Nothing ushers in the fall season quite like a trip to a local farm, and no farm on Long Island offers the wholesome and family-friendly experience offered by Melville’s White Post Farms, which is in the midst of its exciting ode to the season that transitions the summer to the winter: their highly-regarded, annual Fall Festival, held every weekend of this month through October 27.
White Post Farms – which has been around for well over 30 years – is a long-time, family-owned and run experience suitable for all ages. Nancy Gangi, a manager who has worked there for over 20 years, notes that the centerpiece event of White Post Farms every year is their annual Fall Festival, which is currently ongoing, weekends only, throughout October 27. The farm has been holding the event for the past 34 years, and it remains a tremendously popular attraction to this very day.
“The festival is absolutely incredible,” Nancy said. “The highlights of the festival are our family shows. We have acrobats, a dog show, a magic show, and the “Barnyard Bash,” which is basically a dance party for kids, and it's a lot of fun for everyone. Plus, we have two other experiences at the Fall Festival that have actually been featured in the television show America’s Got Talent- The Pork Chop Revue, which is a pig show, and the Dominguez Attractions, a family of circus performers.”
“It's our way of saying goodbye to summer and welcoming in the fall season,” she added. “Our animal farm is also included with the Fall Festival, and we also run hayrides and the pumpkin patch is available to everyone as well. Plus, we have lots of delicious food, such as French fries, corn dogs, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, build-your-own Taco, brisket, pulled pork, roasted corn, homemade pies, sweets and treats...just about anything you could want.”
Admission to the Fall Festival is $37.95 per child and adult, with kids under 15 months and under getting in free.
Aside from the Fall Festival, White Post Farms also offers a plethora of fascinating activities sure to appeal to anyone looking for a relaxing day of food, fun, and communing with nature.
“There's three dimensions to the farm,” Nancy said. “First, we have a wonderful farm market where you can buy fresh baked goods, have lunch at our deli, and purchase wonderful seasonal plantings at our garden center. We also have pumpkins and lots of garden decorations to choose from.”
“Next up is our animal farm, which is a big part of who we are,” she continued. “It's very park-like and wheelchair and handicap accessible with lots of paved areas, and there's a great playground for the kids and a variety of animals to interact with, including our new giraffe experience where you get the chance to feed them.”
In addition to the giraffes, the farm also has a menagerie of other friendly critters to interact with, including marsupials, birds and lots of other farm animals, in addition to more exotic fare such as incredible, huge tortoises, ostriches, and even camels!
“It's just eye candy everywhere, just a plethora of stuff to see and do,” Nancy said. “It's fantastic for any child to be able to see these animals in person and feed them and learn about them.”
White Post Farms is a popular destination for both Long Island residents and visitors to our area, attracting upwards of 10,000-plus people annually. The farm is open most of the year, with winter being the only off-season for them; however, they do offer some experiences year-round, such as birthday parties and their aforementioned farm market.
"The birthday parties are a lot of fun, and everything at the farm market is locally-sourced as much as possible," Nancy said.
The significance of White Post farms and its connection to Long Island history cannot be understated; the land that it is located on – which was a real-working farm for many years prior – was recently nominated by New York State for preservation as a historical business, a distinct honor that Nancy said they are very proud of.
“We were just nominated by the state last week,” she said. “And we actually recently had a ceremony here designating us as such with the councilman that nominated us.”
To find out more about White Post Farms and their annual Fall Festival which is going on right now, please call 631-351-9373 or visit their website at https://www.whitepostfarms.net.