An overcast and drizzly day caused the “rain or shine” disclaimer clause to be invoked, so this year’s Manhasset Pumpkin Sale, held on Saturday, Oct. 3, took place indoors at the Manhasset High School gym. Despite the change of location, business was quite brisk for the sale, a popular annual event now in its fifth year.
The high school gym was turned into a pumpkin patch, filled with rows of pumpkins big and small, along with cornstalks and colorful gourds, all grown on the McGoey family farm located in Fly Creek, NY. The McGoey family, with the help of a number of other Manhasset families, plants the seeds, harvests and transports the crops in a tractor trailer to Manhasset each October.
The National Art Society, along with the Middle School Art Club, led by 8th grade art teacher, Myrna Schein, and members of the Manhasset High School chapter of the Best Buddies high school program were on hand to use their artistic skills to provide extra decoration on request for purchased pumpkins. The Best Buddies High Schools program pairs students with intellectual disabilities in one-to-one friendships with high school students. The Manhasset High School chapter of the program, led by its president, high school senior Elizabeth Boyle, is one of at least twenty such chapters throughout Long Island.
Along with assorted other volunteers, the indoor pumpkin patch was a steady bustle of activity throughout the day, and the sale was a great success. All proceeds from the sale are donated to charities meaningful to the sale participants.
