Hidden Valley Orchards Offers fun, family entertainment
Just a few short miles from the southern Montgomery County line is a working farm that has quietly transformed itself over the past few years.
Hidden Valley Orchards (HVO) is a 65-acre farm, purchased by Robin and Randy Lane of Lebanon in January of 2018. Formerly Hidden Valley Fruit Farm, local families knew it for six decades as a place for apple picking and purchasing fresh farm produce.
Today HVO has become a full-service entertainment venue, with live events, music, rental facilities for corporate and family events, two bars featuring specialty drinks and a kitchen specializing in homemade food and bakery items.
“Robin and Randy bought the farm with the intention of transforming it,” says Ashley Franz, marketing and events manager at HVO. “The first year not much changed but the Lanes were quietly planning everything. After that, it just exploded!”
The Lanes had a vision that included creating a rustic bar out of a former apple crate storage facility and turning two existing old barns into venues that could be rented for birthday parties, team building events and even weddings.
“With the help of family members and professionals, they completed renovated the barns,” says Franz. “We added live music two years ago.”
The barns retain their rustic feel and neither has indoor plumbing available, so Franz says they don’t host many weddings there. But they have made improvements, including concrete floors.
Though HVO hasn’t started booking its live music events for 2022 yet, Franz says the intention is to have artists performing each evening it is open to the public.
And this year, HVO will add Wednesdays to those operating hours. And though it hasn’t “officially” opened for the season yet, the only month of the year that HVO is not open is January. Since February of this year it has been hosting private events like Friday night trivia with flatbread pizzas and wine tastings.
“We are constantly making improvements to the farm,” Franz says. “Our events continue through the holiday season each year.”
Opening weekend is scheduled for May 4-8 and HVO will kick off the season with a big splash, beginning with Wednesday, May 4—or, as it has become known, May the Fourth be with You or Star Wars Day.
“We are encouraging guests to come dressed in their Star Wars costumes and we’ll be having themed drinks at our bars,” Franz says. “We’ll be celebrating Cinco De Mayo the next day with themed music and margaritas and a Kentucky Derby themed party on Saturday.”
In addition, HVO will be having a special Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday, May 8. Both the Derby party and the Sunday brunch are ticketed events.
As always, visitors to HVO are welcome to wander the grounds and enjoy hiking on paved walkways to visit the waterfall (also installed by the Lane Family) or a rustic cabin original to the property and to bring their own chairs to listen to music while sitting in the vineyards. Bar drinks and food as well as ice cream at “The Coop” are available.
