Moore Family Farm building new fall tradition

For more than 40 years, families in Lansing and throughout Tompkins County have traveled through the snow-blanketed hills of Route 34 to arrive at Moore Tree Farm during the holiday season.

Walking through acres of trees, saw or axe in hand, to find the perfect accent to a living room during the holiday season has become a tradition.

Co-owners Jason Moore and his wife, Carrie Moore, are taking the same sense of tradition to the fall but across the street from the tree farm. Instead of trees, they’re hoping that people will come to the farm in September and October for the pumpkins, cider and fall attractions.

This weekend marks the return of the Moore Family Farm’s Fall Festival, which runs Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekend, with the last weekend being Oct. 22 and 23. The festival will also be open on Indigenous People’s Day, Oct. 10.

The festival features more than 30 attractions on a more than 50-acre property across Route 34 from the tree farm that was purchased in 1990. Three of those acres are used to grow pumpkins, which are sold, and five are used for a corn maze.

The festival also consists of a pumpkin-shaped bounce house, an apple-shooting cannon, a pumpkin house, playground, skee ball and wagon rides just to name a few of the attractions.

The Fall Festival has been on the minds of Carrie and Jason Moore for multiple years. The land was mostly used to raise trees in the beginning, so acres of trees would need to be cleared for parking and attractions.

In addition, the Moores had three young children who they wanted to be old enough to help with the project.

In the pandemic-affected year of 2020, the Moores raised a pumpkin crop they were proud of and sold them in a cash-only operation by the side of the road. In 2021, the family decided to make the leap and turn a dream into a fall-time business.

“It’s been on our mind to expand this side of the road; it was just a matter of when,” Jason said. “There’s never really a best time, so we decided that now was the time to do it, especially because our kids were out of diapers.”

The family aspect is in everything the farm does, according to Carrie.

“It’s important for us with our three kids that we do things as a family,” she said. “We’re a tradition at Christmastime, and we want to be a tradition at fall time as well. To be able to have families, friends and everybody come out and reconnect and reengage with each other is important to us. The things we do with our family, we want to be able to provide that same experience with other families in the area.”

When Richard and Kay Moore bought the farm in 1970, they hoped it would become a sustainable business. With the help of their three children, Michelle, Gretchen and Jason, it became one.

Now, Jason and Carrie have raised their family in a house on the property across the road. The attractions are built by the Moores, and the kids are asked to help, as long as they get to test them out when the work is done.

“Carrie is a great carpenter,” Jason Moore said. “We’ve utilized some great part-time help that works with us, but Carrie takes the initiative. We had a blank worksheet 18 months ago and we’re hoping to expand on that. It helps that it’s in our backyard — our kids can test it.”

The farm has roughly 60 employees on its payroll, with 15 to 20 people working at a time on busy weekends.

The group’s members range from Lansing High School students to retirees looking for some extra income on the weekend. Jason said most who work for the Fall Festival also work across the street during the holiday season for the tree farm.

Jason also works during the week as a commercial lender for Tompkins Community Bank. Carrie said while she and her husband would like to open the festival up to school groups during the week, it isn’t possible with staff considerations at the moment.

“We have a lot of high school staff, so to be open during the week would require a different staff,” she said. “We have a lot of retired people who also help us out on the weekends.”

There is also a mix of people who the festival is intended for. While plenty of families bring their children to enjoy the playground and bounce house, both Jason and Carrie said there are attractions designed towards guests in college and young adults.

Some of those include human foosball, campfire rings that can be reserved, yard games and barnyard billiards. There will also be beer and wine during the weekends as well as a food truck. The farm is also selling its own donuts and lemonade.

Special events start this weekend with teacher appreciation weekend. All school teachers and staff get in free with valid identification. Admission is still required for family and friends.

First responders weekend is Sept. 24 and 25 with all first responders getting in free with a valid ID. Family and friends are still required to pay admission, and emergency vehicles will be on site from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Admission is $18.50 at the gate and $14.95 if purchased online. Tickets can be purchased online at moorefamilyfun.com.

The dream to expand the farm from a holiday tradition to include the fall is in motion at Moore Family Farm, but that doesn’t mean the family is done.

Jason knows that as the business grows, more work will need to be done. He and Carrie said they are willing to do that work but not at the expense of the experience of their customers.

They said they view their guests as an extension of their family, and when they expand, they will keep that extended family in mind.

“We realize it’s step by step; we can’t just turn on and be some of these other places that have been around a long time,” he said. “We want to take the right steps and grow it proportionately because it’s ultimately about the service and providing the top experience possible. We don’t want to sacrifice that just to hit a number.”

Lansing at Large appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.