When Ellis Farms first opened, owner Angela Albertson said that it was difficult to meet the conditional requirements, taking on a new process of responsibility, but has worked to build a relationship with the multiple planning departments and agencies to ensure smooth compliance. 

RIO LINDA, CA (MPG) - At Ellis Farms in Rio Linda, a transitional kindergarten teacher from North Country Elementary School in Antelope has been working to bring more family-oriented activities to town for more than five years. 

In addition to teaching transitional kindergarten, Angela Albertson owns Ellis Farms, a pumpkin patch in the fall and a Christmas tree farm in the winter.

With inflatable attractions such as tricycle racing, slides and carnival games, Albertson said she has plenty of help to manage the multiple plots of land needed to facilitate the farm’s activities, including the growth of pumpkins and Christmas trees. It’s cost-effective family fun for the whole family, Albertson said, and Ellis Farms’ prices are cheaper than most other pumpkin patches or farms in the Sacramento area. 

Ellis Farms had a food permit approved this year, allowing the sale of snacks and other food items. 

“We're not as busy as some of the other pumpkin patches throughout this city. We're close, we're local and it is a lot of fun for the kids out here to come,” Albertson said. “We've got choices of bigger bounce houses; there's some fun little different games like carnival games that they can try, like rock wall.”

Ellis Farms, located at 7041 Rio Linda Blvd., features freshly grown and locally sourced pumpkins and an array of Halloween decorations, providing guests with ample photo opportunities with numerous props on site. 

Albertson said that the planting of pumpkins begins around April or May, facing a battle with Mother Nature as the squirrels dig up freshly germinated pumpkins, forcing her and her staff to innovate ways to mitigate that issue. 

When Ellis Farms first opened, Albertson said it was difficult to meet the conditional requirements, taking on a new process of responsibility, but has worked to build a relationship with the multiple planning departments and agencies to ensure smooth compliance. 

Ellis Farms, located at 7041 Rio Linda Blvd., features freshly grown and locally sourced pumpkins and an array of Halloween decorations, providing guests with ample photo opportunities with numerous props on site. 

Open from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. during the week and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the weekends, admission is free to browse pumpkins and the pumpkins are sold by size. For $10, guests can receive a wristband allowing them unlimited admission to the attractions. Nine holes of miniature golf are available for $5 per game. 

John Roberts, a set-up crew member at Ellis Farms, said pumpkins are grown in a few different fields that the organization owns and need to be rotated because of the large water draw that pumpkins require. The farms grow pumpkins for other patches as well as receiving pumpkins from other local farms. 

Roberts said that Ellis Farms closes the pumpkin patch after Halloween and opens again around Thanksgiving for a Christmas tree farm, complete with an ice rink that runs from December through January. He said that the opening and closing dates are usually dependent on weather conditions. 

“We have a whole selection of gourds, mini oranges, mini whites and then these, especially, these are little tigers,” Roberts said. “So they’re all like cool little pumpkins that everybody likes.

The Easter Seals nonprofit organization assists with volunteering, donations, fundraisers and other help needed around Ellis Farms, Roberts said. He said the farm participates in Ruby’s Baskets and a canned food drive, where guests can drop off goods for donation. 

“We have a whole selection of gourds, mini oranges, mini whites and then these, especially, these are little tigers,” set-up crew member John Roberts said. “So they’re all like cool little pumpkins that everybody likes.

“I just do whatever I can to help out,” said an eighth-grade volunteer from Westside Preparatory Charter School. “I mean, the people just being here, it's a cool experience too. I mean, it's better than sitting at home on my couch.”

The volunteer said graduation requirements at her school require roughly 15 hours of volunteering or community service and that she volunteers whenever she can after school for a few hours. She helped plant the pumpkins in the spring, saying that her favorite part about working at Ellis Farms is the staff and the pace.

Ellis Farms had a food permit approved this year, allowing the sale of snacks and other food items. 

Roberts said that specialty TNT Fireworks merchandise was for sale at the farm during both the fall and winter seasons, including glow-in-the-dark poppers for Halloween and Exploding Reindeer Poop for Christmas. 

“I have such a passion for the kids and we really just wanted to bring something positive to our community where the kids can come and have fun with their parents,” Albertson said.

To learn more about Ellis Farms, visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/p/Ellis-Farms-100083221703664/ or call (916) 678-0757.