William Quinn searches for just the right pumpkin with help from his mother, Laurie Quinn, and dog, Sam, in the Pumpkin Patch at Our Lady of Peace in Minneapolis Oct. 18. The Quinns, including Brian (background) and Ella, live two blocks away, and decided to come when they drove by and saw the signs. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

About 1,500 pumpkins of varying sizes and colors have taken up residence at Our Lady of Peace in south Minneapolis. They arrived from New Mexico Oct. 16 and became part of the second annual Pumpkin Patch that began the next day.

The idea came from Charlie Allen, a parent of two children who attend Our Lady of Peace Catholic School. For several years, he has wanted to create an event that not only could raise money for the parish and school, but also be a way to build stronger ties between the two and with the neighborhood surrounding the parish.

It’s working. He launched it last year with 800 pumpkins that went on sale at the event held daily on the parish grounds. In two weeks, he sold every pumpkin and raised $4,000 for the church and school.

This year, he made it bigger, adding nearly double the number of pumpkins and setting a fundraising goal of $10,000. The Pumpkin Patch already is off to a good start. Pumpkin sales on the first day exceeded the total of the highest day last year. Crowds were high both Saturday and Sunday, and he expects the pumpkins to be sold out by Oct. 30. The Pumpkin Patch is open daily from noon to 7 p.m.

Throughout the time the Pumpkin Patch was going on last year, Allen heard from people in the neighborhood who said to him, “You know, we need this. This is exciting.”

Based on that feedback, “I decided to double it” this year, he said. The response has been strong. “It’s been full out there nonstop,” he said the second afternoon of this year’s Pumpkin Patch.

The main attraction is pumpkins, which range in price from $4 to $50, depending on size, with most selling for between $11 and $18, Allen said. There also is a cornhole tournament going on, plus a scavenger hunt for kids. Some families buy more than one pumpkin, and he even saw one family use a wheelbarrow to bring their purchase to his pay station.

The pumpkins were grown on a Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico and shipped to Our Lady of Peace via an organization called Pumpkins USA. Allen said there is a chance of getting more pumpkins if the first load of 1,500 sells out before the end of the month.

Unseasonably cold weather could slow things down, he said, but he anticipates the second weekend to see steady action at the Pumpkin Patch.

“It’s awesome,” Allen said of how well things are going. “Raising the money is key, but it’s more for building the community, making the school and the church one and letting the neighborhood know that we’re here.”