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Locally grown Christmas trees go on sale this weekend

COURTESY STATE AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
                                Helemano Farms in Central Oahu starts the sales of locally grown Norfolk pines this weekend, marking the start of the holiday season.

COURTESY STATE AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Helemano Farms in Central Oahu starts the sales of locally grown Norfolk pines this weekend, marking the start of the holiday season.

Helemano Farms, a Christmas tree farm just outside of Wahiawa town, marks the start of the season with sales of locally grown Norfolk pines this weekend.

The farm will open from 10 a.m. till dark this Saturday and Sunday to sell Norfolk pines only, and will reopen at 10 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving with a variety of Cypress pines as well.

This year, the farm has about 3,400 Norfolk pines and about 400 Cypress pines that mostly range from 4- to 12-feet tall, according to owner Aaron O’Brien.

Visitors to the farm can walk along the rows of trees to pick one out, and crews will cut it down and get it ready to take home, with nets and twine.

“It’s the experience of the family going out, and actually having to do something together,” said O’Brien.

Customers are welcome to take family portraits at the farm, which has become a popular activity, according to O’Brien. Dogs are welcome, too, as long as they are leashed.

Some pre-cut trees will also be available, and due to popular demand, the farm has brought back potted Norfolk pines.

The cost of trees this year range from $60 and up for the Norfolk pines, and $70 and up for the Cypress pines. The prices go up with the height of the tree.

The price for potted trees start at $35. Handmade wreaths cost $40.

Helemano Farms, a family-run business which has been selling trees since 2005, is at 1750 Whitmore Avenue on 40 acres of land leased by the state Agribusiness Development Corporation.

After Thanksgiving, the farm will be open from noon till dark Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and from 10 a.m. till dark Saturdays and Sundays.

Sales of the Christmas trees continue until the farm runs out, and the farm closes on Dec. 23.

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