Mission Statement: Net profits of the Annual Pumpkin Patch Event benefit licensed childcare providers in Lake County in an effort to support outdoor education and promote healthy living. Rev 10-2-17
Leadville Pumpkin Patch WELCOME! The Pumpkin Patch Committee hosts a kid-friendly, nonscary event during the fall to celebrate fall/halloween. Event volunteers, kids and families are encouraged to wear/show off their costumes. Food, crafts, a bake sale, and other fun games are available for kids to participate. All net proceeds go to support our mission. This manual outlines different activities and tasks involved in putting on this event each year. It is updated annually to better reflect successes and things the Committee wants to change to ensure continued success of this fun family-oriented event.
EVENT COMPONENTS Event Operations Fundraising Food Advertising Committee Meetings The Committee will meet 4 times for approximately an hour -- once in September and then twice in October as we near the event and one final get together in November. The final meeting lets us celebrate and share information about the success of the event and debrief about changes and things to remember for the next year. All Committee members are volunteers and without you this event isn t possible. Three event managers make up the Executive Committee and the Committee usually has approximately 6-7 members in total. The Committee brings together a total of 40 community volunteers to help run a successful event. A lot of time and effort has gone in to streamline everything and make it as easy as possible.
General Event Schedule: (The Saturday prior to Halloween) 10 am All volunteers arrive in costume (Non-scary costumes only!) Enjoy a breakfast burrito and help with final preparations 11 am 2 pm Pumpkin Patch Event 2:15 pm Volunteer Drawing and celebration 2:15-4 pm -- Clean Up Overview of Event- While our goal is for children and families to have fun, remember this is also a fundraiser that will benefit licensed childcare programs in Lake County. Each year, this event typically has approximately 24 stations including 18-20 games, concessions, prize drawings and a bake sale. Games are appropriate for children up to approximately 8 years of age and vary from 50 cents to 4 dollars depending on the game. Games will have one or more prizes. We strive each year to change some of the games to keep it fresh. New ideas are always welcome! We are very lucky to have incredible support from many community organizations and volunteers who give time and money to help this event be a success including YOU! During the event, all volunteers will be given a free breakfast burrito at 10am and a $1 coupon that can be used at the concessions or bake sale.
Overview of Stations 2017 (Add some pictures for next year?) o ARTS and CRAFTS: (2016) We try to include a more intricate and time consuming project at this station. This one is more expensive than other games but the older kids really liked it! o ADMISSIONS: 4 people are generally at this table because it can get VERY busy. Families buy tickets for the event as they come in. Volunteers are to take tickets only. The only exception to this rule is concessions and the Hay Maze and Drawing Table. Tickets for the drawing are sold at the drawing table. Participants will need to sign in, buy tickets, and get a treat bag for each child. We will have at least one Spanish speaker at this table. o AMBULANCE: They usually are able to come as long as there aren t any emergencies. They generally bring some crayons or pencils and coloring pages that discusses safety. o BAKE SALE: Remember, some people come to the Pumpkin Patch just for the Bake Sale! Community members donate a variety of baked goods such as pumpkin bread, cupcakes, brownies and cookies for the sale. This is a huge hit! o BIKE WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Spin the wheel and win a prize! o COLORING CONTEST: (2016) There are two age groups: 2-3 year olds and 4-5 year olds. The Committee will pick a winner from each age group. A gift certificate was given last year for each winner. o COSTUME PARADE/CONTEST: At 12:30 pm, anyone who wants to be in the Costume Parade should meet at The Witch by the Hay Maze. An adult leads the parade and the Committee choses a boy and a girl for the best costume. o CONCESSIONS TABLE: This is a busy station that sells hot dogs and chili and has soda and water for drinks. This year, The Pastime Grill is catering the event. o CUPCAKE WALK: This is your basic cake walk. Children walk around the numbered squares and when the game stops, whoever is on the winning number gets a mini cupcake! It will run every 20 minutes on the hour and half hour to get more children to come and play. There won t be a Cupcake Walk at 12:40 pm. o PRIZE DRAWING: There are 8 drawing prizes that vary in value plus one Volunteer Drawing prize. The drawing will begin at noon and a new winner will be chosen every 15 minutes. The fundraising volunteers gather donations and prizes from donors. Winners can win more than one time but you MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN. There are $1 and $3 drawings that are clearly marked. Unclaimed prizes will be re-drawn. We will draw a winner for the volunteers after the event is over and before everyone leaves. o FACE PAINTING 3-4 volunteers paint faces at the event. The goal is to have easy and cute choices that will not take too much time. We don t want kids spending their time in line. This year, we will have a poster board with some small and large choices for both boys and girls.
