<em>Top photo: Ed Howel pushes a wheelbarrow full of little pumpkins, while Scott Blair, left, and sons help out. Photos by Bob Sofaly.</em>
<h3>By Bob Sofaly</h3>
Ah, the start of the fall season, when pumpkins will be ready for picking at patches from Hilton Head to Ridgeland to Beaufort.

For many, fall officially arrived on Sept. 25 when a tractor-trailer fully loaded with pumpkins hissed its way to a stop in front of Carteret Street Methodist Church in Beaufort.

An uproar of cheering broke the quiet for the 15th annual Pumpkin Patch fundraiser to benefit the church’s youth program. The pumpkins, which went on sale on Sept. 26, will continue to be available through Halloween or until they run out. The “patch” will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Other pumpkin patches in the area include Holiday Farms in Ridgeland (holidayfarmssc.com), where there will be pig races, a jump pad for kids and more.

On Friday, Oct. 28, there will be a pumpkin patch at Shelter Cove Community Park on Hilton Head Island. The event will be held from 4-8 p.m. The target age for the event is 3-12, but everyone is welcome. The cost is $10 for children (2-15), and free for adults. For more information, call the Island Recreation Center at 843-681-7273 or visit islandreccenter.org.

[caption id="attachment_30089" align="aligncenter" width="2136"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RES6202.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-30089"><img class="size-full wp-image-30089" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/RES6202.jpg" alt="More than 2,250 pumpkins were unloaded at Carteret Street Methodist Church in Beaufort on Sept. 25." width="2136" height="3216" /></a> More than 2,250 pumpkins were unloaded at Carteret Street Methodist Church in Beaufort on Sept. 25.[/caption]