Pumpkin patch open at Church of the Nazarene
We’re not sure if the Great Pumpkin will pay a visit, but we are sure that countless residents will head over to the Church of the Nazarene at 6781 Bayshore Road to get ready for Halloween the best way possible.
By getting a pumpkin.
The church is holding its annual pumpkin patch fundraiser at the church, with thousands of pumpkins of all sizes on sale every day, except Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The sale continues until Halloween. All sales are cash only.
Van Garner, pastor of the church, said they started the sales seven years ago, working with a local company that grows pumpkins.
“We work with a company called the pumpkin patch and they send us a truckload of pumpkins. This year there are around 2,100 loose pumpkins with some smaller ones in there,” Garner said. “They don’t charge us for them. We’re just required to sell them at their price. We report how many we sell every day.”
When it’s over the church tells them how many they sold and made and the company gives them a percentage, Garner said, with the rest going back to the provider. For the church, it’s a no-risk fundraiser that has raised as much as $6,000 for the church.
“They know they’re going to have rotten pumpkins. They know some will be stolen, especially at night,” Garner said. “It’s all done on the honor system. In the end, we sent them the money and keep our percentage.”
There are so many pumpkins, including many that are quite big and heavy so they can’t just bring them in for the night. Some thefts are going to happen, Garner said.
That doesn’t mean some don’t feel guilty basically stealing from a church, as what happened last year.
“Last year we had a guy who came in and unloaded pumpkins. The guy working the patch asked what they were doing,” Garner said. “The man said, ‘We stole these from you last night, and we felt guilty and brought them back.'”
What do they charge? Garner said the company sends them a measuring tape. The bigger the pumpkin, the higher the cost, obviously. But there is a twist.
“The tape has dollar amounts on it instead of inches. We put the tape around the pumpkin and that tells us how much we charge,” Garner said.
There is also a hay couch that the church built out of bales of hay. Families are able to take pictures of themselves on the couch, with some making it a tradition to show how their kids have grown, Garner said.
Church of the Nazarene is at 6781 Bayshore Road, North Fort Myers.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com