Center Grove Orchard will be hosting their 3rd annual Pumpkin Relay on Saturday. The relay will consist of two-person teams, with each member running 1.5 miles of the course. Runners or walkers may also participate individually. This year’s relay will also feature a kid’s course, so the whole family can get involved with the fun.

The relay will showcase the orchard as runners make their way down the Super Slide, along with featuring the hayride trail and the pumpkin patch. All runners will hold a pumpkin throughout the relay.

Deanna Black, the event coordinator for Center Grove Orchard, said, “Runners will use pie sized pumpkins; smaller than a volleyball, bigger than a softball. For the kid’s course, which is the first time this year, they will carry mini baseball-sized pumpkins. In which they get to keep.”

Center Grove Orchard is passionate about helping those in the community. Each year the relay is hosted to raise money for a cause. All proceeds raised from this year’s event will be donated to the Jacob Myers family, including his wife and 5 children. Jacob is a graduate of Iowa State University, and unfortunately passed away in a car accident last summer. In the past, the pumpkin relay proceeds have been given to other deserving families.

“Year one went to our staff member and neighbor Renae Shepley. Her husband was killed in a tractor accident in which her daughter survived. She has 4 daughters. Year two went to our staff member Jessica Campbell who has 2 daughters that have juvenile arthritis and go back and forth to Mayo Clinic for treatments,” Black said. “Because of the nature of the relay, and to keep our costs down, we decided not to time it and have it be purely for fun. This allows us to give more to the Jacob Myers Memorial. We will have door prizes that have been donated.”

Cost to register for the event varies. Relay teams cost $50, individual runners and walkers cost $30, and kids are $20. The registration includes a pass into the orchard for the day. After the relay wraps up on Saturday, the orchard will be filled with fun! The usual attractions will be open, including the hayride, corn maze, corn pool, jumping pillows and much more! Unique activities scheduled for Saturday include pumpkin destruction games and a pumpkin pie-eating contest.

Join the fun on Halloween by registering for the pumpkin relay online at centergroveorchard.com!