Stockton PUMPKIN PATCH set for next weekend, Oct. 14-15th

It’s time once again to scare up some spooky fun at the Stockton PUMPKIN PATCH, which will pop up in the Stockton City Park located on West Highway 24, on Saturday, October 14th, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Sunday, October 15th from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m.

Admission is $1.00 daily and FREE for children three and under. The admission stamps are good for the PUMPKIN PATCH games and train rides. There will be two entrances to the event. One will be at the bridge with parking by the playground and the Kincaid Baseball Field, with the other entrance by the turn-around with limited parking available at that location. Look for the white tents.

Some of the PUMPKIN PATCH games at the event will be Jenga, Walk the Plank, Pumpkin Tic Tac Toe, Candy Corn Ring Toss, Football Toss, Yard Dice, Hay Bale Rock Climb, Corn Hole, Pumpkin Bean Bag Toss, Pumpkin Bowling, a Pumpkin Launcher and FREE train rides courtesy of Nex-Tech. (There will be a size chart for the train.)

Prices for pumpkins, concessions, snacks, apple cider, hot cocoa, face painting, mums, Halloween/ Fall craft and floral arrangements, s’mores, and more will be posted.

(The Stockton Fire Department will be on hand to sell the s’mores and will oversee the fire pit during the event.)

There will be a fundraiser lunch stand each day, so come hungry! The Rooks County EMS will serve up different soups on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with the Stockton Junior class serving up either more yummy soup or hamburgers and hot dogs on Sunday from 12:00 noon until 4:00 p.m. Vendors will be scattered around the “Patch” including Fireline Bistro, Church of Restoration (popcorn), ESA (mums), K. Fall Creative (crochet décor) Kaden Kriley (baked goods), Nancy’s Chalking & Talking, Piper Creighton (face painting and tattoos), Linda Melton (crafts and snacks), I’m Stuffed Cupcakes and Cookies, Kay Club (hot cocoa and apple cider), Motion Dance Company (sliced caramel apples and Jail or Bail game), and Sunflour Dog Bakery.

The Hobart FCE will again host the Fall Bake-Off Contest. Entries in the Adult (16 and Up) Category are for apple, pumpkin, or fall desserts, and the Youth (15 and Under) Category are for cookies, cupcakes, and muffins.

The best Adult Fall Flavor Grand Prize will receive a fall wreath from Deb Boucher, and in the Youth Category the winner will receive a horseback-riding lesson donated by Southfork Ranch. The contest will be on Saturday, with the contestants to bring their entries (one entry per category) between 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Judging will start at 11:00 a.m. with the category winners to receive Chamber Checks. So get to baking!

Another feature is the Pumpkin Decorating Contest, which will be slightly different this year.

Purchase your pumpkins at the Patch and upload a picture of your scary masterpiece to the Chamber Facebook page so people can vote on their favorites throughout October. Winners will be announced at a later date.

The Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest is on Sunday, with Registration from 2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. and the eating to start at 3:00 p.m.!

There will be a five-minute time limit for the Adult and Child divisions, with a limit of ten pie eaters per division. The Chamber and Coca The Label are sponsoring this event.

The Stockton Area Chamber of Commerce and many volunteers and organizations have worked together for several months to bring this Halloween event to our town for Stockton and the surrounding communities to enjoy! See you all at this fun fall event!

(See the ad in this week’s edition on Pager 2A!)