Located at 4202 S. Broadway Ave., the First Christian Church Pumpkin Patch is open 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sundays through Oct. 31.

The grassy lawn of First Christian Church in Tyler saw itself transformed with thousands of plump pumpkins, dozens of hay bales and a handful of scarecrows on Saturday morning as the annual FCC pumpkin patch – estimated by organizers to be in its 15th year – officially opened for business.

An 18-wheeler jam-packed with New Mexican pumpkins had arrived early that morning, and 75 volunteers from the church and local community – including area Boy Scout troops, informal basketball leagues and students looking to earn service hours – worked in 15-minute shifts to empty the back of the trailer and organize the estimated 4,500 bulk and miniature pumpkins for a noon-time opening of the patch.

“It’s a lot of heavy lifting,” Rob Mason, self-proclaimed pumpkin patch ‘czar’ and FCC youth director, said. “It took us about 2.5 hours to get everything unloaded, and we tried to do so in a way that would keep everyone safe.”

That meant trading off shifts in the trailer, wearing masks and even untangling a massive extension cord so that a fan could keep fresh air pumping through the truck as they hauled out the pumpkins, he said.

But as he saw the reactions of the community – families loading up wagons with an assortment of pumpkins and excitedly proclaiming their plans for jack-o’-lantern carving and fall decorating – he said it was an effort that proved well worth the work.

“Getting back to something that looks a little like normal is awesome,” Mason said. “We’re super excited for the community outreach this year, because being locked away all summer, I know people have to be experiencing a little cabin fever.”

Amy Anderson, director of FCC’s early childhood center, said families had been approaching her all morning expressing their excitement about the arrival of the pumpkins.

In fact, she said, some were so eager that they tried to buy pumpkins before the organizers were ready to begin making sales.

“It’s been absolutely amazing,” she said. “A lot of organizations had to cancel this year, so we were really, really glad that we were able to continue with it. Just from the response today, I can tell that we’ve made a good decision.”

As families milled about, stopping for photos amid the neat piles of gourds or smiling wide when they found the perfect pumpkin, Anderson and Mason explained that everything about the patch – even purchasing the initial truckload of pumpkins – is “a win-win.”

First Christian Church, they said, gets its pumpkins from the Navajo Nation for no up-front cost. While a portion of the proceeds from every pumpkin sold will go back to the Navajo people, the rest is used to fund the church’s children and youth ministries, and as a way to support other area organizations. They estimate that, each year, between $8,000 and $10,000 is raised through the pumpkin patch to support area outreach.

This year, First Christian Church is already in the midst of collecting electronics to donate to Mustard Seed Ministries, Mason said, but a portion of this year’s pumpkin patch earnings will go straight to the organization, as well.

{p dir=”ltr”}”They collect old electronics and refurbish them and try to give them to the kids who need them,” Mason said. “Right now, especially, so that they can do school at home and that kind of stuff.”

And if anything rots before it’s sold, it will be donated to a local farmer, who feeds the pumpkin guts to her pigs.

“We really don’t waste anything,” Mason said, chuckling. “Like I said, it’s a win-win.”

Prices at the pumpkin patch – with its hundreds of traditional orange pumpkins and a healthy assortment of specialty pumpkins in greens, creams, and pinks– vary based on size, ranging from just 75 cents to as much as $50, although “that would have to be one very big pumpkin,” Mason said.

Located at 4202 S. Broadway Ave., the patch is open 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sundays through Oct. 31.