Connery’s Riverdale Farms offers autumn adventures for families

A beloved local farm is giving families a new reason to get outside this fall with the launch of its second annual Autumn Adventures.

Connery’s Riverdale Farms, located five minutes South East of Portage on Highway 331 between Oakville and Southport, is now open on weekends, offering a range of seasonal activities for all ages.

“We started last year, we did a bit of a trial run,” said owner Sam Connery. “There’s really not a lot close to Portage for these kinds of things. We want to share agriculture with people that maybe don’t necessarily have that background.”

The main attraction for the season is a large corn maze. Visitors can also enjoy scheduled tractor rides, climb a large hay bale pyramid, and take advantage of numerous photo opportunities around the farm. While the sunflower field is nearing the end of its bloom, Connery said there are still some good spots for pictures to capture the season.

A pumpkin patch will be opening soon, though the crop is smaller this year due to a dry spring.

“We’ll have the pumpkins, and throughout all of September and October, our hours are Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Connery noted.

The farm will also be open on holidays and select professional development days when local schools are closed.

Admission is $10 per person, with children three and under admitted for free.

Looking ahead, the farm plans to add Halloween decorations around Thanksgiving. During the last weekend of October, Connery’s will host a pumpkin carving fundraiser for Central Plains Cancer Care. For a donation, families will get pumpkins and all the necessary tools to carve them on-site.

“You just show up, carve your pumpkin, take it home, and leave me all the mess,” Connery said with a laugh.

Connery’s Riverdale Farms is well-known for its strawberries and other produce during the summer months, but this venture is aimed squarely at the fall season.

Autumn Adventures will run on weekends until the end of October. Updated schedules for tractor rides and special open dates are posted on the farm’s social media pages. To check out more visit www.conneryfarms.ca.

This story was originally published in The Graphic Leader. It is republished under a Creative Commons license as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.