money of their own. They started off by selling pumpkins in their front yard, but as time went by, more and more people would show up to purchase pumpkins, and they eventually had to expand. Since then the family has been harvesting pumpkins for the public. After the husband passed away nine years ago, their twin boys Adam and Alan have taken over the farming.
The family begins preparations for the pumpkin patch early in June. It takes about three months to grow pumpkins and to get them ready for the public. There are about ten different pumpkins grown at the Banducci’s Family Pumpkin Patch such as the polar bear, the Cinderella, the bumpy, canon balls, and of course, Jack O’Lanters.
“It is family time together looking for a pumpkin having fun though the corn maze” Banducci said. Besides the pumpkin patch, there is also a corn maze for people to go and play around in. If lucky enough, they might have ponies for kids to ride.
Get ready to join the Banducci’s family this fall October 5th. Free admission to the pumpkin patch and lots of fun for family and friends. The pumpkin patch is on Taft Highway by Buena Vista Road. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am-7:00 pm and on Sundays from 10:00 am-6:00 pm.
Banducci’s Family Pumpkin Patch: 10747 Taft Hwy. Bakersfield, California 93311