Busy Time at Local Pumpkin Patch

The owner of a local pumpkin patch in LaSalle says there were many unknowns heading into the season.

Greg Rocheleau says he and his team at Pepe's Pumpkin Patch on Front Road near Martin Lane had no clue what to expect this season.

He says they started to plan in late August and so far the response from the community has been great.

"We are following all the proper guidelines from social distancing to sanitizing our rides after each use but all in all people seem to be co-operating with everything and everything has been going very smooth," says Rocheleau.     

He says they introduced a number of safety measures at the farm, that have been well received by the public and with Thanksgiving approaching, he's expecting a busy weekend.

"We're expecting really big crowds so please bare with us," says Rocheleau.  "We do have people, parking control and we are limiting x amount of people on the property at a time.  So the way we do that is so many in and so many out.  It's a very smooth transition."    

Rocheleau does says the patch is limiting the number of people on site at a time.

"I'm happy with the co-operation from everybody," he adds.  "We have to set these rules, people are following them.  Nobody seems to be getting upset.  We're just following the guidelines and everybody seems to not have a problem following these guidelines so we're very appreciative to the community."        

The patch opened in mid-September and is open daily from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Along with pumpkins, the patch also offers train rides, hay rides and a corn maze, however because of COVID, there is no face painting this year.