First-ever Palomino Pumpkin Patch hosted by alumni

This fall, the Palo Alto College Alumni & Friends Association is hosting the inaugural Palomino Pumpkin Patch on Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the campus' Central Courtyard. Complete with many photo opportunities, the Pumpkin Patch will boast a fall crafts, face painting, and a children's hay maze. The event is free and open to the public, but pumpkins and drinks will be available for purchase.

The Palomino Pumpkin Patch is the first of its kind on the South Side. Priscilla Lopez, Palo Alto College dual credit advisor and member of the College's Alumni & Friends Association, said they decided to start the Palomino Pumpkin Patch to provide a local spot for the community to get in the fall spirit.

"[Some] families can't travel far away to some of the pumpkin patches. Sometimes they're a little bit too pricy," said Lopez. "We wanted to have something where families could come into the College, take pictures, enjoy their time here – and it would be free."

Lopez volunteers much of her time to help establish an Alumni Task Force, made up of Palo Alto College alumni who are now employed at the College. The Task Force is in charge of putting together alumni events, like the Pumpkin Patch, on campus.

"[The task force] is an initiative to make our Alumni Association stronger and give it more exposure," said Lopez. "We started the task force in April, and since then we've been working on growing it and getting the word out to the alumni, employees, and the surrounding community."

Since the creation of the task force, Lopez along with other members from the Alumni & Friends Association, have organized many events for the College, like the Lotería Night and San Antonio Missions Palo Alto College alumni nights. These initiatives were instrumental in attracting new members.

"At PACfest we handed out some flyers for our Missions Game and Lotería nights, and we saw that pulled in the older crowd, because most don't use social media," said Lopez. "Our initial Lotería night ended up bringing in over 100 people, and it went really great. They loved it."

After the success from the Lotería night, The Alumni & Friends Association organized the first ever Missions Game night, where they honored the College's faculty and staff with a pre-game announcement. The game also opened up with the first pitch being thrown by Dr. Garza himself.

For more information on the Palomino Pumpkin Patch, visit xgcr.net/pac/Pumpkin-Patch. To get involved or stay up-to-date on all alumni information, follow PAC Alumni & Friends Association on Facebook.