BARK RIVER, Mich. (WZMQ) – Fall has officially begun, and that means pumpkin patches and corn mazes around the U.P. are opening for the season.
Mike and Jessica Zawada have been operating Zawada Farms since 2018. However, the business is a family tradition that goes back much further.
“This farm was my grandparents’,” Mike Zawada said. “They purchased it in the 1930s. They milked cows and did crops until the ’80s, when my mom and dad took over. My dad built a new barn in ’89, and they farmed until their retirement in 2014.”
Now, the family farm sells dozens of varieties of pumpkins each fall.
“We grow five acres,” said Zawada. “We’ve got two specialty patches in addition to our larger patch that we grow the gourds, some of the squashes, the greens and whites and casparitas, the Jack-Be-Littles. It turned out to be a dry year, and we thought it was going to have a detrimental effect on growing, but we’ve had the best growing season so far.”
Over the years, the business has evolved in ways that honor its past. This year, the Zawada family renovated their milk house into a cafe.
“We just serve snacks and treats and coffees,” Zawada said.
They also transformed the hay barn into a pumpkin store.
“My grandfather’s old silo blew over in the ’80s, so we had saved that wood, and we used it to make countertops and decorate the wall on the inside of the old barn,” said Zawada. “A lot of it is my wife’s creation and her imagination.”
They have also added a five-acre corn maze.
“It takes 25 minutes to walk through if you know all the correct paths,” Zawada said. “If you get caught up in the dead ends, it’ll take 45 minutes. There are scarecrows hidden, and once you identify those, you are entered into a drawing to win a Zawada Farms hoodie.”
Guests can get the full working farm experience by visiting the animals. One of the newest additions to the Zawada family is named Romeo.
“We got a call from one of our hay customers, and they had had a Scottish Highland bull calf,” Zawada said. “The mother rejected him. We took him, and it’s just sort of been a wonderful attraction and draw. A lot of people came out this past weekend and said they just wanted to see Romeo. We’re currently shopping for his Juliet so that we can eventually breed and have calves.”
Many locals have made Zawada Farms an annual autumn tradition. For the Zawadas, gathering their community together is a perfect way to celebrate the harvest.
“We want families to come out and enjoy a quieter, off-the-beaten-path farm, where there’s no road noise and just a slower pace,” said Zawada. “All forms of family fun. We’re happy to share the farm and share the beauty of this old barn. I think our farm speaks for itself, and that’s why our customers come back every year.”
Located at 5560 D.5 Lane, Zawada Farms is open from noon to 6 p.m. on weekends through October 31, with plans for a nighttime corn maze on October 30 and 31. Food trucks will be on site throughout the season, and guests can follow the Zawada Farms Facebook page for details.
