Harvest time at Valleypoint

Thu., Oct. 26, 2006

Jennifer Larue Correspondent

A bunny’s nose twitches, a goat bleats and a pig squeals as do children with painted faces while they run through the hay bale maze.

Valleypoint at Pines Church is offering an alternative to usual October festivities and it’s easier to reach for most Valley residents than Greenbluff.

The harvest-time event includes a pumpkin patch, pony rides, story telling in a hay bale maze and face painting. Bunnies, goats and pigs are in and around the parking lot at 714 S. Pines Road.

The pumpkins come from a Navajo Reservation in Farmington, N.M. During last year’s pumpkin season, the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry paid the reservation $2.2 million for the land lease and the employment of hundreds of residents of the reservation.

While Valleypoint reaches out to New Mexico, it also reaches out to its own community. “This event is a sort of a community outreach,” said youth outreach ministry leader Julie Klotch. “It’s a way of getting to know the people in our neighborhood.”

This is the first year for the event, and along with all the fun for the kids, there are food and gift vendors, an on-site photographer, raffles and a silent auction. Proceeds go to the church and its outreach programs.

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