NEWS FROM THE PATCH

Fall is upon us and so is the start of our 7th year hosting our neighborhood Pumpkin Patch. Due to the need to continue to act out of an abundance of caution, we will once again be purchasing 500 pumpkins from Tanaka Farms in Irvine. Tanaka will deliver and offload the large boxes of pumpkins which will then need to be unboxed and spread around the patch.

Starting Wednesday, October 20th and running through Sunday, October 31st the pumpkin patch will be open Wednesday through Friday 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Volunteers will be needed to help with the Pumpkin patch sign-ups and will begin Sunday, October 3rd.

During this year’s patch, there will be two special events. First, on Saturday, October 23rd from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. we will be hosting—and the community will be invited to share in—a Spooktacular Scavenger Hunt around the church. Community guests will then be invited to join us for a “Trunk or Treat” after church on Sunday October 24th.
The Pumpkin Patch has grown to be a beloved tradition at Church of the Foothills and I invite everyone to come and share in the fun.

With fall approaching, the Cabinet once again needed to address the question of, “are we having our annual Pumpkin Patch.” The group agreed that given the Coronavirus is still an active concern, we should once again act out of an abundance of caution and purchase our pumpkins locally rather than get them from the Navajos in New Mexico.

This decision was entirely motivated by the desire to be good public health stewards and not by a lack of desire to have the Patch. Church leadership recognizes that in addition to being a fundraiser, the Pumpkin Patch has become an important and anticipated event for both the church and the community.

This year, instead of the Navajos in Farmington providing us with 1,200-1,500 pumpkins to offload and sell, we will be purchasing approximately 500 pumpkins from Tanaka Farms in Irvine. The Farm will deliver the pumpkins in boxes on pallets and the farm’s delivery crew will unload them off the truck. We would then need to unpack the boxes of pumpkins and arrange them in the patch. The pumpkins are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, October 20th. Sign-ups for staffing the Patch will take place in early October.

I agree with the sentiment that the Pumpkin Patch has become a loved and valued tradition. I am thrilled that we will be once again making the neighborhood feel like fall by providing a very needed light and life for both the church and the neighborhood….time to break out the orange hair dye.