ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Pumpkin patches on land are one way to experience the classic fall activity. But what if you could hunt for pumpkins in the water?
The city of Roseville's annual Floating Pumpkin Patch — an event that takes place in the pool — is scheduled for 1- 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24 at the Mike Shellito Indoor Pool.
"We put all the pumpkins in the pool and a lot of people don't know that pumpkins actually float, so we have kids that come in and they get to swim around in our pool full of pumpkins and pick their pumpkin from the pool," Alisha Moyer, Recreation Coordinator for the city of Roseville, said.
Moyer said event organizers get the pumpkins from stores and local farms, but this year's pumpkin shortage took a toll on how many they could offer.
"So it actually took us quite a while to find someone that would be able to give us enough pumpkins, and even then we're about half the size that we usually are," Moyer said. "Typically, we're able to secure 500 pumpkins, and this year we were only able to secure about 250."
Once they choose their pumpkin, people can decorate it and do other crafts such as making a monster out of pool noodles. There will also be games, bounce houses and story time, according to the event registration.
With pumpkin shortages and the pandemic, Moyer said the event will be a little smaller than normal.
'We're limiting participants, not only because of pumpkins but because of COVID. We're not requiring masks, but it is highly encouraged if kids are unvaccinated or parents are unvaccinated," Moyer said.
Moyer said they will be opening the sliding doors around the facility, so there will be plenty of air circulation.
About 400 people have signed up to attend the event and while registration is full, anyone can join the waiting list or stop by during the event for food from Dave's Dawgs. Library booths will also be at the event with information about Roseville's A Thousand Books Program, which encourages kids to read 1,000 books before kindergarten.
Moyer said if someone doesn't get to go to the event this year, she recommends watching out for the city of Roseville's magazine for when registration opens next year because the event fills up quickly.
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