I bring the kids to Spencer Farm to pick berries in the spring. The kids eat more than they put in…read morethe basket! This was my first visit to the farm for fall season and pumpkins. I was looking for heirloom pumpkins for decor and for a still life painting. The crew was watering the mums when we arrived before noon opening on Sunday. The mums were luscious and just starting to bloom. A cart selling Noble Coffee had a lazy aging dog sleeping underneath. Pumpkins and gourds lined the building in neat rows. I found a blue pumpkin that I needed. When the shop opened, kids headed towards the fields for pick your own pumpkins. I was surprised that raspberries were still on the vines for you pick. I headed into the shop to look around. Spencer bottles and sells their own salad dressings and preserves. Fall and Christmas giftware was out. But, a case full of pies caught my eye. Peach, blueberry, cherry, apple and more. I selected a slice of blackberry. I enjoyed my pie outside on their little patio. The pie was delicious. (They The They also sell fudge and ice cream.) The winery is a new addition since my last visit. The winery wasn't opened, but I will check it out on my next visit. Spencer Farm is a great place to visit and pick up fresh produce.

I will admit that I'm not much of a farm dude, though my father actually grew up on a tobacco farm…read more There's no tobacco here. At least not in the fields. I had the chance to accompany a friend to Spencer Farm for a relatively brief visit. While it was pretty brief, I was impressed. Spencer Farm was started by, you guessed it, the Spencers - Lori and Kyle. It started out as Spencer's U-Pick in 1982. They started out with strawberries. By 1986, they moved to a new farm on Cherry Tree Road. They expanded to include red raspberries, black raspberries, blueberries, and chrysanthemums. They've added pumpkins, asparagus, grapes, Christmas trees, and their son founded a winery that now also sits on the farm grounds. Spencer's now does pre-picked, you-pick, and wholesale fruit. In 2008, they further expanded the farm with a variety of Indiana products including ice cream, fudge, pies, jams, jellies, etc. As you can tell, I immediately wanted to see their sunflower field. I love, love, love sunflowers. One of the reasons I'm not particularly a farm dude is because farms are seldom very accessible. While Spencer's isn't perfect, there's a STRONG effort here to be accessible. I was honestly surprised and impressed. You could send me to the gift shop, and I could be a very happy camper. I will note that they have a strong photography policy. It's on their website, but if you're taking professional equipment I'd read the policies first as there are requirements. There's an awful lot to love here. The people are friendly. The farm is well laid out and surprisingly accessible (the fields obviously have some issues - they're fields). There's accessible parking close to the entrance. This would be a great place for families. Children should definitely enjoy it. There's a strong element of faith here, and that's radiated in the beauty of the surroundings and the service.

My family had an amazing time at the winter days for Piney acres! Your price for your Trainer…read moretractor ticket also gets your kids activity crafts and hot chocolate and cookies and a meeting with Santa! The meeting with Santa was one of the best experiences we've ever had with a Santa Claus! They have a separate Santa Shack and families can go in one at a time so it's a more intimate and meaningful experience than having a line of people crowded behind you while you're trying to talk to Santa. The Santa was so jolly and sweet and my kids were all smiles the entire time. We had time to take pictures without a crowd around which we really enjoyed as well, and I'm definitely making these shots our family Christmas cards for the year! I'd love if there was a way for the farm to cover the train and tractor with a clear tarp if possible so that it wouldn't be so cold while you're looking at the lights. But also understand that you will be outside on about a 20 minute ride while you enjoy the lights so make sure you bundle up!

