What a beautiful Spring it is shaping-up to be here at Bloomsbury Farm! We have had some great

Farmer Dave's Planter

spring rains, and the temperatures are finally starting to rise! Farmer Dave has been out planting corn in the fields, and can’t wait for the soil to dry out a bit so he can get out there again! Soon it will be time to plant the soybeans as well!

Back here at the Farm, we are in the process of finishing-up our Gift Shop! If you visited us last Fall, I’m sure you noticed that we built a beautiful new Sugar Shack and Gift Shop, complete with an office and kitchen! This Spring we are giving it a fresh coat of paint, as well as putting up some lovely pine trim in the office and rest rooms. The guys are in there installing the air conditioner as we speak (boy, I can’t wait for that this summer!). Once the “construction” work is done, we will give everything in there a good scrub-down, and get it put back together! We are so thankful that we were able to build that last year. The space in the Gift Shop has many uses – we are even able to host parties for up to 75 people in there – because it is the only building on the Farm that is climate-controlled.

Another thing you may have noticed if you visited Bloomsbury Farm last year, is that we built The ZIP, our 1200-foot zip line! Riders of all ages (as long as they weigh between 60 and 250 pounds) love soaring 60 feet in the air, across a pasture, creek, and cornfield! The ZIP actually has two lines running each direction, so you can even fly side-by-side with your friends! At just $20 per person, The ZIP makes for a great afternoon thrill-ride! If you’d like to take flight on The ZIP, visit our website at www.FlyTheZip.com and make your reservation today!

The ZIP Tower #1

Some other exciting news: Bloomsbury Farm will be OPEN on the Weekends this Summer!! The Farm playground, as well at The ZIP, will be open from 11am-4pm every Saturday and Sunday now through August! You don’t even need to make a reservation to fly The ZIP if you come out during these times! We’ll be here to accommodate groups of any size! Admission to the Farm is $4 per person, and a flight on The ZIP is just $20 per person!

We are looking forward to lots of Graduation Parties, Birthday Parties, and even a couple of Weddings at the Farm this Summer! We have a beautiful venue for any event you can imagine! Feel free to contact us for more information about hosting your next party at Bloomsbury Farm!

Well, that’s all for now!  I hope you all have a farm-tastic day!

Karen Petersen

Bloomsbury Farm

What a BEAUTIFUL Fall we are having this year!  The weather has been cooperative (for the most part) and the people are having FUN!!  Our Fresh Fudge and Hand-Dipped Caramel Apples seem to be customer favorites here in our newly-renovated Sugar Shack and Gift Shop!  The Specialty Coffee and Pumpkin Bars are a big hit too!

Scream Acres has been a great success as well!!  Not even the rain has slowed the Haunt down!  With our two indoor attractions, Scream Acres will never be closed due to unfavorable weather!  Check out www.ScreamAcresMaze.com for more info!

We have hosted a couple of events at the Farm this month as well.  Monsters & Merlot took place on October 5^th.  Guests enjoyed a bonfire, hayrack rides, and venturing through Curtain Chaos and the Slaughterhouse.  They then took their seats at a beautiful candle-lit table and were served Spare My Life Ribs, Monster Mashed Potatoes, and Cryptic Veggies by ZOMBIES!!  Guests also enjoyed Merlot with their dinner, and a cash bar in the Gift Shop.  The event was a huge success and many guests plan to dine with the monsters again next year!

Another event we hosted was Wine With the Witch on October 18.  Wheezy the Witch greeted guests who enjoyed sampling delicious Fireside wines and snacking on fresh hors de’ oeuvres in the Sugar Shack & Gift Shop.  The wine-tasters also had a chance to venture through Curtain Chaos and the Slaughterhouse, as well as take a chilly hayrack around the Farm.  Be sure to get your reservations in early for this event next year!!

On October 27^th, the Pumpkin Princess will be dancing around the Farm and having breakfast with those who have signed-up!  Get your tickets now at www.BloomsburyFarm.com!

Stay tuned for info on some upcoming Wintertime Events at Bloomsbury Farm!!

