By AMY RICKER
Great Bend Post
With October right around the corner, children and those adults who are still kids-at-heart are planning for the upcoming Halloween holiday.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year’s activities are going to look differently. The CDC has already gotten into the spirit by issuing their own guidelines and categorizing different Halloween entertainment into low, moderate, or high-risk activities.
High risk activities include going trick or treating in the traditional door-to-door fashion, haunted houses that are indoors, and going to crowded costume parties.
Dana Long, the owner of Long Pumpkin Patch in Great Bend has had to make adjustments for their fall season as well.
"This year, and it’s been really popular, is a corn pit. It’s like a sandbox filled with corn and we’re not doing that. There’s no way to keep kids six feet apart in there and so we’re just not going to give the parents that aggravation,“ explained Long.
Attractions that are still open this year besides the pumpkin patch include the corn maze, gourd launcher, hay-bale fort, a culvert swing, and a brand-new obstacle course. Plans for 2021 include a raspberry and blackberry patch.
Long says masks are not required but encouraged, social distancing standards will apply and hand sanitizer will be available at various locations throughout the patch.
Long Pumpkin Patch is open Saturday, Sept. 26 through Halloween from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.