By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Shop for pumpkins at the 17th Annual Pumpkin Patch at the First United Methodist Church (FUMC), 100 Spring St., lasting all the way to Saturday, Oct. 31.
The local pumpkin patch, which opened to the public on Sunday, Oct. 4, is put tougher by the FUMC. The hours of operation will be Mondays through Fridays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
When you visit the church, you will be greeted with hundreds of pumpkins in various sizes and shades of orange scattered
(Photo by Robin Palmer)
across the entrance and on the right side of the building. A couple of face-in-the-hole boards and wagons are also on display for visitors to take photos.
With the fall season here, FUMC will also have a country store on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and hayrides on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Ronda Kohut, event coordinator for the pumpkin patch, spoke with The 830 Times about what else visitors can expect and how the opening day performed. Kohut said volunteers helped unload 1,200 pumpkins and 1,000 specialty pumpkins on Saturday, Oct. 3. She then said the pumpkin patch did “really well” for the first day on Sunday. Kohut added the weather worked in the event’s favor.
Kohut said the major difference in this year’s pumpkin patch is the change in times during the weekdays, which originally opened at 1 p.m. She said the change is to help get more business flowing and volunteers involved.
Pumpkins are sold based on their size, which Kohut said is determined by a measuring tape used by the volunteers at the patch. Pumpkins can range from $3 to $50, while specialty pumpkins have specific set prices.
All proceeds go back to serving the community. Kohut said her team raised $8,200 last year from donations and money made from pumpkins sold, including at the country store. The $8,200 went to helping the cancer resource room at Val Verde Regional Medical Center, the Bethel Center, Baptist Child Family Services, the Wesley Nurse Healthcare Ministry at FUMC and CASA of Val Verde County.
Kohut encourages the community to visit the pumpkin patch, adding “every year we design (the patch) to be a little different so that helps it (attract more people).”
