The moment I first arrived at Goebbert’s the deceiving exterior kept me oblivious to the attractions awaiting inside. The gravel mud pit of a parking lot did a poor job marking off a clear traffic flow and directing incoming/outgoing traffic. Busy weekends do not appear to be equipped with parking staff to handle a high volume of customers. The facility itself comes across as your average pumpkin patch and crop market, with an array of squash, pumpkin, corn, and flowers lining the walkway near the street. Port-o-lets are visible from the parking lot, indicating there are no regular restrooms. This was very surprising of a place this large since much smaller establishments I have been to have had restrooms available. As my family pulled into the chaos we were doubtful whether the expense we took to drive out there would pay off.
We were first greeted with a large archway reading “Goebbert’s Farm Market” placed before a very long walkway. This amusement park welcome sparked my intrigue on what awaited us. Contrary to typical pumpkin patches, there were several large barn-like buildings and a setup resembling a cross between a crop harvest, a farmer's market, and a country ho-down. However, there was no one waiting to collect admission for entry like I had been accustomed to. This was pleasant surprise number one. 
As I approached I was hit with scent after scent of warm spices, floral aromas, homemade seasonal baking, and other smells leaving me anxious to find the source. The interior first introduced us to the market area with so many Fall goodies my eyes could hardly linger on any one thing too long before roaming to the next. I was used to seeing a large selection of several small collections of fall items, but this place had large collections that appeared to be in mass production, while still managing to keep up a custom made appearance. 
Located inside was a full bakery displaying a buffet of homemade pies and other baked goods. The fresh picked produce they offered would put Whole Foods to shame. Delightful seasonal gifts sprinkled the fall décor.
Also discovered was a large gift shop rivaling one found at a zoo, with giraffe items everywhere. This seemed out of place to me located among a homemade fudge shop and various Halloween knick knacks. I was curious to find out what it was correlated with.
The lines were much smaller than any experienced at a festival or amusement park so we were able to easily complete everything in a hour. Each ride was $5.00. Everything seemed worth this price except the Haunted House. The front of this building was deceiving to the structure behind it. They plastered what looked like movie set boards on the front of a couple of shacks. Once we got our fill of activities surrounding it we continued through the crowd and came upon a sign that read “Animal Land” with a booth to the left prompting for ticket sales. Entry was $8.00 for each person.
We soon discovered an exotic zoo ranging from grizzly bears, cougars, and tigers to giraffes, monkeys, and wildebeests. This took me far outside my original expectations of the place and instead had me comparing it to a zoo. We heard people around us saying they got to see animals they had never gotten a glimpse of in all their visits to a zoo. Much unlike a zoo, these animals were lined up in pens under big top tents and just a few feet away from the crowd!
Any other pumpkin patch I had been to merely had cows, goats, chickens, and pigs. This definitely blew the others out of the water. I got to touch the nose of a Zebra and Giraffe and even buddied up with a Camel, a Kangaroo, and a Llama!
There were many other events to experience within Animal Land's admission, such as a Cornstalk Maze, a Strawtown Maze (old west themed hay maze), a Pumpkin-Eating Dinosaur, etc. They were all very entertaining and exciting to experience, however, the three big top tents filled with animals of all sorts and from all over the world sent Animal Land over the top.
The events of the day struck up a fierce appetite in us so when we finished with Animal Land we walked our big, awe struck smiles into the Red Barn Café where I devoured the best Pulled Pork Sandwich I had ever experienced. Coming from Texas, this was a huge deal for me. I washed the sandwich down with some fresh apple cider and topped it off with warm apple pie a la mode, saving just enough room to try my husband’s pumpkin pie. After it was all done I felt as if I had just experienced a day at a pumpkin patch on steroids and even got a bonus trip to the zoo. Stick a fork in me, I was done! 
The port-o-lets ended up being very well kept with no harsh odors. There were no lines to wait in and the facility provided hand washing stations located just outside. Despite the parking lot chaos when we arrived, at closing there were people in the parking lot assisting everyone with a clean exit. I asked some of the others gathered around us if they frequented this place and got varied responses. One person told me they had been coming every year since they can remember and have recruited several friends and their families who now come each year as well. Someone made the comment, “I know I am home when I come back to good ‘ole Goebbert’s to kick off the Fall right.” I even got a response from a Californian saying he has to fly up every year with his wife and two little ones after they came up one year and fell in love. The family said “They sure don’t have anything like this back home.”
George made his living this way for years until 1972 when Jim Goebbert purchased the present 40-acre farm in South Barrington. Jim’s family harvested pumpkins and started selling them roadside in 1978. Pumpkin sales skyrocketed and the Goebbert family found themselves having to shut down the vegetable stand just to help with pumpkin sales.
In 1979, Jim made the 40-acre farm a silo pumpkin, “Happy Jack,” made out of fiberglass that still stands there today. The pumpkin is 18ft wide, 15 ft tall and sure to catch attention from the roadway. Jim and his wife Esther are now retired, leaving their sons Lee & Lloyd and their families to run the farm.
Words cannot describe what I took away from my first experience at Goebbert's and continue to take with me each visit thereafter. If you ever happen to be in the Chicago area between the last week of September and October 31st, you will not regret giving Goebbert’s a visit! The farm is open Monday through Friday 9am – 7pm or Saturday through Sunday 9am – 6pm. Their website is http://www.pumpkinfarms.com/SBarrington.html where they list pricing for each activity. The farm is Located in South Barrington, IL at 40 W. Higgins Road, South Barrington, IL 60010. Their phone number is (847) 428-6727.
Works Cited:
Chwedyk, Bob. Daily Herald. 2010. Photograph. Daily Herald, Suburban Chicago. Web. 29 Nov 2011. http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20101031/news/711019945/photos/EP1. (Daily Herald photo listed at top of page)
Goebbert's Farm & Garden Center. Goebbert's Farm & Garden Center, n.d. Web. 29 Nov 2011.
http://www.pumpkinfarms.com/SBarrington.html.
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