A Place for Family Fun

is a major contributor to her parent’s farm and market. “The fall is about being able to be on a farm and getting the pumpkin patch experience, where the summer is about getting fresh produce. Fall is a total experience with the pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, the straw maze, coloring activities, and the slides. Our pumpkins and mums cost, but all of our fall activities are free to the public.

“We try to focus on the kids. The whole idea behind Country Kids has always been for the kids. The motto we stay true to is, ‘Whatever we do, it’s for the kids.’ Back in the day, it was for my brother and I, and now it’s our kids and kids in our community,” she said. “We want a fun spot for parents and grandparents to bring the little ones out and have fun and enjoy all that fall brings.”

Michelini-Brannan was born in 1991, four years after her older brother Steve. Steve and Laurie Michelini – the parents and the originators of Country Kids Farm Market, located at 4301 Plank Road in Peru – began selling corn under the Country Kids name in 1993 with their children, ages 6 and 2.

When Steve and Laurie decided to gather some gunny sacks of corn and have the family sell them on a table at the end of their driveway, it was for his children. And so was the pumpkin patch that shortly followed.

“We work really hard. We work every day. We don’t typically have a day off. I wouldn’t know what to do if we weren’t working every day,” said Laurie Michelini. “We’ve been so fortunate in the community, and they’ve been so giving toward us. We like to give back to the kids. We want to make sure they all get a pumpkin. We want each kid to enjoy their childhood.

“We know this area is booming with activities. There are a lot of families that could use a hand-up, not necessarily a handout, but a hand-up to maybe make things nicer for their own children. We like to offer something that’s fun, the kids love it, and it’s not a hardship to the parents,” she said.

In the fall, at the two Country Kids’ market locations in Peru and at the Four Corners in Utica, pumpkins, Eckert’s apples, large mums, fall décor, corn stalks, and straw are sold. Families can come and enjoy the train, slides, straw maze, and pumpkin patch. Country Kids Farm Market also holds events such as their Fall Fest, which is annually on the first Saturday in October.

“We like to provide something local for families to do. There is no fee

Gourds like these make beautiful decorations for the fall.

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for it. They can come every day, or they could come once a week,” Laurie said. “It’s something that’s chill where the parents can sit down and have water or something while the children roam around.

“We like to do field trips for the children. We do a lot for handicapped children in the area because we are handicapped-accessible. We always provide a pumpkin, a story, or decorate a fall cookie. We like to interact with the kids. We’ve been very fortunate with our own children that they’re healthy,” she said. “We want to give back to the community, so we have the tendency to give back to the children in the area.”

Kelsey Michelini-Brannan graduated from LaSalle-Peru High School in 2009 and went to college to become an athletic trainer. Many football games and other athletic events saw her on the sidelines caring for players. With a child of her own and seeing the importance of the family farm, she decided to make a career change and help her parents continue the goal of putting kids first.

“A year ago, I left athletic training and my primary position to take over farm work, running the stand, and being a stay-at-home mom the rest of the year,” she said. “It’s one of those things where it’s a family business and you never want to see anything happen to it. At the end of the day, family is what matters.

“I think being able to work for the family farm and raise my daughter (Julianna, who is 2 years old) while doing so has been huge,” she said.

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