The Pumpkin Patch is in full swing, with another shipment due next weekend

The First Congregational Church’s 22nd Annual Pumpkin Patch is up and running and will be open through Halloween, Oct. 31. Pumpkins of all sizes are displayed on the church lawn and will be available for purchase every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“Come and visit our Pumpkin Patch,” Pumpkin Patch coordinator Carl Spencer said.

“It will put you in the fall spirit. The pumpkins are going fast, so come and choose yours. On Saturday, October 12 at 9am, another Pumpkin Truck arrives with more pumpkins,” he said. “Help is needed to unload the truck. The church truly enjoys hosting this great fall event.”

Saugus is one of many communities receiving pumpkins from the Navajo Reservation near Farmington, N.M., working with a program called Pumpkin Patch USA, which coordinates the destination of the pumpkins. The church and the Navajo Reservation both benefit from the pumpkins.

The Pumpkin Patch tradition has become a very popular Autumn attraction to people passing through Saugus Center. The local “Pumpkin Patch” began in Saugus Center about two decades ago as a fund-raiser for the church’s Youth Group and has continued to flourish as somewhat of a community-wide autumn attraction. Pumpkin sales have also helped fund the annual Danny Panico Memorial Scholarship Award. Panico, a longtime church member and Pumpkin Patch worker, died in 2017, and the scholarship is meant to honor his contributions. The scholarships are a way of the church “giving back to the community” for supporting its annual Pumpkin Patch.

If interested in helping to unload the “Pumpkin Truck” next weekend or in helping as a volunteer during the pumpkin sales, please contact Carl Spencer at 781-233-9196.