While the Pumpkin King may only exist in movies, Jan Balekian is the closest thing to a Pumpkin Queen in Denton County.
When she ordered her first truckload of Florida pumpkins 14 years ago, her husband thought she had lost her mind. Now, every October, she runs the most successful pumpkin patch in southern Denton County.
“My children would probably pay me not to do this,” she said.
The Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch has been open for 21 years. Balekian still finds things to make the pumpkin patch better and more inviting for guests. Recently, she added a diaper-changing tent.
“I love the kids and seeing the kids every year that come back,” she said. “Some of them [who] have been coming for 15 years might even bring kids of their own now.”
Balekian operates the pumpkin patch at the Flower Mound property where she has lived since 1975. This season, the pumpkin patch opened Oct. 1 and runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day through Halloween. In case of bad weather, Balekian maintains a Facebook page to announce closures throughout the day as rain comes and goes.
She said she will have between 500 and 1,000 visitors a day throughout the week, but that number climbs on weekends.
She said that this year, they have already sold four 18-wheelers full of pumpkins. Each truckload holds 45,000 pounds of potential pies and jack-o’-lanterns. Pumpkins also are an increasingly popular yard decoration for the fall season.
Depending on size, pumpkin prices range from 50 cents for the tiny ones to $20 to $25 for the large ones.
“The majority of them are [on display] and we spread them around,” she said. “So it’s not a true pumpkin patch, but it’s about as close as you’re going to get in the metroplex.”
She donates leftover pumpkins to churches around town for their fall festivals.
“We hope that people buy the pumpkins,” she said. “We know that they are more expensive, because that’s how we finance this whole operation.”
The patch employs 40 part-time and full-time staff members.
“Every bounce house and each activity is covered by people who watch and make sure these kids don’t get hurt,” she said. “They all need to be paid.”
One of the featured attractions is a maze for the children, who enter and then have to find their way out.
Balekian said the maze, costing more than $8,000 and composed of more than 1,000 bales of hay, is the most popular attraction for kids. She designs it herself and is committed to building it, no matter the cost.
Six-year-old Chloe Bradley of Euless said she has not chosen a pumpkin yet but wants to make a jack-o’-lantern this year.
“The big pumpkins are the best,” she said.
Mackenzie Bradley, 3, also wants a big pumpkin.
Their mother, Cameron Bradley, said the family has been coming for three years. She said she likes the hay ride and the variety of pumpkins her children can choose from.
Both of the kids said their favorite attraction was the bounce house.
This year, Balekian ordered a new bounce house that is on its way — a smaller one for children with special needs. She said she has also been working on a new train for next year.
Balekian looks for new things to add everywhere she goes. This year, she has two woodcarvings from Alaska, a cowboy totem pole and a seahorse incorporated into a Finding Nemo characters display.
As cars enter off FM1171, children’s heads hang out the windows to spot new wood cutout characters from popular culture. They know them all.
“I can hardly think of anything else to make before all the new things come out for the next year,” Balekian said.
Older generations can enjoy timeless cutouts from Popeye and Minnie Mouse to Scooby Doo and Winnie the Pooh.
Hundreds of cutouts fill the space between pumpkins. She started the cutout venture roughly 12 years ago and keeps every character. Every year, she mixes them around so guests don’t see the same characters in the same spots, but newer ones are always front and center.
Balekian has two daughters and 11 grandchildren who keep her informed each year on new cutouts that need to be added. She then makes and paints all the characters herself, starting in July.
Older kids love the Duck Dynasty cutouts, she said. And she is still working on a display based on another popular animated film.
“One little girl said, ‘You didn’t do Frozen!’” she said with a laugh. “So, I guess I’m making Frozen characters.”
JJ’s BBQ offers food for purchase each day.
Jeff Smead of Lewisville, co-owner of JJ’s BBQ, has worked the stand for four years.
“It’s a lot of fun getting to be outdoors and barbecue all day with all these people around,” he said. “[Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch] gets bigger every year and better and better every year.”
On the weekends, the pumpkin patch turns into a mini-fair complete with vendors selling Fletcher’s Corny Dogs, Red Hot and Blue barbecue, kettle corn and cotton candy.
“We moved here 10 years ago and I’ve come here every year since,” Andrew Kral, 23, said. “It’s the biggest pumpkin patch that I’ve seen around here.”
Balekian said she doesn’t think the pumpkin patch can expand to include new activities because there would be even less room for the pumpkins.
“Future attractions would mean cutting down on the pumpkin display and keeping them out back,” she said.
This year, guests of the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch might have noticed the Flower Mound Pumpkin Village — a rival on 15 acres of the neighboring property — is not open this year.
The Pumpkin Village, which also became a big attraction, once offered a petting zoo, carnival games, a Ferris wheel, carousel and hay rides. It was owned and operated by J.W. Stucki.
Balekian filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit pumpkin business in 2003. The rivalry remained intense until Stucki sold his property for the Saddlewood residential development. The horses, and his home, are gone and the land is now bulldozed over.
Pumpkin Village lasted 14 years.
Stucki could not be reached for comment.
Balekian said it is hard to tell how many new visitors she has this year because of the Pumpkin Village closure.
“So many people would park over there and hop the fence not knowing it was a different pumpkin patch,” she said.
Balekian said the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch is her life’s legacy.
“This is something I enjoy doing. I love the people,” she said. “I could sell out in a heartbeat, but this is why I still live here.”
Lewisville/Flower Mound editor Adam Schrader can be reached at 214-773-8188 and on Twitter at @schrader_adam.
IF YOU GO...
What: Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch
Where: 5100 Cross Timbers Road in Flower Mound
When: open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day through Halloween
Cost: Parking costs $5 per vehicle. The event is free. Food and drinks, pumpkins and shirts are available for purchase.
