KNOXVILLE, Illinois — In Knoxville, Illinois there is a there is a spot where Thanksgiving and Christmas intersect.
Prairie Moon Farms Christmas Market opened Sunday, but that doesn't mean the Karban's have forgotten about Turkey Day.
"We aren't skipping over Thanksgiving," co-owner of Prairie Moon Farms John Karban said. "It's just involved."
The Karban's have a 'Reindeer Experience' for guests to pet and feed the three featured animals. However, mixed throughout the reindeer pen are turkeys whose sole job is to keep the reindeer healthy.
"The turkeys are actually great they aren't here as pets they are pest control," Karban said. He said each turkey can eat up to 200 ticks a day. "They make sure we don't pass along diseases to the reindeer."
"We love Thanksgiving too," Miranda Karban, co-owner of the farm and John's wife said. "But I don't think it hurts anybody to get in the Christmas spirit too early."
The Karbans opened their agritourism pumpkin patch in 2020. A business move they had been planning before the coronavirus pandemic.
"‘We were locked in whether the pandemic happened or not," Miranda said. "Luckily, it worked out."
The couple had little experience with pumpkins but continued to grow their operation. "I had never grown pumpkins before that," Miranda said. Last year, they bought reindeer and have already grown their flock this year.
"Poppy is only about seven months old right now," John said. "She is little, she's cute, she's playful and she's a lot of fun."
Prairie Moon Farm Christmas Market will be open on Saturdays and Sundays through December 22.
"We were just looking for something to do on this gorgeous," Customer Tara Hewitt said. "It's never too early to start celebrating Christmas."