Drove 40 minutes to attend the kick off to the Autumn season. The mood was very 'whomp whomp'. At…read moreother farms in the area the Autumn season felt 'festive' - with music playing, decorations and smiling staff. Piney Acres seemed not quite ready for visitors. First, the pricing for entrance at the register didn't state what was charged for children under 16. Instead I paid the adult price for myself and two kids under age 6. The farms website says children up to age three pay $5. My son just turned three. Not a huge deal but kind of annoying. For $30 we couldn't go on the train or the big slide or the fossil dig. We could go on the cow train but I never found anyone standing near it. Did I have to go find someone? I still have no idea. My son wanted to do it. The fun things we did do were play in the 'sand' (more like fine gravel) play area, see the pigs and goats and pick pumpkins to buy. One thing we wanted to do but didn't was the bounce pad. It was filthy! Covered in sun baked mud. My oldest was really disappointed. The staff here were nice when we interacted with them, but they all seemed very preoccupied with talking amongst one another. I waited quite a while to have someone tally up my pumpkin order. No one seemed to know who was in charge of that task. I will say I bought a fair number of pumpkins and was fully expecting the total to be over $50 and it was only $29. So I guess I am calling it even on the overcharge for entry.

The Saxony Farmers Market was a great destination for our afternoon activity! Located in the…read moreparking lot across from Jack's Donuts, Saxony Market is smaller than the Farmer's Market in downtown Fishers, but it was a lot of unique offerings packed into the small area. That being said, I never felt cramped or claustrophobic, even when surrounded by all the booths and food trucks. There's picnic tables and a field to relax and enjoy a snack, and there's a playground behind the market for the kids to blow off some steam. Every step of your Farmers Market journey is accompanied by live music, performed by a very talented duo. Everyone manning the booths were extremely polite and welcoming, and I made sure to try every free sample I was offered! We got some strawberry bread (an Amish Friendship Bread with strawberry purée and vanilla pudding) from the Amish County Dairy, and I also sampled the blueberry milk. (I know, it sounds weird, but it was delicious!) We were tempted to buy some fresh produce, but unfortunately I went food shopping earlier today and I didn't need to buy any more fruit! The Fishers Parks Department was advertising upcoming events in our area (Monsoon Madness is Saturday, July 22!) and offering free ice cream sandwiches!!! That's right. ICE CREAM SANDWICHES. For FREE!! What could be better than that? I cannot wait to come back to the Saxony Market!

2 stars. When I…read morethink of a farmers market, I envision bountiful produce, fresh baked breads and sweets, cheeses, and other homemade wares. This particular market is tiny and has a very small offering. It'll take you ten mins to walk thru and see all the booths. There were only a couple of farmers with a small sampling of produce. Nothing incredibly inviting, honestly. We enjoyed some cotton candy, a Kona ice, and sampled some MLM products. There's a nice playground where the kiddos seem to be having a ball. I was disappointed in what I found, but will try again before it closes at the end of September.

Bigger farmers market than I thought along Falls Park. Not much produce or edible food on sale, a…read morelot of random trinkets to buy instead. Parking on the street, and street to Falls Park is closed. Nice ambiance next to the water though! Not too many people but still enough to feel lively!

This is a great farmers market! So many different stands of wonderful goods! You can get fresh cut…read moreflowers, delicious macaroons, yummy honey, farm fresh eggs, produce, and meats plus my favorite today - custom jewelry! I can't wait to check out what next week has to offer!

Looking for a way to support local farmers? This is your place. You can buy fresh produce at their…read morefarm stand. They have pumpkins and mums in the fall. They have fresh donuts, fresh cut flowers from a local farm, fresh honey and pumpkins painted by a local artist . They also sell local beef. They also have special days where food trucks come visit and park there. It is such a great local experience instead of buying everything from a big box store.

I love being able to support a local business! I think my favorite thing about L&K is that I can go…read moreand pick up produce any time I want. It's been so fun coming out here on Saturdays when vendors and food trucks are out! I've already picked up some things for Christmas. They usually have a good selection of produce, and their prices are usually pretty comparable to big grocery stores or sometimes cheaper! They also sell local honey, beef, and kettle corn during their normal operating hours. I'll be sad for the season to end

Don't overlook the Muncie Children's Museum--we played for over 3 hours and still weren't ready to…read moreleave! Think less traditional museum and more imaginative, hands-on pretend play. A massive upstairs train room A giant bird's nest to climb into A water table with three unique play features An entire pretend-play town with everything from a veterinary office to a marsh A dedicated toddler area An ant maze ...and so much more! Admission: $8 per person (ages 1-100) Hours: * Wednesday-Saturday: 10 AM-5 PM * Sunday: 1 PM-5 PM The museum participates in the Access for All program, offering reduced admission and discounted memberships for qualifying families enrolled in programs like SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, and HIP. Bonus savings: * Find a $1 off general admission coupon online (valid for up to 4 people; cannot be combined with other offers). * Kids who complete the coloring page available at admission can redeem it for a free sand jar from the gift shop. A few things to know: * The building is older, but they're continuing to add new exhibits and experiences. * Only parts of the museum are stroller and wheelchair accessible. Before or after your visit, walk just two blocks to The Caffinery--one of my favorite kid-friendly coffee shops, complete with a play area for little ones.

