Fall in Montclair: Pumpkins, apples and animals, oh my!

By JAIMIE JULIA WINTERS
winters@montclairlocal.news

Local farms, and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, this year are offering everything Montclairians need to get their homes decorated for fall or for setting the table with local fall vegetables and fruits.

Pumpkins on the lawn

The Pumpkin Patch on the Lawn at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is back after taking a break last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

For decades the church has brought in hundreds of pumpkins in varying sizes and colors and spread them across the lawn for Montclair’s largest pumpkin patch. 

The pumpkins will be delivered on Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. and will be available for perusing and sale after they are unloaded. A pet blessing will also take place that day, at 4 p.m.

“We will be outdoors, and can be spread out, so we feel it’s safe to bring it back,” the Rev. John A. Mennell said.

Sundays at 11 a.m. Mennell will lead a Pumpkin Patch prayer celebrating “God’s creations and the harvest,” which will be followed by a craft.

The church is also offering self-service, no-touch pumpkin shopping. Purchasers can pick a pumpkin and then pay through Venmo or Zelle.

The patch will run through October.

Hayrides

Farms View in Wayne offers a hayride experience Sept. 26 through Oct. 31.

Visitors can embark on a hayride to the pumpkin field and pick their own. Instead of serving refreshments on site, visitors have their choice of an apple cider doughnut or an apple to take with them. Cost is $10 per person. 

For those not wanting to do the hayride, the farm offers pumpkins, fall decor and baked goods at its market. They also have farm animals to visit with.

Farm animals

Established in 1945, family-owned Hillcrest Farms in Verona sells seasonal plants and produce. On Oct. 1, Hillcrest Farms brings in farm animals for guests to enjoy throughout the month. 

The types of farm animals change from year to year, but they typically have pigs, chickens and goats, along with pumpkins and apples of various varieties. 

For the garden, mums, celosia, lantana, cabbage, kale and a variety of ornamental peppers are potted and ready to go. 

And for fall decorating the farm carries gourds, squash, hay bales, Indian corn and corn stalks. The farm stand sells local seasonal fruit and vegetables.

IN THIS ARTICLE:

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

The Pumpkin Patch on the Lawn

Pumpkin Patch prayer and craft

73 South Fullerton Ave., Montclair 

Farms View 

Hayrides and pumpkin patch

Apple cider doughnuts

945 Black Oak Ridge Road, Wayne

Hillcrest Farms

Farm animals

Fall flowers, pumpkins, decor, produce

377 Bloomfield Ave., Verona