Visitors enjoy opening day at Patterson Family Fun Fest in Chester Township
The Patterson Family Fun Fest kicked off its 2025 season on Sept. 13.
This event provides children and adults with a variety of enjoyable activities that take place at the Patterson Fruit Farm, 8765 Mulberry Road in Chester Township.
“Our farm has been doing entertainment farming since the 1950s,” David Patterson said.
David and his brother, Bill Patterson, are co-owners of Patterson Fruit Farm; and Patterson Farm Market, which is located at 11414 Caves Road in Chester Township.
Over the years, Patterson Fruit Farm has become well known for activities such as pick-your-own apples and strawberries, and school tours. Family Fun Fest was launched in 1992, David said.
The Pattersons created the event to give guests “a taste of what it was like growing up on a family farm,” according to the pattersonfarm.com website.
“All of the activities are inspired by the experiences we had in the great outdoors,” the website stated.
One of the impressive attractions at the fun fest is a giant straw pile that is situated under an outdoor pavilion. Small sliding boards are set up in different places on the pile to provide some extra amusement for kids.
Overall, the event features more than 20 slides, which are attached to structures that include a wooden model of a farm tractor and a replica of a silo.
Guests also have the chance to sit on a vintage farm tractor or inside an old combine that once was used to pick corn and soybeans.
Other activities include navigating corn mazes, riding on pedal tractors and push carts, and playing on tire swings.
Erica Small and her 2-year-old daughter, Sydney, were among the many guests who turned out for opening day at the 2025 Patterson Family Fun Fest. The Smalls reside in Solon.
During the first hour of the event, Erica was assisting Sydney while she rode on a pedal tractor.
It marked the first time that Erica and Sydney had attended the fun fest.
“One of my friends told me about it, and it sounded like a lot of fun and we really like to do fall activities,” Erica said. Lena Thoreson and her daughter, 5-year-old Dani, also were making their inaugural visit to the fun fest on Sept. 13. They live in Russell Township.
“It’s a great place to be outdoors and explore new things,” Lena said, shortly after she took a photo of Dani sitting on a vintage Allis-Chalmers tractor.
This year’s Patterson Family Fun Fest will operate every day through Nov. 2.
Hours and pricing are:
• 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Admission is $8 per person. Children 2 and under are admitted for free.
Tickets will be sold until 5:15 p.m.
• 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Admission is $12 per person, except for senior citizens age 65 and older, who pay $7 each.
Children 2 and under are granted free admission.
For Friday through Sunday sessions, tickets will be sold until 4:15 p.m.
David said he believes the top reason that people enjoy the fun fest is being outdoors in Northeast Ohio during the fall.
For some people, nostalgia also helps to contributes to the event’s popularity.
“I think it really takes the people back to stories that their grandparents might tell about growing up in the country, and living on a farm, and getting to see where their food is actually grown and being around that,” he said. “It brings back a simpler time.”