Karen

Summer is winding down here at Bloomsbury Farm!  It sure was a great one!  But we are looking forward to the beginning of a spectacular season for our Fall Festival!  The pumpkins are looking great, and the grass has actually started to green-up in a few places after some of this rain we’ve had.  Even with the drought this summer, our Corn Maze did grow nice and tall!  The wind did knock over a few stalks in some areas, but it is nothing major!  With our new zip line logo as the theme for the 2012 Corn Maze, you are sure to have a Farm-tastic time finding your way through the twisting and turning paths!

August was also time for us to host another magical event – Cuisine in the Corn!  We worked with Four Oaks in Cedar Rapids to host this elegant fundraiser.  Dinner was supposed to be served in the cornfield, but due to the rain that night, we decorated the Barn with beautiful bundles of corn cut fresh from Farmer Dave’s fields.  The white linen tablecloths and dark green napkins coordinated perfectly with the simple elegance of the corn.  Dinner included Corn Chowder, Garden Fresh Salad, Prime Rib, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Baby Carrots, and a Dinner Roll.  All served by the glow of flickering candlelight!  It really was magical!  And with Strawberry Shortcake for dessert, the guests were delighted to have been part of such a unique event!

Some other exciting news, as we head into September and the beginning of the Fall Season – we have decided to switch all of our outdated cash registers to a new system that uses an ipad as its main component!  This was an idea Dave and I came across as we travelled this winter, and we decided to implement it on our Farm.  This new system allows us to keep much better record of inventory and sales.  Isn’t it amazing what new pieces of technology the world keeps inventing!  How exciting!

Well, I think it is time for me to go arrange some displays in our new Gift Shop!  Thanks for reading!

Karen

Oh goodness!  I forgot to get this posted back in July!  Well, July was an exciting month for us here at Bloomsbury Farm!  We built a zip line, started building a new gift shop, and witnessed RAGBRAI 2012!

The ZIP was completed and open on July 26, for customers to start flying!  It is located in the northeast part of our Farm, near the Jumping Pillow.  The ZIP is a 1200-foot round trip ride, 60 feet in the air!  For $20 per person, you get to fly across Dry Creek and back!  It is a totally exhilarating ride!  Our Flight Captains will keep you safe and secure the whole time!  We all attended Flight Training for 16 hours each, so you can rest assured that you will be in good hands when you fly The ZIP at Bloomsbury Farm!  In October, the ZIP will be open from 9am-6pm on Saturdays, and 11am-5pm on Sundays.  It will even be open for Night Flights on select Friday and Saturday nights!  No reservation is required if you come during these times, however reservations are required any other time you wish to fly.  Just give us a call at 319-446-7667, or shoot us an email at Karen@BloomsburyFarm.com at least 24 hours before you would like to fly, and we will do our best to accommodate you!

On July 26, we also set up a booth on the 2^nd Avenue Bridge in downtown Cedar Rapids for RAGBRAI!  We had a blast watching all of the bicyclists come into town!  We served up fresh lemonade, cinnamon-roasted nuts, watermelon by the slice, and the latest addition to our delectable treats: Apple Nachos!  If you’ve never tried a gooey dish of apple nachos, you don’t know what you’re missing!  First, we take a fresh apple, slice it up, then cover it with caramel, chocolate chips, chopped peanuts, and shredded coconut!  Apple Nachos are AMAZING!!

After the guys got The ZIP up and running, it was time to focus their energy on renovating and expanding the Gift Shop.  We are enclosing the part of the building where we usually sell pumpkins and outdoor items.  This will be the new “main” part of the Gift Shop.  We have added an office, as well as a Fudge and Caramel Apple Kitchen!  The old part of the shop is becoming a Coffee Bar!  We will have all sorts of delicious specialty coffees for sale in there!  PS – We are still trying to think of a name for the new Coffee Bar.  If you have any great ideas, please let us know on our Facebook page!  www.Facebook.com/Bloomsbury Farm

Well, I think that is all the exciting info I have to share with you right now!

Karen

Wow! What a Summer it is shaping-up to be here at Bloomsbury Farm! With three construction projects going on all at the same time, Farmer Dave and I sure have been busy! We FINALLY cemented the floor of Party Barn #2!! I am very excited to have this crossed off our to-do list! Now all of our events in that barn will stay nice and clean!!

