Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to announce a series of guest blogs written by Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, which will be posted on the Precision Board Blog each month. This month Dan Sawatzky shows us how he works with one of the most successful agri-tourism farms in the world; Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, to create branded signs with a fall harvest theme and ensure that customers have plenty of photo-worthy moments at the farm while also enjoying the myriad of on-site attractions and restaurants.
In Dan’s own words…
We don’t do many Halloween celebration projects in our shop as our projects tend to be of a much more permanent nature. But we do have a great customer that has a fall festival that includes some Halloween attractions. Vala’s Pumpkin Patch in Gretna, Nebraska is one of the largest and most successful agri-tourism farms in the world. Each fall, over a period of about six weeks, they welcome more than 300,000 guests to their farm. It’s an incredible seasonal operation with more than fifty attractions and eating establishments. The family run farm has been in operation for thirty-five years.
We met the owners last fall and they asked us to design and build a number of signs for their farm. I visited the farm this last spring to get to know them and the operation. Over the next few months we built six large signs using PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU along with our other favoured mediums including steel, fibreglass-reinforced concrete and sculpting epoxy.
This year’s projects were enough to fill a fifty-four foot semi-trailer. Once the signs were securely loaded (with inches of space to spare) and on their way, I jumped on a plane to be there to open the truck doors and help them unload and place the signs around the farm. The signs were a huge hit to say the least.
A few weeks ago I was pleased to return to the Vala’s Pumpkin Patch for four days while the farm was in full operation. My job was to observe the farm and then help them decide the projects we would tackle next year. We have made some very optimistic plans for the coming years and you can bet you’ll see some of those projects chronicled here in the coming months.
I really enjoyed my time on the farm this fall season. The best part was enjoying a variety of pies they bake – up to a thousand pies each day during their busy season!
Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.
Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.
Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs. It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack. You can request free samples, get a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.