The United States Coast Guard Academy Glee Club performed last night..(while
Marylu Barrett accompanied)  What a great show!  Tonight the snow machine
will start making snow at about 3PM and the light shows begin at 5:30PM.
Hope to see you all there!

More of our fun photos taken at Beaver Brook Farm by Boggs, the always-handy photographer!

We have collected a few fun photos of the farm — and with the photo contest entries, there will be lots more!  This is just a sample of what it’s like to visit Beaver Brook Farm.

COAST GUARD HELICOPTER DOWN IN A SOUTHERN RHODE ISLAND CORN FIELD!

Beaver Brook Farm Corn Maze offers a new source
of family fun and outdoor entertainment
Sneak Peeks Available to Media

WHAT It’s a bird… it’s a plane… no, it’s a helicopter?  What is a helicopter doing in the middle of a cornfield?  Beaver Brook Farm will unravel the mystery when they open the area’s first MAiZE, an intricate network of twists and turns carved into 4 acres of corn, on October 1st.

The world’s leading maze designer of 1,500+ corn mazes, Brett Herbst, hopes to challenge the wits of those seeking to find the one exit from their mind-boggling puzzle — a unique source of good farmin’ fun for adults and children alike. Though the correct pathway can be walked in only 15 minutes, most wandering maze-goers will require about one hour to travel through more than three miles of twists, turns and decision points. This year’s maze theme honors the United States Coast Guard and its HH-60 helicopter built by Sikorsky. A portion of the proceeds from the cornfield maze will be donated to this year’s beneficiary organization, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance . Helicopter tours will provide a breathtaking aerial view of the maze, available for a limited time only. At 11:30 am, an HH-60 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod will do a low altitude fly by over Beaver Brook Farm.

Located at 648 Main Street, Hope Valley, Rhode Island, The MAiZE will give Rhode Island residents the chance to “get lost” during the month of October. Hours of operation are Fridays 3pm – 9pm, Saturdays 10am – 9pm, and Sundays 11am – 6pm. Weekday tours are available for groups and organizations by reservation only.  The location is right off of I-95, between exits 1 and 2 in Rhode Island, less than 10 minutes away from Mystic, CT. Admission is only $8 for ages 12 and up, $5 for ages 4-11, and free for kids 3 and under. Discounts are offered for seniors, groups and field trips. For more information or to make reservations, call 401-450-2463 or visit our website at www.BeaverBrookOnline.com.

After visitors find their way through human labyrinth, they are also invited to explore the rest of the farm and view our plans for expansion. Visit our Pick Your Own Pumpkin Patch, fire a round from our Pumpkin Cannon, navigate through our Mini Hay Bale Maze, climb our Hay Bale Pyramid, or commission one of our Expert Pumpkin Carvers to create your own personalized jack o’ lantern. Before you leave, shop at our Country Store or relax by one of our private campfire sites.

WHEN/WHERE
Pre-Opening Preparations:
Realizing that the only thing more intriguing than finding the way out of the human labyrinth is figuring out how it got there in the first place, local media are invited to come interview the creators and be the first to visit Beaver Brook Farm.

Aerial Photo Opportunity:
Thursday, October 1^st, 2009.
Please call to reserve a space. Seating is limited.

Grand Opening:
Thursday, October 1^st, 2009 at 11:00 am.

CONTACT
Bill Barrett
PH: 401-450-2463
wjb@beaverbrookonline.com

“Pumpkins are commonly carved into decorative lanterns called jack-o’-lanterns for the Halloween season in North America. Throughout Britain and Ireland, there is a long tradition of carving lanterns from vegetables, particularly the turnip, mangelwurzel, or swede.

Not until 1837, however, does jack-o’-lantern appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern,[32] and the carved lantern does not become associated specifically with Halloween until 1866.  Significantly, both occurred not in Britain or Ireland—but in North America.

Although every modern chronicle of the holiday repeats the claim that vegetable lanterns were a time-honored component of Halloween celebrations in the British Isles, none gives any primary documentation. In fact, none of the major nineteenth-century chronicles of British holidays and folk customs make any mention whatsoever of carved lanterns in connection with Halloween. Neither do any of the standard works of the early twentieth century.

In the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween.”

Source: Wikipedia.com

According to the University of Illinois Extension website:
Pumpins & More:

• The top pumpkin production states are Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California.
• Pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A.
• Pumpkins are used for feed for animals.
• Pumpkin flowers are edible.
• Pumpkins originated in Central America.
• Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
• In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.
• Pumpkins are 90 percent water.
• Pumpkins are a fruit!
• Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October.
• Colonists sliced off pumpkin tops; removed seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie.
• Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.

“Washington County attractions include Gilbert Stuart’s Birthplace and History Museum, Smith’s Castle History Museum, South Country Living History Museum, the Westerly Armory and others. The largest memorial to service members in the country was erected between 1901 and 1902.

The museum displays military and community memorabilia and is home to the Westerly Band. Other attractions include the Washington County Fair, the largest fair in Rhode Island.

Area colleges and universities include the University of Rhode Island, the Community College of Rhode Island, New England Institute of Technology, Rhode Island College, Providence College and others.”

Source: HopeValleyRI-realestate.com

“First known as King’s County, the name was changed in 1781 to Washington County, although most residents still know the area as South County. Block Island, off the coast of Washington County, was originally occupied by the Manisses Indians and named after Dutch navigator Adrian Block, who discovered it in 1614.

Later, in 1661, it was settled by a party of English from the mainland. Washington County industry includes resorts, manufacturing (textiles, furniture, wood products, and food products), printing and agriculture. The county was once famous for its granite quarries. The county is drained by the Wood, Hunt, Queen and Pawcatuck rivers.”

Source:  HopeValleyRI-realestate.com

The earliest European-American settlement of the village site was by Hezekiah Carpenter, who arrived in 1770 and dammed the Wood River and built several small water-powered mills. His settlement was called Carpenter’s Mills.

Around 1818 a tannery was built at the site. The textile industry arrived in 1824, when Gardner Nichols and Russell Tháyer bought the existing mills and began to operate them for carding of wool; fulling, coloring and finishing of cloth; and manufacture of textile machinery.

The formerly separate village of Locustville, which grew up along Brushy Brook, is now part of Hope Valley. A dam and mill were built at the site of Locustville in 1820. In the late 19th century the Locustville mill property was taken over by the Nichols and Langworthy Company, which had operated the Hope Valley mills since 1835.

Source:  Wikipedia.com

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