Journey into the Haunted Fields
On Saturday, October 31,
the Restoration Farm crew presented
its first farm-to-theater production…
The day began innocuously, with pumpkin carving and wand-making at the Tin House.
But then, Farmer Steve discovered a mysterious message in the herb garden:
Armed with their wands, the travelers followed Ada and Farmer Steve down the road, towards the fields.
There is talk of spooky forces
In the fields
Where the vegetables are grown.
Go forth!
With Ada to guide you,
And your wands beside you,
Know you are not alone.
They passed ghosts, ominous messages, and Spooky Glenn watching them from a rocking chair in the woods.
Finally, they emerged from the woods and came upon six frozen scarecrows. After several minutes of nervous silence, two scarecrows—the witch’s goons—leapt from their milk crates and lunged at the travelers before sprinting off into the woods. Ada, seeing that the remaining scarecrows were still frozen, initiated a flurry of wand waving, which freed the scarecrows from their spell.
Scarecrow Kobi descended from his milk crate and discovered another message:
The travelers journeyed on to the chicken coops, where they found Helpless William calling for help. Helpless William explained that a witch’s spell trapped him inside the electric fence. One of the scarecrows offered a counter-spell:
Now that the Scarecrows are free
bring your wands
and do not stop.
I hear calling of help
from William,
and the spirit
of our dear old friend,
Lollipop
Abra-Cadabra
Abra-Ca-Molf
To Break the Spell
Howl Like a Wolf!
The travelers howled and waved their wands. Spooky Judy emerged from the chicken coop and lowered the fence, allowing Helpless William to escape. He discovered a third message.
Suddenly, a Scarecrow on a bicycle pedaled by, calling “This way to the Wand Charging Station!” The travelers chased the scarecrow up the hill to the Wand Charging Station.
The travelers took turns dipping their wands into jars of colorful charging potion. After several minutes of recharging, Farmer Steve spotted the witch watching them from across the fields.
You've freed your friend,
but trouble is brewing.
Your wands are running low.
Recharge them you must,
or this journey's a bust.
To the Wand Charging
Station you go!
The witch ran into the next field, and Ada discovered another message.
Be brave, young travelers.
You've seen a witch,
I know it's scary and tense.
But you've got to go on,
and see what she wants.
You must pass by
the Haunted Fence.
(P.S. It's a good thing your
wands are fully charged.)
In the next field, the travelers passed the “Compost Pile of Doom” and finally came upon the witch’s lair.
The travelers journeyed past the Haunted Fence, where they encountered ghosts, tombstones, and spooky eyes. At the end of the Fence, Scarecrow Kobi spotted another scarecrow sitting on a spool across the field. “It’s my long lost cousin!” he shouted before charging towards the scarecrow.
The travelers called after him, sensing impending disaster. Just as Kobi reached the scarecrow, the witch’s goons jumped out from behind a compost pile. The goons chased Kobi around the spool, Kobi chased the goons, and finally, the goons snatched Kobi and the scarecrow and ran out of the field. The travelers chased after, determined to rescue Kobi.
Kobi was trapped in a cage, the goons were playing checkers, and the witch was behind a curtain, working in her home office. Upon seeing the gathering crowd, one of the goons nervously asked the witch, “Ma,” to come outside. Aggravated by the interruption, the witch emerged.
Helpless William accused the witch of casting spells on people. The witch laughed and explained that her “spells” were just harmless rhymes. She asked the crowd for feedback on her latest rhyme:
Abra-Cadabra
Abra-Ca-Mock Choy
Turn These People
Into Green Bok Choy!
The witch, the goons, and Kobi tossed bok choy towards the crowd, but it fell short of the target and landed on the ground in front of the stage.
Once it was establish that no one, in fact, had been turned into bok choy, the witch tried another rhyme:
Abra-Cadabra
Abra-Ca-Zale
Turn These People
Into Curly Kale!
The kale landed on the ground, and one of the Scarecrows hopped onto the stage, eager to try her own rhyme:
Abra-Cadabra
Abra-Ca-Zepper
Turn That Lady
Into a Pepper!
The crowd launched a fusillade of peppers towards the stage. Peppers hit the witch, the goons, and the bars of Kobi’s cage.
After the pepper onslaught subsided, the goons released Kobi. Spooky Glenn and Spooky Judy pulled up on the golf cart. The witch thanked the travelers for visiting and said her goodbyes—the golf cart was her lift to the polling station. She grabbed 93-year-old George from the audience, offering him a lift to the station. They climbed into the golf cart and went off to vote.
Special Thanks to Our Cast & Crew
In order of appearance
Farmer Steve Cecchini—as himself
Ada Fanning Holmes—as herself
Spooky Glenn Aldridge
Peter Notarnicola—Goon
Miles Gencarelli—Goon
Kobi Fanning Holmes—Scarecrow
Donna Sinetar—Scarecrow
Jessica Frietag—Scarecrow
Christine Coryell—Scarecrow
William Triandafillou—Helpless William
Spooky Judy Stratton
Karl Frietag—Goon
Caroline Fanning—The Witch
Stage Hands
Dan Holmes & Helen Christodoulou
Photography & Videography
Mark Triandafillou & Chris Holmes
