FAMILY OUTING
Grab a pumpkin and get lost in the corn maze at P-6 Farms.
They can’t confirm it, but the family behind P-6 Farms was told that their newest attraction — a vintage, mirrored funhouse — was the same one used in the iconic “You’re the One That I Want” dance scene in the film “Grease.”
The abandoned, retro carnival ride was found in East Texas, along with a mini-roller coaster with four, brightly painted vintage cars. Both were refurbished and added this year to the farm’s annual fall festival, popular for its pick-your-own pumpkin patch and corn maze.
The final two weekends of the fest offer a chance to visit after the large October crowds have thinned, says Carey Poole, whose in-laws founded the family-operated farm.
Even if their jack-o’-lanterns have already been carved, families can pose for a photo inside the pumpkin house, new this year. Adorned with a hand-painted “Bless This House” sign, the openair structure is made with two-byfours and pumpkins plucked off the vine in the nearby patch.
“Who’s ever stood inside a pumpkin house with pumpkin walls?” Poole says.
This autumn’s patch, planted with 30,000 seeds, is the largest to date. The Pooles supplement the bounty each year by bringing in additional pumpkins for purchase.
Also new is a jumping pillow for bouncing, larger tractors that kids climb on to honk the horn and additional apple blasters. For $5, you get a bucket of five small apples to launch, cannon-style, into a field. Each night, the Pooles open the gate and let the goats feed on them.
“So it’s a win-win for everyone,” Poole says.
“It’s just clean wholesome fun,” she says of the annual fest that’s grown each year. “You disconnect from your weekday life, your city life or whatever you’ve got going on.”
“Your cares are out the window; kids are running around getting dirty and just having a blast.”
Making history
This year’s corn maze was designed in celebration of the Astros and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Stalks spell out the words “HTown Is Outta This World” below an outline of Texas that features the Houston skyline and a baseball player at bat. The top corner spells “NASA.”
Guests can choose from two mazes. The smaller one is 2 acres and features the titular character
from “Spookley the Square Pumpkin,” an animated series on Netflix.
At 6 acres, the larger maze is more challenging. Guests are given a map but, with 6-foot-tall corn this year, people get lost “all the time,” Poole says.
Not to worry. There are “corn cops” in fluorescent shirts stationed throughout, one of whom watches from a 34-foot-tall tower. On their way in, guests are told to look up and shout to him if they get lost.
It takes about 45 minutes to complete the large maze. For an added challenge, families can solve a mystery game with posted clues.
A cornucopia of carnival fun
Once they’ve found their way out, families can take a hayride, watch pig races and stop for snacks, such as pumpkin spice doughnuts and kettle corn.
There are baby goats, rabbits and an Airstream trailer-turnedchicken coop, part of “the whole nostalgia thing,” Poole says, referencing attractions such as the Kiddie Whip, built in 1951 and originating from James Coney Island.
The retro feel is what keeps Brandon Martin coming back year after year to take professional photos of his daughters enjoying rides including the tractor-pulled cow train.
“It looks like before my time,” Martin says of the carnival. “Everything there has a lot of character … like the rides my parents might have taken.”