Pumpkin time! Go out and grab a gorgeous gourd this weekend

Pumpkin faces are the original emojis.

Happy, funny, scary, whatever emotion the carver desires.

Now emojis have gone to the pumpkins.

“Last year I did the kissy face one,” said Ella Pederson, a Mill Creek seventh-grader.

A trip to the pumpkin patch is a tradition for her family.

Make that, multiple trips.

“We go to three at least,” said Ella’s mom, Christa Pederson. “We usually get more than 10 pumpkins. We like to collect the oddities and the new arrivals. There seems to be more every year. I like the new colors. I call this one a seafoam green. It almost is the color of my living room, so it might match in there.”

Ella goes for other pumpkin attributes.

“I like the cool stems and the warts,” she said. “I love fall, it’s my favorite.”

Some pumpkins are for decorating. Others for the carving party.

“Our favorite way is to cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin,” Christa Pederson said. “So you don’t have to worry about the tops falling in.”

Makes it’s easier to set the light source, too.

The family kicked off the pumpkin hunting season at Stocker Farms, one of seven pumpkin farms that banded together to form the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.

For the farmers, it’s not about competition it’s about camaraderie, said Keith Stocker of Stocker Farms and the pumpkin group’s president.

“Our motto is come to Snohomish and find a farm. Every farm does something different,” he said.

For families, it’s more than scoring the perfect jack-o’-lantern.

“People come out to do more than just get a pumpkin,” Stocker said. “They come to create memories with their families and children and grandchildren,” he said.

“We spend too much time doing too many things. We don’t unplug enough. It’s fun to slow down and have some open space and fresh air.”

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.

Giant pumpkins!

Check out the big-bellied, absurdly misshapen pumpkins at the Fifth Annual Skagit Valley Giant Pumpkin Festival, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 26, Christianson’s Nursery, 15806 Best Road, Mount Vernon. There will also be giant cabbages, toad races, pony rides, carnival games and farm animals. Learn more at www.christiansonsnursery.com or by calling 360-466-3821.

Pumpkin patches and corn mazes

Bailey Vegetables: 12711 Springhetti Road, Snohomish; 360-568-8826; www.baileyveg.com. Pumpkin patch open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. Play barn, wagon rides, kettle corn, hot cider, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends in October. Farm is part of the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.

Biringer’s Black Crow Pumpkins and Corn Maze: 2431 Highway 530 NE, Arlington; 360-435-5616. Noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 31. Maze, kiddie slide, skeleton graveyard. Dog costume contest at 2 p.m. Oct. 25.

Bob’s Corn: 10917 Elliott Road, Snohomish; 360-668-2506; www.bobscorn.com. Pumpkin patch open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. Daytime corn maze is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; night maze open 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. See website for details. Farm is part of the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.

Carleton Farms: 630 Sunnyside Blvd. SE, Lake Stevens; 425-334-2297; www.carletonfarm.com. Farm and corn maze open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. Haunted attractions 7 to 11 p.m. starting Oct. 3. Kids activities such as pumpkin cannon, bucket train and zip line 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends. See website for details. Farm is part of the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.

Craven Farm: 13817 Short School Road, Snohomish; 360-568-2601; www.cravenfarm.com. Pumpkin patch, 9:30 a.m. until dark daily through Oct. 31. Hay rides, Alice-in-Pumpkinland corn maze, pumpkin slinger and more. Open late on select Fridays in October for Night Owl Corn Maze. See website for details. Farm is part of the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.

Fairbank Hands-on Pumpkin and Animal Farm: 15308 52nd Ave. W., Edmonds; 425-743-3694; www.fairbankfarm.com. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Opens Oct. 3. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31. Farm includes vegetable garden, Hidden Bear Trail, maize maze and hay tunnel, teepee.

The Farm at Swan’s Trail: 7301 Rivershore Road, Snohomish; 425-334-4124; www.thefarm1.com. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. Barn maze, Washington State Corn Maze, 9-hole putting course, wagon rides, hay jumps, duck races. Farm is part of the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.

Foster’s Produce and Corn Maze: 5818 Highway 530 NE, Arlington; 360-435-6516; www.fosterscornmaze.com; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. “Wizard of Oz” corn maze, pumpkin patch, pumpkin sling shot and more.

Remlinger Farms: 32610 NE 32nd St., Carnation; 425-333-4135; www.remlingerfarms.com. Hours for pumpkin patch and Fall Harvest Festival: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31.

Schuh Farms: 15565 Highway 536 in Mount Vernon; 360-629-6455. Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Pumpkin patch, Halloween celebrations, corn maze; call for details.

Stocker Farms: 360-568-7391; www.stockerfarms.com. Pumpkin patch and country market, 10622 Airport Way, Snohomish. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Pumpkin park with corn maze, pumpkin patch, farm animals and haunted attractions, across the road at 8705 Marsh Road. See and website for more details. This year’s corn maze is partnered with the “Strong Against Cancer” campaign to raise awareness and money for new treatments for childhood cancer developed by Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Farm is part of the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.

Strotz’s Country Feed: 21713 27th Ave. NE, Arlington; 360-652-6064; www.strotzscountryfeed.com. U-pick pumpkins, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 31.

Thomas Family Farm: 9010 Marsh Road, Snohomish; 360-568-6945; www.thomasfamilyfarm.com. Opens Oct. 2. Hours are 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays, 6 p.m. to midnight Fridays, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 31. Pumpkin patches, apple cannon, hay rides (Saturdays and Sundays only), corn maze, haunted house, Zombie Safari Paintball Hayride for ages 12 and older; see website for details. Farm is part of the Snohomish Festival of Pumpkins.