Overflowing With Pumpkins, Annual Pumpkin Patch Welcomes Fall

ALACHUA ‒ What has become a 23-year annual event to fund mission work for Alachua Methodist Church is in full swing. Every year the church sells pumpkins of countless sizes and colors during the month of October at a field fronting U.S. Highway 441 on the west side of Alachua.

Through social media, the church announced that this year there are Swan Gourds, Gizmo Gourds, Winged Gourds, Snowballs, Snowflakes, and Elf Houses. And if you are looking for that unique pumpkin, just check out the colors. They say they have orange, white, green, black, yellow and peach pumpkins.

And those pumpkins and gourds of all shapes are skillfully stacked in colorful displays that fairly entice visitors to take a photo or two. There are also three photo opportunities staged, including one with a vintage tractor. And youngsters will love the open-air activity areas that are largely directed toward children's entertainment. This year tractor rides are offered every Saturday and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The month-long event has become a tradition for many families to celebrate the fall season, returning year after year, often taking advantage of the photo area to mark growth of their families over time. Each year the church sells around 20,000 pumpkins as well as homemade pumpkin bread. Setting up the pumpkin patch and all the displays is a group effort for the church with everyone pitching in on unloading, making displays or manning the pumpkin patch.

Hours for this year’s Pumpkin Patch are Monday through Friday 2 p.m. - 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. - 8 p.m. The pumpkin patch is located at 15710 N.W. U.S. Highway 441 in Alachua.

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