Business takes new direction
Mike Rich says his latest business venture is his brightest idea yet. Small wonder since Rich Farms newest event is its Lightscape Festival of Lights.
“I’d like to say we have put up a couple of million lights. But we haven’t counted them all. We have several hundred thousand for sure,’ Rich said.
Hoping to compete with other light shows, such as Overly’s in Westmoreland County and Oglebay in Wheeling, W.Va., Rich said his show will benefit Children’s Hospital in Morgantown.
“We are affiliated with them for next year.
“This year we just want to make enough money to pay the electric bill and the actors.’
Running through Jan. 15, Rich Farms, Lightscape is a two-mile car ride through illuminated scenes and forests with live actors, a live Nativity, North Pole and Dickens Village.
It is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
People interested in attending will pass through a gate with a ticket booth.
One rate covers a carload, Rich said.
“We are on to something big here that we will be doing for years. Our North Pole has a live Santa and sleigh and he will be giving candy out to kids.
“The Nativity scene has three wise men and Mary and Joseph and live animals.
“We own some of the animals and a friend is letting us use some of the sheep. We provide feed and water and we have a veterinarian who cares for them. We have a live barnyard, too.
“We are trying to do a lot of different things that people want to see. What is making this unique is we don’t have anything one-dimensional. When you see a building you see a building. Our trees are real trees and we have about two miles of fence set.
“The capper is a festival with horse and carriage rides,’ Rich said. Belgian horses pull antique carriages in that feature.
“We have hot chocolate, a big bonfire and Christmas music playing. On weekends we will have a stage and we hope to attract local choirs,’ he added.
“We have made a total commitment to it and we have 14 electric services on the property.’
Rich said the family-owned business has been working on the project for about three years, building roads, installing fencing and creating the features.
In the future, he said people will be able to shop in the Dickens Village.
“In some capacity we will have a year-round thing for kids and a Christmas shop.’
Rich Farms, known for its landscaping products and its annual Halloween Fright Farm, is moving more toward amusements, he added.
“We have the property and a lot of ideas. We have the ability to do a lot of things and we are going more toward amusement.
While the business is funding Lightscapes for the inaugural year, Rich said he hopes to get sponsorships from businesses to help support the charitable program.
“The reviews we have had so far have been wonderful. Everybody is coming out with a smile on his face.’
The new direction stems from a fire Dec. 18, 2000, that destroyed the well-known area garden center, which the Rich family has operated for a half-century.
Promising to rebuild, Rich said at the time the fire gave them an opportunity to modernize.
He is in the business with his mother, Ann, and two brothers, Mark and Tom.
“My father (Mike) and grandfather (Sam) started this and we continue to run it. So, we aren’t going anywhere,’ Rich said.
The fire destroyed their warehouse, which also brought about closing the Rich Farms store in Uniontown Mall.
The farm, which contains about 100 acres, produces about 90 percent of the nursery items sold, Rich said.
Shortly after the fire, Rich said he was thinking about “doing something at Christmas, like they do at the Overlys in West Newton, a Festival of Lights.’
For more information on the Lightscapes Fesitval, call Rich Farms at 724-564-7644 or visit the company’s Web site at www.richfarms.com.