Kimm’s Ready Mix & Construction has been working at pouring the cement for the floor of our new Sugar Shack & Gift Shop as well! Gosh, those are some hard-working guys! They have done an OUTSTANDING job on many projects around the Farm! Today Charlie and Koop have started putting up walls for the new Gift Shop! Dave and I have been window and door shopping for the last couple of days. We’ve seen some really beautiful designs! It’s tough to pick just one for our new building! I can’t wait for it to be done! I am looking forward to moving all of our new merchandise in!

The third project that is under construction here at Bloomsbury Farm is the building of The Zip! This is our newest attraction – a 60-foot tall zip line! We have three towers that need platforms, stairs, and cables strung to each other. The Zip will be up and running for RAGBRAI on July 26 and 27! At just $20 per round-trip, The Zip at Bloomsbury Farm is your destination for high-flying fun!

In addition to construction projects, we have also been quite busy hosting field trips to the Farm this month! The kids sure do love coming to Bloomsbury Farm for a full day of FUN! This past weekend we also hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater! We had actors from Jest Murder Mystery Company come and put on an outstanding performance for our guests! We served mouth-watering smoked pork loin, delicious country-style mashed potatoes, fresh orange-glazed green beans, and scrumptious strawberry shortcake! Chef Rick and his kitchen staff sure do an AMAZING job!! Everyone had a great time, and said they’d love to come to the Farm again! Look for our next Murder Mystery Dinner Theater on August 18th! You can find more info on our website: http://bloomsburyfarm.com/page/102/

Well, I think I have updated you on all of the most recent happenings around the Farm! Check us out on Facebook to keep up-to-date with all of Bloomsbury Farm ‘s activities! www.facebook.com/BloomsburyFarm

What a busy start to Summer it has been here at Bloomsbury Farm! We have welcomed over 600 school kids to the Farm so far, and have more arriving each day! These kids love to tour the Farm! They get to bounce on the Jumping Pillow, go for a Hayrack Ride, feed the Donkeys, Goats, Llamas, Baby Lambs (yes, we have TWO!!) and all of the other Barnyard Buddies, as well as play in the Corn Box, learn about the many products we make from corn, and even pot up a plant to take home with them! It is so much fun having the kids out during the day – the Farm is alive again!!

We are still busy building the new Sugar Shack & Gift Shop. Carissa and I are having a blast searching for beautiful antiques to display in there! We will also be going to a Gift Show in June to pick out some unique gift items to sell. We are all so excited to have it finished and fully operational soon!

The other big news here at Bloomsbury Farm is that we have decided to put up a Zipline!! It will run two directions, carrying riders to one end and back again, a 1200-foot round trip! Riders will get an extra thrill as they fly overtop of Dry Creek! The Zipline at Bloomsbury Farm is scheduled to be operational by the end of July! Listen to Schulte & Swann on Z102.9 this summer to keep informed of the start-date of Zipline and Paintball here at Bloomsbury Farm!

Well, I think that is all the big news I have to share with you as of now! “Like Us” on Facebook to receive updates of the latest happenings here at Bloomsbury Farm!

Is it Spring or is it Summer?!? The weather has been SO beautiful here at Bloomsbury Farm, and we’ve been getting so many projects started, we can’t believe it is only the beginning of April! Plans are being finalized for the 2012 Paintball Course, as well as the new Sugar Shack! We are even looking into putting up a Zipline for 2012!

The Easter Bunny will be here this Saturday, April 7 to have breakfast with those of you who have signed up! He is really looking forward to it, and so are we! Other events that we will be hosting this year include 2 Murder Mystery Dinner Theater events, a Cuisine in the Corn event to benefit Four Oaks in Cedar Rapids, and even a Breakfast with Santa Claus in December! Watch our website, and join our Email Mailing List (on the home page of our website, www.BloomsburyFarm.com) for more info!

