About Us
Our Journey
What began as a dream to become a farmer and leave his full time job as a computer programer behind has led to the agritainment business of Gary’s Farm Fest. Gary grew up picking strawberries with his grandfather and always thought that if someone gave him 25 acres he could make a living out of it. These memories were something he wanted to share with his own children, giving them experiences most children didn’t have. Gary and Julie Starr purchased the 35 acres south of US 24 highway and east of Grantville in March of 1993. It took a year to get water to the land, but as soon as they were allowed to begin pumping water for their drip irrigation system, the Starrs planted three acres of red raspberries and two acres each of blackberries and strawberries all in one week. Knowing nothing about farming they received a lot of help from their neighbors. In 1994, Gary’s Berries started selling to the public having increased their crop to eight acres of strawberries, five acres of blackberries and one acre of raspberries. The three children, Michael, Emily and Aaron all helped with the berries. It has been reported that Aaron, being the youngest, ate more berries than they sold. Through the years each of them spent many hours planting, laying out the irrigation pipe, and selling berries. What started out as a home school project was soon going to get out of hand.
In 2000 a corn maize and pumpkin patch was added. With a used green army tent and four individuals to help, the beginning of a Fall Festival began to take shape. After the first year, the family decided this was a fun venture. They continued growing berries till 2003 and concentrated fully on putting their energy into the Fall Festival.
A flood in 2005 caused the Starrs to shift the location of some activities to higher ground. Since then the farm has continued to grow. Pig Races, Corn Maize, Pumpkins and great fall food have remained constant through the years. From apple cannons, paintball, a corn pit, and flower fields we offer something for all ages. The staff of 4 people has grown to a staff of 150+ employees ranging from age 14 to 75.
Today, Gary still works full time off the farm as do each of the children and the farm has acquired additional acreage. We no longer have berries to pick but still provide lots of opportunities to harvest fun! Once Fall begins to roll around we still look forward to seeing the smiling faces and having a place where families can come together to make memories!