The third-annual NorthPark Pumpkin Patch is enchanting visitors this month while raising funds to support abused and neglected children.
Throughout the duration of the pumpkin patch, NorthPark Center is offering a variety of activities for the public, including live music, Bread Winners Cafe and Bakery to-go, “Movies in the Patch,” “Bookmarks Storytime,” and “LEGO Halloween Gifting.” Click HERE to view a complete schedule of events.
Festive photo opportunities are available for $20. All proceeds go to Community Partners of Dallas.
At the exhibit’s conclusion on Nov. 1, all change that has been collected in the Patch’s Wishing Well and the Neiman Marcus Fountain will also be donated to Community Partners of Dallas, a nonprofit organization that provides for the immediate and urgent needs of children who are abused and neglected in Dallas County.
The pumpkin patch has been designed by Harold Leidner Landscape Architects, Northpark’s landscape team, and local artist David Daniel since the inaugural exhibit in Oct. 2024.
Founder and president Harold Leidner of Harold Leidner Landscape Architects designed the original conceptual layout and determined where each structure would be located. This year, the company introduced more plants, greenery mums, and foliage to the exhibit, explained marketing and business growth developer Jennifer West.
“My mom worked at Neiman’s in Northpark when it opened and I worked at Neiman’s too through high school and college,” Leidner said. “It’s kind of a thread that’s run through our family … it was kind of easy just to fall into this project.”
Leidner and his crew began setting up about two weeks before the patch opened.
More than 15,000 pumpkins were ordered and stored in cool temperatures underneath JCPenney so that they didn’t rot, Leidner said.
Local artist Daniel drew inspiration from a German fall festival to create an exhibit of three toadstools reaching five feet in diameter.
“It was a challenge because the toadstools are a very top-heavy element and then we’re adding pumpkins to the top of them,” Daniel said. “Structurally, figuring out the primary skeletal structure that is hidden within the exterior was difficult.”
For more information on how to get involved or to donate, visit the Community Partners of Dallas website.
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