Linda Brown, event coordinator for Life Church, said the church’s motivation for its pumpkin patch is to bring the community together, but first they’ll have to bring the pumpkin patch together.
The “patch” is all set up at the church’s property on Frontage Road just east of the Highway 82 exit for Golden Triangle Regional Airport. The “pumpkins,” however, are in New Mexico.
“We call and check every day to see if they are on the way,” Brown said. “They’re still in New Mexico. With the pandemic going on, they’ve had trouble finding truck drivers. We are hoping they’ll be here by the weekend, but that’s not a guarantee.”
The Life Church Pumpkin Patch was scheduled for Oct. 16 through Halloween. Aside from a scattering of pumpkins used to decorate scenes where people can take family photos, the large pumpkins are conspicuously absent.
The church decided to proceed on schedule sans pumpkins.
“Everything else was here so we just decided to go ahead and open it up for anyone who wanted to come out,” Brown said. “We were initially shocked with how many people came on Sunday — probably 800 people, maybe even more.”
Even without the pumpkins, there are plenty of attractions — a corn maze, hayride and kids train ride, along with games, decorated hay bales and settings suitable for fall/Halloween-themed photos.
The pumpkin patch is open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1-7 p.m. on Sunday. The pumpkins, when they arrive, will be available for sale. There are also food and shave ice vendors. Everything else is free of charge.
The pandemic has been much on the minds of Life Church leadership as it ministers to the needs of its members and the community.
“We thought it would be something that could bring the community together,” Brown said. “The pandemic has interrupted so many things that we thought this was something we could do to give families a safe, fun place to go.”
Monday afternoon, Laketha Cunningham brought her children, Ziydon Cunningham, 7, and Honour O’Neal, 6, to the patch.
Ziydon and Honour did not seem to notice the absence of the pumpkins.
“This is a fun place,” Ziydon said as he pushed an oversized checker across a game board.
“I like the corn maze best,” his sister said. “I didn’t even get lost.”
Laketha watched her kids run from one spot to another, trying out the games.
“Halloween is going to be a lot different this year,” she said. “We won’t be trick-or-treating. We’ll stay home. I’m so glad they are doing this. It gives kids something to do.”
Brown said, the pumpkin situation notwithstanding, the church already considers the event a success and plans to make it an annual offering to the community.
“We see it as a great opportunity for outreach and service to the community,” Brown said. “We have the acreage and everything we need to do it, so why not?”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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