By KORTNEY LANG
Tiger Media Network
As fall weather is fast approaching, there are many activities in the community that come along with it. One of the most well-known activities is visiting a pumpkin patch.
Located just a few miles outside of Hays, Pa’s Pumpkin Patch is a family-friendly location where participants have a variety of activities to participate in.
Aside from all of the activities Pa’s Pumpkin Patch provides, a lot of work is done on the patch outside of the fall season.
“We start in April with getting the fields ready, and we start to plant both the pumpkins and corn in May,” Brett Denham said.
After planting, organizers keep an eye on the pumpkins and the corn to ensure their growth for the fall season.
“In August is when we start cleaning up the barn and getting different photo booths set up,” Denham said.
Each year, the pumpkin patch looks for something new to add to give visitors a better experience. This year, the patch added a Traxxas RC Course. So far, visitors have been attracted to the course and have loved the added experience.
While attracting many visitors each year, Pa’s Pumpkin Patch has become a part of the Hays community.
“Anything we can do in the community, we’re going to do it,” Denham said.
Jeff Copper, the “pa” in Pa’s Pumpkin Patch, originally started the patch for his grandchildren. Over the past 12 years, the patch has continued to grow and evolve without losing sight of the family experience it wanted to provide. As the patch continues to add new activities and experiences, it is still able to provide the community with a unique visit.
The patch also has a wide variety of animals, one of those being a new addition.
“This year, we also added our goat, Thurman, and we are able to let him roam — which the kids love,” Denham said.
The pumpkin patch is widely visited by schools throughout the Ellis County area and beyond. Learning Lane Preschool was one of those.
Children ages 4 to 5 were able to experience all of the amenities Pa’s Pumpkin Patch offers. Teachers said the children were able to have fun while they were there, and they were also continuously learning from the new experiences.
