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Date: 11/20/2023
GRANBY — Deere Creek Farm is reprising its Holiday Wreath Shoppe for a second straight year with its opening weekend coming on Saturday, Nov. 25 and Sunday, Nov. 26.
The shoppe offers a wide-ranging selection of homemade holiday wreathes and items for sale at the farm’s 193 Amherst St. location. This year’s shoppe has a new addition as fresh cut trees will be available for purchase right in time for the holiday season.
This year’s shoppe experience has been added to as well; over a dozen local small business vendors will be on site both days of the weekend. Each day the shoppe will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will also feature hot chocolate and warm treats.
For more information on event visit the Deere Creek Farm Facebook page.
Naomi and Jon Szymonik bought the farm together in June 2020, both looking to fulfill a shared desire to purchase a home and retired dairy farmland.
“Despite the uncertainties brought on by the peak of the COVID pandemic, we knew we had to seize this opportunity. With an accepted offer, our dreams, ideas and love for John Deere tractors, Deere Creek Farm came to life,” the couple share on the farm’s website.
Naomi told Reminder Publishing that the couple’s shared upbringing in small town life was part of why they were looking to find a home and farm to take a chance on. She shared her husband Jon had worked previously at McCray’s Farm and started the farm’s Truck Fest event.
“For like two years or so we looked for property in the area as our family was growing and this farm [Deere Creek] we would pass going to get groceries once a week and always looked over like, ‘wow that place is so cool, can you imagine living there?’ So eventually it went on the market, and we had to just bite the bullet,” she said.
Now three years in the farm has steadily grown to offer a wide range of year-round events and activities. They boast on their website a specialty of theirs is producing maple syrup and maple syrup products, made right on the farm. They also offer beef and lamb meat for sale, ensuring that customers have access to locally sourced, sustainable meat options.
The farm also offers pick-your-own fields of various fresh produce and flowers, and its restored barn and orchard venue provide event locations for weddings, reunions or anniversaries, showers, corporate events and birthdays.
“After planning our own wedding, we really just realized we had a passion for running events and really putting our touch on things. Creating a feeling that people enjoy and having something really special to offer,” Szymonik said.
Szymonik said the following weekends they will still be open with other select vendors returning. She added they will continue to open on the upcoming weekends until they are sold out, which in her experience is the middle of December.
With the event returning and taking some time to reflect on the farm and the holiday wreathe shoppe’s growth, Szymonik said it has been very humbling.
“I was very taken aback by the response on Facebook at first. Seeing now almost 350 people have shown interest in this event, compared to last year and even the year before when we’ve done some smaller things, it makes you very appreciative for everything and you realize that wow, all this hard work that we have just been pouring into this place is paying off. We are so appreciative of the opportunity to be able to do that,” Szymonik said.