We will also be hosting a benefit on May 5th for Ron Hoffman, proceeds will benefit the Be-The-Match Bone Marrow Registry as well as the Ron Hoffman Family. Admission is free! Check out our Facebook Page for more details! (www.Facebook.com/BloomsburyFarm)

Wow! It has been a BUSY place here on the Farm these last few months! Our Fall Festival was a HUGE SUCCESS, thanks to you our guests and to our wonderful staff of employees!!! We are so blessed to have such great customers and employees here at Bloomsbury Farm! October was here and gone way to quickly! But we loved every minute of it! Our haunted attraction, Scream Acres, was a monumental success as well! We couldn’t have asked for better weather for both our daytime and nighttime business! We had a super crew of actors for Scream Acres this year! Over 50 actors came each night to scare-the-pants-off our customers! The two indoor haunts were awesome! And the great new scenes throughout the Haunt were super-terrifying as well! All-in-all, we had a wonderful Fall season here at Bloomsbury Farm! It was as close to perfect as it can get! We can’t wait until we can do it all over again next year!

Once October ended, it was time to begin tear-down. Our crew worked diligently to get everything put away for the winter. Dave and his guys were also hard at work getting the rest of the crops in before winter. Once everybody got done with their respective duties, Dave had another task for us to begin…renovating a house! That’s right, we have all become proficient Do-It-Yourself-ers as we have all been working together to completely re-do a small farmhouse owned by Dave’s family. It’s been quite a learning experience, I must say, as well as a ball of fun!

We sure are ready for the snow to fly here at the Farm! Dave’s got all of the snowmobiles ready to run, and the guys are just itchin’ to get out and ride them! The girls are home for Christmas Break and I’m sure they can’t wait to take the sleds for a ride either! Well, I think I should wrap this up, I see a game of Bean-Bag Toss has started-up in the shop and I think I will go join the fun!

Happy Holidays!!
Karen Petersen

IT’S FINALLY HERE!!! Fall has arrived and Bloomsbury Farm is rockin’! We are now open from 9am-6pm every Monday through Saturday, and 11am-5pm on Sundays! We have many new and exciting things here at Bloomsbury Farm this year, but don’t forget about all of the fun and unique activities we still have from last year! With two concession stands, two corn mazes, a paintball shooting gallery, and yummy fresh fudge and caramel apples, Bloomsbury Farm is the perfect place for your next family, group, or corporate outing! One great thing we’ve added this year is Online Ticketing! You can now purchase admission tickets to Bloomsbury Farm (and Scream Acres) through our website! Our $1 Off Admission coupon even works online – just enter “FarmFun” in the coupon field at checkout! Soon we will have the Pumpkin Blaster out! I can’t wait to shoot some pumpkins! And the Pig Races will begin soon too! Well, I had better get back to dipping these caramel apples! Have a great week!!

Karen Petersen =)

Delicious Hand-Dipped Caramel Apples!

Wow it sure has been a busy month here at Bloomsbury Farm! We have hosted two unique events here in the past month – a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater on August 13th and Cuisine in the Corn on August 27th. Both events were a HUGE SUCCESS! Thank You to EVERYONE who helped us to make these two events happen!

We have also been busy setting up our new attractions for 2011! In addition to our Giant Rocking Chair, we also have a 16-foot Rope Spider Web and a Lil’ Farmer John Deere Tractor for the youngsters! And our most exciting addition to the Farm….Paintball! This year we are proud to announce the addition of the Dry Creek Paintball Shooting Gallery! For a small additional charge, you can test your aim and take a shot at our various targets set up in the cornfield! Next year we plan to also offer games of Paintball, where you can play an actual game of paintball with your friends or co-workers!

Coming up this next weekend we will be hosting our first annual Bloomsbury Farm Music Fest to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association! We’ve got 7 bands lined up, and the music starts at 11am on Sunday September 4th! Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door. Also be sure to sign up for our Bean-Bag Tournament, sponsored by Neon Dragon, when you get here!

Speaking of upcoming events, we are hosting Breakfast With the Pumpkin Princess on October 22! Check out our website for more info on this event!

We are also busy getting ready to make a whole lotta’ fudge and caramel apples for the upcoming season! We open on September 3rd!! We hope to see you here!!

Karen