o FIRE TRUCK: The firemen help with set up and also attend the event and help wherever they can while talking with kids about fire safety. Do kids get to tour the firetruck? o FISHING GAME: New in 2016. The child will cast the fishing rod over The PVC Pipe/Blue Tarp divider and someone in the back puts a prize on the hook. Hoping the Fish Hatchery will help with this game this year. o HAY MAZE: The pumpkins and grab bags are sold in the Hay Maze. We will have approx. 70-100 pumpkins and 250 grab bags with goodies. o INFANT AREA: This is simply a cozy area where little ones can relax away from the other activity. Parents should be tending to their kids at all times. o JELLY BEAN GUESSING GAME Located at the Bake Sale table Guess how many jelly beans are in the jar! The closest guess wins the jelly beans! o LEAF DIG This is a free station and very popular for the younger kiddos. This has a lot of different prizes buried inside that kids can dig to find something (think BIGGER prizes, such as small crayon boxes, bracelets, etc.- o MINION RING TOSS: (NEW 2017)- Kids throw rings at the minions to try to win a prize. o MONSTER PHOTO BOOTH: Children and families can take some fun selfies with props in our Monster Photo Booth! o PLINKO: Kids drop the pucks from the top and depending on where it lands they win one of two prizes o Police Department: Same as Firemen and Ambulance. o POOL NOODLE GAME: (NEW 2017)- Kids will try to throw a pool noodle through the rings to win a prize. o PUBLIC HEALTH: In 2015, they came and had their own game (spinning wheel) and gave out their own prizes as well as some information on blood lead testing. Waiting for confirmation. o PUMPKIN GOLF: (New 2017) Kids will try to knock golf balls into the pumpkin s mouth. 1 prize. o TOILET TOSS: The kids simply toss the toilet paper roll into the toilet and they get a prize.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE JOB OVERVIEWS Advertising Manager: (Kristin Sparkman) Advertising is important for any event. The manager makes sure all advertising activities are complete and the information is available to businesses, volunteers and schools to make sure we have great attendance. We strive to have all information in English and Spanish. Pumpkin Patch is grateful to work closely with Harper Rose and Ann Stanek on all aspects of advertising. Thank you Ann! Advertising methods for Pumpkin Patch: 1. Flyers- 8 ½ x 11 flyers to post around town. ¼ page flyers in English and Spanish go home with kiddos at childcare centers and West Park. 2. Courthouse lawn- Pumpkin Patch banner is displayed at the Courthouse 3. St. Patty s day Practice parade- Committee members carry the PP banner in the Practice Parade. The Committee should wear costumes if possible. 4. Newspaper- The event should be advertised in the newspaper at least 3-4 weeks prior to the event (Eng/Span). 5. Facebook- We have a Facebook page! Committee members are welcome post pictures, advertise for volunteers etc (Eng/Span if possible)! 6. Gorilla costume/high Pies Dinosaur- In the past, we have had people walk around main street dressed up on the day of in a costume with a sign advertising for PP (from about 10:00-1:00). 7. Thank You signs At the event to thank all donors and volunteers 8. Event Schedules Have 3 large printed Event Schedules for display 9. Letter to the Editor After the event is over, the Committee submits a Letter to the Editor to highlight the success of the event and also the amount of funds that will go to programs. Volunteers help distribute flyers, develop advertising, participate in the parade, communicate with the schools, businesses and community members, etc.
Food Manager: (Shiloh Nachtrieb) The following stations are the responsibility of this manager. 1. Bake sale. You will need to find 6-10 volunteers to bake cupcakes, cakes, cookies, etc. Keep in mind, people come to the pumpkin patch specifically for the bake sale!!! You will also need to find a volunteer to run the bake sale the day of. 2. Cupcake Walk. The Cupcake Walk will begin at 11:20 and run every 20 minutes to get more children to participate. The last walk will be at 1:40 pm. We won t have a walk at 12:40 pm due to the costume parade. We will need dozen cupcakes. 3. Concessions. 2-3 volunteers are needed to run Concessions the day of. This year Pastime Grill will be catering all food. Volunteers help food stations the day of the event, make baked goods for the event, recruit community members to make baked goods, etc. Fundraising Manager: (Kristin Sparkman) Fundraising is an important role and one that helps us increase the monetary support that we are able to pass along to the licensed childcare programs in Lake County. Fundraising Activities: 1. In September, outside donors are approached for donations for PP Event 2. Business and community members are contacted about donations for the prize drawing, general funds, etc. 3. Grant Disbursement- After the event Volunteers help gather donations for the event and communicate information to businesses and community members about the event and our mission.
Operations Manager: (Stacy Petty) General operations cover a large number of activities that often happen prior to or in the background of the event. 1. Event Planning- Oversight of overall event, planning and management 2. Ordering Materials- Prizes, materials, anything needed for the event 3. Insurance- In charge of securing liability insurance for the event. 4. Coordination- Day of Coordination 5. Game Design- We will continue to add a few new games each year to keep things fresh. 6. Location- Securing the location and meeting any requirements 7. Grant Applications, Awards and Reporting Development and revision of grant rubric, application, oversight of grant awards and reporting to insure compliance with grant guidelines. Volunteers help design and build new games, set-up and breakdown of the event, help run stations and games the day of the event, etc. Committee Member Responsibilities: Active participation in the Committee Follows through with tasks you volunteer for Stays up to speed with event planning Helps with aspects of the event with can include but are not limited to: game development, recruiting volunteers, gathering donations, walking in the practice parade, putting up event flyers, working the day of the event, etc.
Drawing EMERGENCY EXIT EVENT MAP Event Staff Bathroom Coat/Costume Exchange Rec Dept Hay Maze Bake Sale Concessions Jelly Beans Admissions Outside: Fire & Police Dept and Ambulance Cupcake Walk ENTRANCE Bathrooms