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Remlinger Farms
When
newlyweds Gary and Bonnie Remlinger opened their fruit stand
outside Bellevue in 1965, they could not foresee how it would
prosper into a 200-acre major tourist center that annually hosts
200,000 visitors. Initially, Gary worked the 120-acre farm,
adjacent to his father's farm, which he later took over, and Bonnie
tended the fruit stand. When a major purchaser suddenly dropped a
Remlinger strawberry order two weeks before harvest, the Remlingers
decided to offer their 100 aces of strawberries as a "pick your
own" to the public at wholesale prices. The sale was a huge
success. As business grew, the Remlingers added a greenhouse to
sell bedding plants, and a "petting" farm animal area to attract
customers to the nursery. During the fall, the Remlingers sold
pumpkins, and eventually added a hay maze and a haunted house to
the animal area. Soon teachers were bringing school groups to learn
about pumpkins and farming. More attractions and a restaurant were
added to give people something to do and a place to eat when they
visited the farm.
From that humble beginning the nursery and petting
area grew into a "Country Fair" family entertainment park, which
includes a farm theater, 4-H animal barnyard, pony rides, an
authentic miniature steam train, a canoe ride, and a mine-twister
roller coaster. Each October, Remlinger Farms hosts the northwest's
largest Fall Harvest Festival, which attracts 6,000 people a
day.
Documentation includes a text report and newspaper
articles.
Originally submitted by: Jennifer Dunn, Representative (8th District).
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