The grand opening weekend of our the First Light Farm Store will be Aug. 17-19 from noon-5 p.m.

The farm store will feature certified organic produce grown by First Light Farm, maintaining its tradition of produce for Sonoma County.

First Light Farm has certified the entire operation as organic and is preparing the traditional U-pick pumpkin patch and corn maze for October. This is one of the only certified organic pumpkin patches in Northern California.

The farm is located at 4588 Bodega Ave. in Petaluma near Skillman in the little red barn store (formerly the Andersen’s farm stand).

First Light Farm, founded in 2007, is a 24-acre certified organic vegetable operation owned and operated by partners Nathan Boone and Jesse Pizzitola.

In March, First Light Farm acquired the lease and farm assets on the Andersen farm, which was originally founded by Rodney Andersen, who retired last year and was a cultural mainstay of the Petaluma agricultural community. Andersen has worked closely with First Light Farm to help transition the operation to new management.

The Bodega Avenue farm stand is well known in the area for its produce and traditional fall pumpkin patch and challenging corn maze.

First Light Farm will continue to offer the same certified organic produce that it sells at the Santa Rosa and Sebastopol Farmers Markets. The Pumpkin Patch, Corn Maze and Hay Fort will also continue.

The continuation of the Andersen operation and farm stand represents a successful Sonoma County farm transition from the older generation to a new generation of young farmers. “This is a rare event when a farmer retires and is able to see their hard work continue to care for the land and serve the community,” Boone said. “We’re reaching out to the entire Sonoma County community to support us and celebrate the abundance.”