‘Cultivating Color 2021’

This Year’s Winding Way Display is Now Open at the Simon Meadow Pumpkin Patch

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

A Palisades tradition created five years ago in what was previously an unused and overgrown section, Winding Way returned to the Palisades-Malibu YMCA Pumpkin Patch at Simon Meadow with the theme “Cultivating Color 2021.”

This year’s display was crafted by Tracey Price of American Growers, a local landscape company, and Cindy Simon, with hundreds of crocheted strands contributed by Dorothy Miyake, one of the founders of the tradition.

“Each year, we take a fresh look at the space in October and add a few enhancements to the area,” according to a statement provided by the creators. “This year, we added a dry rock river bed filled with boulders and native grasses under the large walking bridge. We planted additional Arbutus marina trees along the edge of the paths, and extended the stacked stone wall, providing more seating. We also planted Acacia covenyi shrubs in the large pots in the seating area.”

The Winding Way display is created by upcycling: the process of taking an item that would typically be considered trash and transforming it into something of enjoyment or beauty.

“The past year, the COVID pandemic has consumed us,” the statement continued. “We were hunkered down in our houses, and then when allowed outside, we were tentative and cautious. Now, in the autumn of 2021, with vaccinations available, there is a ‘re-entering the world’ feeling among us.”

“Cultivating Color 2021” is designed to remind visitors to Winding Way to “embrace positivity, celebrate diversity and welcome the creative process that evolves when humans connect with one another.” They shared that their motto is, “If you exit Winding Way with a smile on your face, we have done our job.”

This year, Winding Way was filled with colorful and decorative upcycled art. Price and Simon worked to create hanging chains filled with colorful plastic bottle caps, toys, bottles and small bells, which delight young visitors.

“We hung hundreds of strands of crocheted yarn from hoops tied to limbs of the large coast live oak tree in the center of Winding Way,” they explained. “We repurposed tall, circular cardboard towers, donated by fabric and drapery stores, with colorful duct tape, and sealed them at the top with large plastic bottle caps. We wrapped branches with yarn, creating elaborate spider webs, which now hang on the tree trunks.”

The two shared that the reaction from the community to this year’s display has been delightful, with them overhearing visitors describe it as “lovely.”

“Even those who have visited several of the big pumpkin patches throughout Los Angeles that are filled with activities and energy found our pumpkin patch, with its manageable size and homespun atmosphere, welcoming and peaceful,” Price and Simon shared. “Winding Way is a bonus of Simon Meadow, a place to slow down the pace of life and wander aimlessly along colorful art-filled paths under the shade of coast live oak trees.”

Winding Way will be visible as part of this year’s pumpkin patch through October 30, or until pumpkins sell out. Patch hours are Monday to Friday between 3 and 6 p.m. and weekends between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.