SARASOTA COUNTY – In this week’s edition of Feel Good Friday, SNN’s Grant Boxleitner spent time at Fruitville Grove ahead of the 30th Annual Pumpkin Festival.


The longstanding event features a playground, live music, pumpkin painting and pony rides. Many vendors will also be on hand selling their wares.


This year, many of the pumpkins for sale are on display under a new open-air barn, one that owner Kim White affectionately calls the Pumpkin Palace. Many animals call the farm home, including goats, sheep, horses, donkeys and turkeys.


Festival food, hey rides and a new maze through wildflowers are also scheduled to be part of the fun at 7410 Fruitville Road. Organizers are asking visitors to bring cash because not all vendors accept cards.


White talks about the family event, which runs Saturdays and Sundays through the month of October.


Catch Feel Good Friday, weekly on SNN, the Suncoast News Network.