Hundreds of pumpkins, ranging in price from 50 cents to $20, appeared on Dalrymple Drive Oct. 14 and have been selling rapidly ever since.
University United Methodist Church has sponsored the fall pumpkin sale for about 15 years, said Youth Director and University graduate Matt Rawle.
The pumpkins are contributed by a large organization called “Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser” in Arizona. The church sends them about 65 percent of its profits.
The pumpkin patch usually makes a profit of around $12,000, and the church receives about $4,000. They sell more than 2,000 pumpkins every year.
“A lot of University students, specifically Greeks, buy a lot,” Rawle said. “The large contributors are members of the church, sororities and preschools.”
Some sororities spend around $300 a year on pumpkins for house decorations and competitions.
This year, the sale will sponsor UUMC’s youth ministry and help it raise money for the junior and senior high summer trips.
Members of the UUMC youth group and their parents sit under the tent and sell the pumpkins every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The time youth and their parents spend running the sale counts toward a point system. Each point knocks off a small amount of their personal costs for the summer trips.
People driving by also may have spotted members of the UUMC youth group dressed in a huge pumpkin suit to promote the sale.
The pumpkin patch and the person in the pumpkin suit attract people of all ages every year.
“My favorite thing about the pumpkin patch is to see the children out there. They love to go actually pick out the pumpkin,” Rawle said. “Seeing the parents taking pictures of their children in the pumpkin patch is another one of my favorite things.”
Just because the pumpkin patch is sponsored by a church does not mean it does not have its fair share of problems, Rawle said.
“Someone was caught last year at about two in the morning stealing a pumpkin,” Rawle said. “God bless you if you steal a pumpkin from a church.”
Kay Willson, pumpkin salesperson, said despite the bad weather, pumpkin sales still are high this year.
All pumpkins went down to half price this week, and sales have skyrocketed, Willson said.
The sale ends Friday, but UUMC already has sold about two-thirds of its stock.