It’s fall y’all: Pumpkin patches opening in the Cape Fear

CAPE FEAR AREA (WWAY) — Fall is here and so are the pumpkins. Area pumpkin patches are filling up their stock from all across the state.

Barr Evergreens has set up shop on the corner of Shipyard and Oleaner in Wilmington. In fact, a fresh truckload of pumpkins, corn stalks, and more arrived at the site on Thursday afternoon.

Site Manager Brad Jordan said they got about 20,000 pumpkins on Thursday alone because two large shipments were brought in from Crumpler, North Carolina.

“We grow them there, do about 70 acres. We’ve got a whole group of guys who go out and harvest them, throw them up on the trailer, then we clean them, put them in the tractor-trailer, and ship them here,” Jordan said.

He added they are grateful for the customers that come back to see them each year and they look forward to seeing them again this year. Their pumpkins will be for sale through October 31. After that, they’ll take a two-week break and return with Christmas trees.

The Pumpkin Patch is returning to Hampstead United Methodist Church in Pender County as well. Festivities will kick off on Saturday with a Pumpkin Toss from 9 am to noon.

Volunteers are needed for the toss to help unload the pumpkins assembly-line style from a semi-truck. The pumpkins are harvested directly from the fields of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, which helps with their 48% unemployment rate.

The patch in Hampstead will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm.  All the net proceeds from the Pumpkin Patch sale go to the youth group at HUMC and other charities.