These giant hay sculptures turned a small Vermont town into a destination for fall-lovers<\/p>\n
Chantel Gonyer’s roadside pumpkin stand has become a seasonal favorite in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPUMPKINS … THEY CARVE … EAT … AND EVEN DROP THEM FROM NEARLY 200 FEET. NOTHING SAYS “FALL” IN NEW ENGLAND LIKE PUMPKIN AND A PUMPKIN PATCH… AND FOR THOSE THAT \u00e1\u00e1RUN THEM… IT’S A LABOR OF LOVE THAT EXTENDS WELL BEYOND THE SEASON. WE SPOKE WITH ONE WOMAN IN NORTHERN VERMONT WHO TURNED HER PUMPKIN STAND INTO A \u00e1\u00e1DESTINATION… WITH SOME LARGER-THAN- LIFE CREATIONS. ALONG ROUTE 105 IN NORTH TROY, VERMONT… THERE’S A PUMPKIN STAND THAT \u00e1\u00e1STANDS OUT FROM THE OTHERS. <11:03:36 BEN: “How many pumpkins are here?” CHANTEL: “I’ve never been able to count… …I think I have about 55 different varieties”> FOR CHANTEL GONYER, VEGETABLE FARMING RUNS IN THE FAMILY. <11:05:44 CHANTEL GONYER “My “My brothers used to be organic vegetable farmers, and my brother did the pumpkins for years. And, when he got done, I decided since we bought this property, it’d be a perfect place to keep it going”> BUT THE GOURDS AREN’T THE \u00e1\u00e1ONLY ATTRACTION DRAWING CROWDS TO “CHANTEL’S CREATIVE CREATIONS”… IT’S WHAT SHE BUILDS \u00e1\u00e1AROUND THEM. <11:06:17 CG “We’re hoping to be done before the weekend, it’s going to be a giant turtle”> <11:46:54 BEN STAND-UP “Among the thousands of pumpkins here, you’ll also see big hay sculptures like this train I’m sitting in. Each one takes Chantel hundreds of hours to produce… and she keeps them up for the community to enjoy all year round.”> <11:08:01 CG “The dragon, the mammoth, the turtle… those are all put together like a Christmas wreath. So we sit there and bundle hay, and probably 10,000 bundles went into the mammoth”> <11:10:30 CG “We keep these out here in the winter, too — so when it snows, they just look amazing”> THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A SAFE, OUTDOOR SPACE IN A SMALL TOWN WHERE PLACES TO GATHER ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. IT’S A LOT OF WORK… BUT CHANTEL HAS PLENTY OF HELP. HER BROTHER CHRIS PITCHES IN WITH THE SCULPTURES AND SIGNAGE… WHILE HER DAD HELPS AS NEEDED, IN THE BACKGROUND. <10:55:41 JEAN- CLAUDE ROBERGE “She doesn’t “She doesn’t stop… she’s just a worker. Every day in the summer when she takes care of her pumpkins, she just doesn’t quit until it’s completely done”> <10:55:59 JCR “I’m very proud”> THIS YEAR HAS BEEN ONE OF CHANTEL’S MOST CHALLENGING YET. HER OPENING WAS DELAYED BY A BEE INFESTATION IN SOME SCULPTURES, AND THE HARVEST WAS SMALLER DUE TO SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS. <11:04:03 CG “I only got about half of my regular crop I usually do — especially the big orange ones; those are down over half”> <11:04:14 CG “I had to truck water from the river about six miles away, a little bit every day… …it could have been worse, but I did what I could”> BUT EVEN IN HARD TIMES… CHANTEL SAYS SHE KEEPS GOING FOR ONE REASON. <11:06:44 CG “For the community, really — that’s what I do it for. I have schools, nursing homes…” <11:19:05 CG “I love when the nursing homes come and I’ll help push the people down here in their wheelchairs… it’s the highlight of the year, they said. That is what it’s about for me”> IT’S A LOVE FOR THE PLACE SHE CALLS\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t These giant hay sculptures turned a small Vermont town into a destination for fall-lovers<\/p>\n Chantel Gonyer’s roadside pumpkin stand has become a seasonal favorite in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\tUpdated: 7:59 PM EDT Oct 20, 2025\n\t\t<\/p>\n \t\tEditorial Standards \u24d8<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNBC5 First Warning Meteorologist
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