Raprager Farms Now Feeds Odessa Year-Round. For Four Weekends, It Becomes Christmas on the Farm

On a Saturday morning at 16907 Boy Scout Road, the Egg Sammy is a fluffy egg with Havarti, bacon jam, arugula and charred scallion cream cheese on a toasted potato bun. It comes out of a kitchen run by a Culinary Institute of America graduate who once cooked at Michelin-starred Spiaggia in Chicago. The kitchen sits in the middle of a farm with goats, donkeys and an emu.

For years, Raprager Family Farms was where Odessa went for one season: pumpkins in the fall, a hayride and a photo by the petting zoo. Since this fall, it is a place you can drive to on an ordinary weekend for breakfast, dinner or dessert, usually without buying a ticket. That changes how the farm's biggest holiday event works for anyone who lives nearby. Christmas on the Farm runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 20, and for those four weekends the farm runs on festival rules instead of restaurant rules.

The Sept. 18 Reopening Added a Kitchen

The Land O' Lakes-Lutz Courier reported that the farm billed its Sept. 18 Fall Pumpkin Festival opening as a grand reopening. Whizk & Brew, a new sit-down restaurant on the property, opened the same day. Jessica Tomlinson is the owner and executive chef, Lance Tomlinson is co-owner and Joe Himes is head chef. The Courier also listed two 2026 additions to Farmville, the farm's shopping area: a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and a Cold Stone Creamery.

The Tampa Bay Beacons described Whizk & Brew as a year-round restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. That is the real change. The pumpkin patch closes at the end of the season. The kitchen stays open.

Getting in is simple on a normal weekend. The farm's Whizk & Brew page says the restaurant needs no farm admission except during major festivals. Diners can walk the grounds and browse Farmville shops and other open retail areas without a general activity pass. Activity passes are sold separately for anyone who wants to add the farm attractions.

Festival Weekends Work Differently

The farm makes one exception to free entry: during major festivals and specially ticketed events, festival admission requirements and event access rules apply. Christmas on the Farm is that kind of weekend, four times over. Tickets for the Christmas event are sold through the Christmas on the Farm page, and the farm says activities, times and what each ticket includes can vary. Check that page before you go.

The hours shift too. Here is the restaurant's regular posted schedule next to the Christmas festival schedule:

The festival runs an hour past the restaurant's usual closing time every night, and the restaurant notes that its hours may change for special events. On regular weekends, breakfast is served Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The breakfast menu is not served during the Fall Festival, which, according to the Beacons, runs Fridays through Sundays through November. If you're hoping for Zoey's Pancakes or the Birria Brisket Burrito on the last Fall Fest weekend, check with the farm first.

What Fills Those Four Weekends

The farm's Christmas page calls the event a Florida version of the holiday, with oak trees and barn lights standing in for snow. It promises seasonal photos, Santa, local shopping, food and music. Its centerpiece for families is the Kris Kringle Market, a rotating group of local makers, food vendors, artists and small businesses. The vendor list grows as more businesses register, and the market follows the festival's weekends exactly:

1. Nov. 27–29, the Friday through Sunday after Thanksgiving
2. Dec. 4–6
3. Dec. 11–13
4. Dec. 18–20, the final weekend before Christmas week

The vendors change from weekend to weekend. All Creations by Liz, for example, is scheduled for Dec. 4–6, so going twice can mean shopping two different markets.

The Santa visit has its own option. Families can register ahead for $5 per child and share a few details about each child so Santa can greet them by name and talk about their favorite things. Registration comes with a private family pass with a QR code and an optional professional digital photo. The farm states plainly that a visit with Santa is otherwise free. It also says to confirm the final Santa schedule before visiting.

Two quieter traditions are part of the program. Mrs. Claus reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to gathered families, and Santa's Barn hosts arts and crafts where children make a Christmas keepsake to take home.

Dinner Is Part of the Plan Now

Before this fall, a holiday evening at the farm meant lights, a visit with Santa and then a drive somewhere else for dinner. The Christmas page now lists Holiday Dining at Whizk & Brew as part of the event and suggests a meal before or after you walk the grounds. Farmville's handcrafted chocolate, candy, ice cream, cocoa and seasonal sweets are on the same grounds, and so is the Raprager Farmers Market, with seasonal produce, plants and local products.

Tomlinson calls her menu "newstalgic," meaning modern takes on familiar dishes. In the Beacons' profile of the restaurant, she recommended starting with the Southwest Bowl: pulled chicken and chorizo, crispy potatoes, pico de gallo and Green Gringo dressing, hearty enough to split. She also pointed to the Sticky Chicken Bites in chipotle honey buffalo sauce with housemade ranch, and a double-patty smash burger. The Bacon Scallion Mac and Cheese is popular with kids, and the Brisket & Frites is another frequent order. Beer and wine are available. "We are on a farm, after all," Tomlinson told the Beacons, describing a menu that avoids anything fussy.

The same profile notes that many farm visitors want a quick bite, not a full meal. For them the menu has pretzel bites, nachos and a Burnt End Sandwich, which work well between the market and the barn.

The Odessa Calendar Around the Farm

The farm fills Friday through Sunday from Nov. 27 to Dec. 20. The rest of the area's calendar fits around those dates.

Nov. 21, the Saturday before the festival. Pasco County Parks hosts Take a Hike Day at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's self-guided: hikers check in at the Starkey Environmental Education Center and then head out on the trails. Children on Thanksgiving break can attend the park's Jr. Naturalist Camp, Nov. 23–25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It costs $95, and campers practice foraging, archery, animal tracking and photography. Details are in What's What New Port Richey's November outdoors roundup.

Early December, on State Road 54. Pineapple Hospitality Group, the family-owned group behind Zim Zari, Craft Street Kitchen, Shaker & Peel and Agave Social, is bringing Roma Social to 10900 State Road 54, Suite 105, near Duck Slough Boulevard on the Trinity/Odessa line. The Tampa Bay Times reported an early-December launch target for the modern Italian restaurant. The menu includes house-made sourdough focaccia and Roman-style pizza al taglio, and Level 2 sommelier Harmony Mulcahey leads the wine program.

Dec. 12–13, the third market weekend. Starkey Market at 3460 Starkey Boulevard in New Port Richey holds its Holiday Market on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. That weekend overlaps the farm's Dec. 11–13 Kris Kringle Market, so you can hit both on one weekend.

Dec. 22–29, after Christmas on the Farm ends. The farm's holiday event wraps up Dec. 20, and the Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center at 12118 Lake Blanche Drive fills the next week. Its December calendar lists Supersized Winter Storytime at 10:15 a.m. Dec. 22, a 2 p.m. screening of The Muppets Christmas Carol on Dec. 23 and Countdown to 2027 Storytime at 10:15 a.m. Dec. 29. The gallery's November–December exhibit, "From Fundamentals to Creative Discovery," shows work by students from The Loft Makerspace.

After Dec. 20, Whizk & Brew keeps its regular Friday through Sunday hours, and diners can come in without farm admission.

Holiday weekends are when a lot of Odessa families first start talking about what next year might look like. At Vincent Zeoli Homes, we keep up with the small local changes, like a farm that now serves breakfast year-round, because they shape what it's like to live here. If you're out at the Kris Kringle Market this season and want to talk about your home or your plans for the new year, Let's Connect.