By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

GRAMERCY – With Halloween just around the corner at the end of the month, local pumpkin patches, like the one at the St. James Parish Welcome Center in Gramercy, are starting to attract school children and families seeking the perfect jack-o-lantern pumpkin.

Gramercy/Lutcher Lions Club member Pete Matherne said the fourth annual St. James Great Pumpkin Patch officially opened Oct. 8 and features hay rides, a nature walk and a “Halloween Room” under the Welcome Center pavilion.

“The room is like a haunted house for younger children,” Matherne said. “We call it a Halloween Room to avoid frightening them.”

Matherne said activities throughout the month include a “Party with the Pumpkins” on Oct. 25, when children are invited to come trick-or-treating from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There will also be a petting zoo and a 5k run across the Veterans Memorial Bridge on Oct. 27. The pumpkin patch is open Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Oct. 31.

Matherne said all proceeds from the sale of pumpkins and other merchandise from the pumpkin patch country store benefit the Louisiana Lions Crippled Children Fund and the Lions Louisiana eye care fund.

For more information on events, contact Matherne at 225-869-3896.