Pumpkin patch returns to Brecksville UMC

by Emily Canning-Dean

For the third year in a row, Brecksville United Methodist Church is creating an opportunity for festive autumn fun with a pumpkin patch on their property.

Melanie Smith, director of communication and connection at Brecksville UMC, said 2,155 pumpkins were delivered to the church Sept. 28, and the patch will remain open until Oct. 31 or until all the pumpkins are sold.

“We are so thankful to the local Key Clubs and the lacrosse and cross-country teams that came out to help,” Smith said. “We formed a fireman’s brigade to unload the pumpkins, so it was volunteering and also good cardio. It was really a fun afternoon.”

Smith said Brecksville UMC received the pumpkins from a group called Pumpkin Patch USA.

“They give nonprofit groups pumpkins on consignment,” she said. “They started out doing this with churches and have expanded over time.”

With pumpkins placed all over the front lawn of the church and stretching down the side of the building off state Route 21, Smith said the pumpkin patch has expanded since it first began.

“This year we have a whole semi-trailer full of pumpkins,” she said. “The first year we had the pumpkin patch for just two weeks and had just a third of a trailer of pumpkins delivered. Last year, we decided we wanted to start it earlier so we got another third of a trailer of pumpkins, but later the company called us and said a two-thirds full trailer was refused delivery and they offered them to us so we had basically a whole trailer and we decided we wanted to do a whole trailer again this year.”

Smith said pumpkins are priced based on size, with tiny pumpkins starting at $1. She said there are pumpkins of all sizes and also gourds for sale.

“Proceeds will help to support our ministries at the church, such as our bike ministries and frozen food ministry,” she said, adding that the church is very active and open six days a week.

The pumpkin patch will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“We will have volunteers there every day and we are planning weekend fun where we will have games for the kids, baked goods, a mini donut truck and a dad and son duo who will play the fiddle and guitar,” she said. “On a fall weekend it’s such a great place to gather and kids like to have their pictures taken against the brick walls of the church.”

Smith said that any pumpkins not sold will be donated to local farms to be used as animal feed.

“The pumpkin patch has really helped us make some community connections like with the local farms,” she said. “Also, when the semi-trailer came in, the pumpkins were packed with loose straw which was something we can’t use, but we contacted the community garden, and it was something they were able to use.”

For updates about the pumpkin patch, visit the Brecksville United Methodist Church Facebook page.

Photo caption: It takes dozens of volunteers to operate the church’s pumpkin patch on a daily basis every fall. Photo submitted.