Celebrate 30 Years of Pumpkin Patch

Egg Harbor Pumpkin Patch Festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 11 in Egg Harbor.

This October marks 30 years since Egg Harbor began offering residents and visitors one of the county’s largest festivals, Pumpkin Patch.

The two-day festival kicks off at 10 am on Saturday, Oct. 11 with a variety of children’s activities, including carnival rides, inflatables and face painting.

Modern Day Drifters, a seven-member country band, will be the first live music performance of the day Saturday. The first day of the fest will continue with roaming magician Mike Schroeder and children’s musician Randy Peterson before the Mango Brothers take the stage for a three-and-a-half hour set at 2 pm.

Festival attendees will also have the chance to browse the juried arts and crafts show at Baylake Bank, which will include 27 different vendors showcasing a variety of goods.

Children’s events will continue into Sunday, along with the arts and crafts vendors and live music. Big Mouth will take the stage from 10 am – 1:15 pm followed by Big Mouth & The Power Tool Horns from 1:30 – 4:30 pm.

Polka dancing to Big Mouth and the Power Tool Horns at the Egg Harbor Pumpkin Patch Festival held Oct. 5 – 7, 2012 in Egg Harbor.

Fest-goers walking to and from the festival can delight in the festive pumpkin displays set up by businesses throughout the village. Displays will be judged Friday evening and awards will be announced Saturday.

“They come up with some pretty interesting displays and some people are pretty creative,” festival chair Debra Merkle-Schubert said. “A lot of time, effort and detail goes into a lot of the stuff.”

Since it began 30 years ago, the festival has gone from being powered by small businesses in the area to being volunteer-driven.

Numerous clubs, organizations and volunteers donate their time to the festival and in return, the Egg Harbor Business Association donates funds to those clubs and organizations to help further their causes.

“There are thousands of dollars each year that we give back after this event to different clubs and organizations,” Merkle-Schubert said.

For more information on Pumpkin Patch Festival, visit eggharbordoorcounty.org or call 920.868.3717.