Lillian Barocio
Staff Writer
The La Verne Heritage Foundation’s 34th annual Heritage Park Pumpkin Patch opened last weekend and runs weekends through October.
“It has been really wonderful to get kids out on the farm learning about La Verne’s history while experiencing the outdoors,” Robin Molina, president of the Heritage Foundation, which hosts the event.
Heritage Park, in northern La Verne, which is home to one of the area’s last orange groves, has a rural feel with big old trees and shady spots to picnic and play.
The Pumpkin Patch features an array of pumpkins in a variety of shapes, color and sizes, strewn across bales of hay. String lights hanging above the patch, light up the night sky and lend a Halloween feel. Dried tall corn stalks hang from light posts and handcrafted scarecrows are displayed throughout the patch.
The festivities also feature a tractor ride through the old orange groves, a petting zoo, where kids of all ages can pet farm animals, a character photo stand and more.
The petting zoo features farm animals including a pig named Oscar, chickens, goats, a duck and turkey.
“I like taking a picture in the same spot every year so I can see my kids grow and look at the memories made over the years,” Stuart Wood, a La Verne resident and father to two children, ages 4 and 8, said.
Wood said that his family has been attending the Pumpkin Patch since 2016.
“I like the tractor rides and horses,” said 8-year-old Rooney Wood, Stuart Wood’s daughter.
“My family and I have been coming for about four years,” said Alauna Cheng, a La Verne mom who brought her two kids, ages 6 and 1.“We look forward to the petting zoo, especially the baby chicks and the tractor ride.”
“I like picking out pumpkins,” said 6-year-old Olivia Cheng.
“I look forward to picking out a pumpkin and looking through all the different cool colors,” said Madison Catherine Escamilla, an eighth-grader from Granite Mountain Charter School, located in Lucerne Valley.
Escamilla attended the pumpkin patch with her parents and sister.
Admission to the event is free. Tractor rides are $3, and pumpkins range in price from $10 to $45.
The barn on the property also sells a variety of handcrafted soaps, jewelry, candles, honey and more.
The Pumpkin Patch is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 27, at the Park at 5001 Via De Mansion in La Verne.
Lillian Barocio can be reached at lillian.barocio@laverne.edu.
Lillian Barocio is a sophomore journalism major and a staff writer for the Campus Times.
Vicente Rodriguez is a senior photography major with a marketing minor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times. He has previously served as photography editor of the Campus Times and a staff photographer for La Verne Magazine.
