CULTURE CLUB
SAVThOeR SINeaGson Sweet Eats recovers from flood, launches Fall Festival
GEORGETOWN — After a two-month closure due to July’s catastrophic floods, local favorite Sweet Eats Adventure Farm swung open its doors, welcoming families again in September with its Fall Festival.
In July, rising storm waters breached the San Gabriel River banks, carrying away fencing and washing out animal enclosures at the farm and events center, 14400 E.
Texas 29.
According to owner Jon Meredith, a neighbor alerted him to the calamity in the wee morning hours. A veteran of past floods, he and the staff didn’t wait to start evacuating the animals.
With the farm’s livestock moved to higher ground, the staff secured equipment that could float downstream. Before the day was done, water measured up to 15 feet in some places, covering the farm’s play areas and its Christmas trees.
In true Texas style, friends and neighbors pitched in and started the cleanup.
During a traditionally slow time of the year, Sweet Eats Adventure Farm pivoted the downtime into an opportunity to change a few things for its largest festival of the year.
WHAT’SNEWATSWEETEATS
October is a big month for Sweet Eats Adventure Farm. During its flood recovery, the facility redesigned parts of its 80-acre property for what staffers said is an even better experience than before.
The farm features 30 different activities, many located under the shade of towering pecan trees.
According to Katherine Way, operations manager at Sweet Eats, returning guests will notice a slightly different layout. Much of the farm’s fencing was damaged or swept away, so they redesigned it.
ALL ABOUT THE FARM
DETAILS TO VISIT SWEET EATS ADVENTURE FARM Sweet Eats Adventure Farm is at 14400 E. Texas 29, Georgetown.
• Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
• The Pumpkin Patch is free Monday to Friday. Gourds are sold at 85 cents per pound. For guests visiting on Saturday and Sunday, it is $5 per person to enter the patch if not purchasing a farm ticket. Online general admission starts at $15 per person, depending on the day.
Guests 23 months and younger enter for free.
• Sweet Eats loves animals, but pets are not permitted as they scare the farm animals.
• Sweet Eats is a cashless facility.
• The Fall Festival is open daily until Nov. 7, then the farm adds animatronic dinosaurs for its Dino Fest until Dec. 1.
“The duck race is redesigned and relocated, bigger and better. We have added Bunnyville, a little town for our bunnies to live, designed with love by Hannah Stephens, our farm artist,” Way said.
According to Way, the tractor running during festivals will pick up in the activities area, do a loop around the property and drop riders back off at the pickup point.
“We have relocated the tyke track, and we no longer have peddle carts. The zip lines are relocated, and we will have more than one,” Way added.
Favorite activities are alive and well, including the two jumping pads.
The Candy Cannon will also fire up, shooting 80 pounds of sweets into the air on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
LOVETOTHEFARMANIMALS
The animals at Sweet Eats are members of the family. The animal wranglers call them out by name and know their unique personalities.
From the free-roaming chickens to the baby goats and unlimited pony rides, guests can interact with the farm’s docile critters. The giant petting zoo accommodates an ever-expanding brood, and animal lovers will also find sheep, goats and even a guinea fowl.
The pig races at Sweet Eats are epic and a fan favorite. With the inflatable Squishy emceeing the antics, Hoggy Potter and Snoop Hoggy Hog ham it up several times daily.
SPECIALFORTHEFALLFESTIVAL
Guests from across the region can soon take advantage of cooler temperatures to experience a maze through the corn and the pumpkin patch. The “ginormous” Corn Maze, a 4.5-acre plot of stalks, is one of the largest in Texas.
Meandering through the maze, festivalgoers also solve riddles, trying to find the exit.
Next to the Corn Maze, the pumpkin patch sells pumpkins by the pound, including those tiny toddler-friendly mini pumpkins at $1.50 each or four for $5. Guests can decorate their pumpkins on-site at the painting station.
The pumpkin patch features photo ops, including a Small Barn and the Pumpkin House, the latter a house covered with pumpkins. Best of all, visitors can enter the pumpkin patch for free during the week.
October weekends are big at Sweet Eats with special performances and fireworks. Wild Things Zoofari will be on hand and is one of the largest educational animal programs in Texas.
The Wild Things Zoofari shares its animals to teach others about conservation and animal behavior at shows at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Sky Kings Falconry will be on hand to showcase the flying prowess of its birds of prey. It is scheduled at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. October weekends.
AFTERDARKATSWEETEATS
The fun doesn’t end at sundown at Sweet Eats. The facility offers an evening program after the animals go to bed. The Corn Maze takes on an eerie light after dark, where visitors dare to explore it by flashlight.
There will be night performances this year.
“Floki Fire Show” owner, Floki, created 15 unique fire tools, including a dragon flamethrower, to perform the “Fires of Valhalla.”
According to Floki, the 21-minute exhibitions are choreographed to music and retell the Scandinavian tales of Odin of Asgard, Yggdrasil the world tree and Ragnarok the final battle. The shows are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. in October.
Sweet Eats will light up the night sky with a five-minute fireworks show, similar to a city’s event. The exhibitions are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 9:15 p.m. in October.
“The unobscured skies over the pumpkin patch offer the best place to view the fireworks,” Way said.
WHATTOEATATSWEETEATS
Part of the fun at a Fall Festival is the food. Sweet Eats operates a bakery with specialty cakes and pies, including vegan options.
On the festival grounds, guests will find seasonal favorites such as caramel apples, kettle corn, funnel cakes and apple-cider donuts. Hamburgers, pizza, corn dogs and chicken strips are available for meals, with plenty of picnic tables under the trees.
Sweet Eats features a beer-tap wall with over 20 selections available on the weekends.
There is canned beer, seltzers and wine, or sample its seasonal milkshake.
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