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October 17, 2018
VOW festival presented music and a message
October 17, 2018
As a sweltering Louisiana summer ends and the worrisome hurricane season winds down, churches and schools throughout the Bayou Region are welcoming visitors to their pumpkin patches for purchases, games and fun.
St. Ann Catholic Church in Bourg is among the many local venues where kids of all ages had fun this past weekend, at an event the church is hosting for its very first time.
Free activities include miniature golf, bowling, horse races, a bean bag toss and a maze that challenges you to find the five secret gardens within its walls. There’s even a lady sitting in her rocking chair with a basket of children’s storybooks nearby who reads them for audiences of all ages.
Parents enjoyed the photo opportunities for creative pumpkin shots including those that could be made in five secret gardens within the maze. In addition, all varieties, sizes and colors of pumpkins are for sale from fifty cents to $50.
Organizer Cindy Doiron said this first-time event is “an effort to bring the community together.” Adrian Matherne, who assembled the games, agreed. “It’s not just for parishioners of our church but an activity that’s wholesome and family-oriented for the public to come and enjoy.” It’s all free except the pumpkins and snacks.
There is a special backstory on the pumpkins this patch is selling. They were grown on a Navajo reservation in Farmington, New Mexico that uses an almost 100% Native American workforce. This is important for an area like Framington, festival organizers said, with a 40% unemployment rate.
The day they were delivered traffic was backed up on Highway 24 as the 18-wheeler was gingerly maneuvered into the church parking lot. Money raised from the sales of the non-GMO pumpkins will go to St. Ann’s Social Ministry which helps out locals in the parish who can’t care for themselves. It’s a win-win situation from start to finish.
The St. Ann Catholic Church Pumpkin Patch at 4355 Highway 24 in Bourg will be open daily through October 31st from 11-7 pm. All are welcome.
