BJ Farms to host local artists on Saturdays through October

BJ Farms to host local artists on Saturdays through October
Corn Maze will be open on weeekends to benefit St. Benedict School

October is going to be a month of family fun at BJ Farms Farmer’s Market. BJ and St. Benedict Catholic School in Elberta have teamed up to provide a corn maze as a fundraiser for the school. The corn maze will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. On Halloween night, Thursday, Oct. 31 and Friday, Nov. 1, the maze will stay open until 10 p.m. Spoiler alert! That’s when the maze will be haunted! Cost is $10 per person or a family of five can participate for $40. Children under three are free. There’s even a mini maze for the little ones.
BJ’s and St. Benedict PTO are also planning other activities such as a pumpkin patch, paint your own pumpkin, shoot a pumpkin cannon, take a wagon ride, visit story times. There will also be a daily raffle for great prizes. Food and drinks will be available.
Local artists will have their items for sale and local author Patricia Maness will be on hand to read from her newest book, “Jerome Roams from Home.”
Atists Carolyn Wagner (fine art mosaics, and coastal jewelry), Blair Garth (mixed media) and Melaine Klaas (driftwood sculpture) will be at the farm on Oct. 26. The artists will temporarily take over the historic old farm stand building which is adjacent to the recently opened air-conditioned space.
BJ Farms co-owner Dayna Broxson came up with the idea for the art venue this past summer. “Our farm is in a unique position in that we are on a major thoroughfare between Pensacola, our beautiful beaches, Foley, and the Eastern Shore. Even our immediate area right here attracts a lot of talented artists,” says Broxton. “I though our old ag building would be a unique way to showcase these artists and offer something a little different to our customers and our community.”
BJ Farms has been in business since 1986. It was started by Broxton’s parents, Claude and Gerry Bailey. In the past, it was best known for its “Pick Your Own” strawberries, but after Hurricane Ivan roared through in 2004, the once fertile land took awhile to recover, and the storm also blew away the farms iconic strawberry sign. Broxson and her brother, Danny Bailey, now own the farm.