A month-long fall fundraiser at the Sewickley United Methodist Church is coming to an end.
The annual pumpkin patch outside 337 Broad St. closes after Halloween.
There are still plenty to purchase and paint. Proceeds benefit the Navajo Indian reservation in New Mexico, as well as church missions.
“We just keep growing and growing,” said Diane Bartley, church member and patch coordinator. “The community has really embraced it.
Pumpkins are shipped from New Mexico to Sewickley with the help of Pumpkin USA, an organization that partners with churches and other nonprofits to do pumpkin patch fundraisers.
It moved operations to the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico following Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
According to Pumpkin USA’s website, they grow 1,200 acres — approximately 2 square miles — of pumpkins and employee more than 700 Native Americans during the harvest months of September and October, in cooperation with the Navajo Nation.
Bartley said its partnership with the church began about 21 years ago as part of a project with some of the younger parishioners.
“Back when my son (Chris) was in the youth group, they were looking for a fundraiser,” Bartley said. “This one came across their plate. It was kind of overwhelming at first, but they tried it. They got half a truck load the first year, and it just kept growing. The church took it over because it was too overwhelming for just the youth to do it.”
The goal for the past few years has been to raise about $30,000.
Children’s church director Andrea Lewis said they should be able to reach their goal based on the volume of gourds.
“They delivered 2,800 pumpkins, which come in a gigantic semi-truck and then many, many thousands of the smaller pumpkins,” Lewis said.
The church did not miss out on the fundraiser the past few years due to the pandemic.
“It was outside and we wore masks,” Bartley said. “We did the no touch and followed the guidelines that the county had, so we didn’t miss a step.”
Christine King of Sewickley brought her grandson, Liam Gray, 8, of Edgeworth, to the pumpkin patch Oct. 13.
“It just caught my eye just driving through here to go take him to a soccer game,” King said. “We know Andrea, and she said, ‘Why don’t you stop and come down here?’
“I love doing things with him, and we couldn’t have picked a better day.”
They got some pumpkins, took photos with some of the wooden characters and Liam painted a pumpkin with Lewis’ help.
“I’m making a scary face,” Liam said. “I’m trying to make the eyes pop out I feel drawing is really fun on pumpkins, and painting. You can make anything.”
The patch is open from 11 a.m. to dusk Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to dusk Saturday and noon to dusk Sunday.
More information is available at sewickleyumc.org.