This place is fine. It isn't an Indianapolis, or an Ogden Utah Children's Museum but this one was…read morefine, especially for a small community and for the price of entry. If it's raining outside or your kids are bored, give it a go.

Foujd at a local farmers market. Local money has really helped with our allergies. High quality…read moreand everything taste great. Owner is really nice guy.

It's all about the whipped honey. A spoonful for me, a spoonful for you…read more Annnnnd the adorable owners. You'll find Wildflower Ridge Honey around town at farmers markets and on the shelves of food markets like Wildwood, Rail Epicurean Market and Goose the Market. Similar to Allison F, I recommend the cinnamon whipped honey. You'll be throwing a spoonful in your tea, a scoop just because and so on. You won't miss their yellow and tasty displays at the farmers markets featuring beeswax, whole honeycomb, honey sticks, chapsticks, and delicious samples.

Doesn't the name Minnetrista make you think that you'll be visiting a place with puppets? Like…read moremarionettes, right? Well, I hate to disappoint you, but there are no puppets or marionettes here. But there is an exhibit dedicated to Ball jars. Fun fact: Minnetrista was created by the Ball family, who created Ball canning jars, which you can learn about here. They are also the "Ball" behind Ball State University, which is located in Muncie. I had no idea! You will learn interesting facts like these, and others about this area of Indiana, at Minnetrista. The main museum itself is a bit small, and part of it is conference and meeting rooms. But the museum is just one part of Minnetrista. This is actually a 40-acre campus with gardens and paved trails. As you stroll along the grounds, you'll come across some houses. Some of the houses are part of Minnetrista, and you are welcome to pop inside and check out what's going on. What's going on in one of them is an exhibit dedicated to Bob Ross, the painter. At the Bob Ross Experience, you can step inside the historic home where The Joy of Painting was filmed, and see some of the actual filming equipment and art supplies that were used to create the television show. It's sort of surreal that Bob was painting his happy little trees right here in humble Muncie. Some of the houses that you encounter are not a part of Minnetrista, but belong to IU Health or other entities. It's not really clearly marked on the houses which is which. I'm sure if you consulted a map, it might tell you! I consulted no such map, and I was just walking around blindly. I visited during the late fall, when it was cold and the gardens were dormant, for the most part. But I bet this place is amazing in the spring and summer, when everything is in bloom.

Minnetrista is an event center and museum that was built in 1988 by the five Ball brothers. The…read moremodern center is part of a complex of museums and gardens on the former Ball property that sits across from the White River in Muncie. There is an admission fee to visit the galleries of $15/adult and $12/child, but the ticket grants admission to the other museums and garden as well. During our visit, we saw the Narwhal exhibit, which is a small exhibit dedicated to narwhals. A curator greeted us at the entrance and was available to answer questions. My granddaughter is a narwhal fan enjoyed the interactive displays. We also visited a special children's exhibit called Good Night Forest. Again a curator welcomed us and invited us to build a backpack and enjoy the nighttime activities set up for the kids. My granddaughter loved the firer fly dance, wandering through the dark forest listening for animals and the shadow puppet show. There were fun and educational activities suitable for all ages. We also visited a permanent exhibit describing the Ball Store History. I liked seeing all the vintage items and describing them to my granddaughter. We also toured a display for a local artist competition. The staff is super friendly and engaging. The center is immaculate and accessible. There is plenty of parking in their dedicated lot. Minnetrista is a great legacy from the Ball family to the community. Exhibits change and can be found on their website. I highly recommend a visit if you like art and history.