Suburban families who had made a tradition out of visiting Didier Farms in Lake County around Halloween didn't realize their 2022 trip to the farm's annual Pumpkinfest would be their last.
According to a note posted on Thursday to the farm's Facebook page, Didier Farms has officially closed for good.
"Dear friends of Didier Farms," the post reads, "After years of service the community with fresh locally grown vegetables at our Farmstand, pumpkins & donuts at our Pumpkinfest, and flowers from our Greenhouse, we have decided to close our doors."
"We are saddened to say that Halloween was bittersweet, as it was the last day of our retail business," the post continues.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
The Facebook post as been shared close to 800 times, and has garnered more than 1,000 comments of fans sharing their memories of visiting.
"Didier Farms has been a part of my life ever since I was little," one comment reads. "My parents brought me every year to pick out pumpkins (back when you could actually go in the fields and pick them!), and every summer my mom would buy huge amounts of basil and spend a week making pesto to fill the freezer for winter. I continued visiting throughout the years - I was just in last week to buy apples and squash."
The Executive Director of Lake County Farm Bureau also posted a message saying " Personally and on behalf of our over 10,500 Lake County Farm Bureau members, I would like to thank the entire Didier Farms Family for allowing so many urban residents to have a “farm” experience over the years."
While the the century-old Didier farm, located in Lincolnshire, didn't offer a reason for closing, it did note that its grain farming operation will continue.
"As we tend to find over the years change is the constant, some good, some bad and some bittersweet," another fan commented on Facebook.
"But best of luck on future endeavors and thanks for some fun memories."
