Las Vegas pumpkin patches open, hoping for best amid pandemic

Sharon Linsenbardt is hoping people will pick her pumpkins despite the pandemic.

For more than 40 years, the Las Vegas Farm has annually hosted pickers at its pumpkin patch. Sales go toward food and veterinary bills for rescued, neglected and abused farm animals, but revenue has been sapped since March.

“The pumpkin sales alone will help us a lot. It’s important every weekend that families show up because every time a family comes through our gate, they help us care for these animals,” said Linsenbardt, who runs the farm.

Pumpkin patches across the country are gearing up for Halloween with a lot of uncertainty, though it is one of the few activities that health experts say the pandemic might not ruin.

“If you’re going up to the orchard to pick your own pumpkin, you’re probably not in a close crowd of people while doing that. You’re spread out all over a farm, so that’s going to be lower risk than having everybody crowded together,” said Brian Labus, an epidemiologist and assistant professor of public health at UNLV and a member of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 medical advisory team.

A Halloween like no other

Nannette Melamed, owner of Vegas Family Guide, a website that provides families with event listings, normally receives dozens of notices for fall events. But there have been a lot fewer events to report for this fall. “We had more than 250 Halloween events last year from the YMCA, the county and churches. I don’t know what that’s going to look like this year,” she said.

Linsenbardt said the 8-acre Las Vegas Farm will use portions of its parking lots to spread the pumpkins apart. Masks are required for visitors at least 2 years old. Farm favorites like the corn maze and train rides will be limited to one family at a time.

“If it becomes tight or if it becomes too crowded, we’ll just have to limit access and have to turn some people away,” she said.

Linsenbardt said she already has placed its first order of pumpkins and will monitor sales in early October. “If we’re not being successful with moving those out as quickly in the past, we’ll just have to limit what we order for future weeks,” she said.

October is also usually the start of the busiest time for Gilcrease Orchard.

“A lot of people actually only come out once a year, and that’s in the fall,” said Mark Ruben, the orchard’s director.

Discussions on what the pumpkin patch would look like began in July, Ruben said. The organization decided it would end wagon rides this year because of social distancing concerns, but it will continue selling pumpkins. Ruben said the orchard has been bombarded with questions about whether the pumpkin patch will happen this year.

“We’ve been getting a lot of comments on Facebook and Instagram already, so we’re anticipating it’s going to be very busy,” he said.

Halloween Town Pumpkin Patch, which has three locations across the valley, said it will host its pumpkin patch this year while complying with Sisolak’s COVID-19 mandates. The company said it is “hoping for a great season.”

Because Halloween falls on a Saturday with a full moon, Melamed said it’s an additional weekend for pumpkin patches to bring in more sales.

“This town loves Halloween more than I’ve ever seen,” she said. “I don’t know what to expect this year, but pumpkin patches are opening, and people are even more excited because it’s our first step back to normal.”

In Summerlin, the master-planned community is addressing the pandemic by having pumpkin pickers schedule appointments for the small patch, which is open to Summerlin residents only.

Lower risk

Experts say outdoor activities, like pumpkin patches, are lower risk if social distancing guidelines are followed.

“It all comes down to being around other people, so getting your own pumpkin at a pumpkin patch keeps you apart from others; as long as you stay separate when you’re in line paying, you should be OK,” Labus said. “Doing things outdoors is better than indoors, but it’s really kind of a continuum from low to high risk, and you have to decide on what’s safe for you and your family.”

Health officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chimed in last week with their own guidance for Halloween revelers.

Pumpkin patches were deemed “moderate risk activities” with suggestions for people to use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins. Unsurprisingly, traditional trick-or-treating and crowded indoor costume parties are labeled “higher risk activities.”

Labus said the guidance for pumpkin patches is the same as for any business.

“You have to limit the number of people that are there and keep them physically separated from each other,” he said. “If they just follow the basic rules of any business, the rules that we all have to follow right now, that’s going to provide the most protection.”

Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.