Sow Much Fun

If your children are too young to get a thrill from haunted houses and scary costumes, take a trip to The Farm in Chatsworth.

Kids can ride a hay wagon, watch horseback-riding demonstrations and try to guess the weight of a giant pumpkin named Maxwell. There’s a pumpkin patch, where children can select a gourd to take home, a “scarecrow lane” in a cornfield and animals to pet.

Business partners Linda Menery and Tommie Turvey have been putting on the western-themed show every day this month for families, day-care centers and Head Start programs. Prizes will be awarded Sunday at noon to the person who correctly guesses the weight of Maxwell, who is about as big around as the outside of a large inner tube.

The prizes? Maxwell and $20 cash.

As children ride in the hay wagon, Turvey, a veteran circus rider, swoops onto the scene and performs rope and riding tricks, including riding two horses at once while standing.

A veteran of the Royal Hannafford Circus on the East Coast, Turvey also works as a movie stuntman.

“I got the idea of doing this for the kids from watching the faces of the little kids who came to the circus shows,” he said, “especially the Head Start and day-care-age ones.”

Menery is equally committed to providing a rich experience for little ones. She has chickens roaming around the grounds and keeps other critters on hand so children can learn about various farm animals. Yet some kids are too busy to notice. “Some who come here haven’t seen anything,” she said.

More family excursions for Halloween weekend:

* Storyteller Jim Lews spins frightening tales for tots, including “Blue Beard” and “The Ghostly Little Girl,” Saturday, 2 to 3 p.m., at the main branch of the Glendale Public Library. Free. (818) 548-2030.

* The Creative PlayGround presents storytelling and theater-style performances for children Sunday at 1, 3:30 and 5 p.m. at the Encino Community Center, Balboa Avenue at Ventura Boulevard. Admission is $7, $5 for children under 5. (310) 636-8089.

BE THERE

The Farm, 8640 Winnetka Ave., Northridge. Open daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Children $3.50, adults $1. Free admission to pumpkin patch. (818) 341-1054 or (818) 341-6805.