The opening weekend of pheasant hunting season took place this past weekend in South Dakota, and Sanborn County was a busy part of it. Many families took advantage of the nice fall weather to make memories in the field hunting, harvesting or visiting a pumpkin patch. 

This year in Woonsocket, Swenson Produce had their first ever pumpkin patch event. They opened the weekend of Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, and it was open until just this past weekend. Pumpkin seekers could enjoy lots of photo ops along with horse rides, a bouncy house, zip line, face painting, coloring pages, horse-drawn wagon rides and good food from McWhorter’s food truck. It was a family friendly event for people of all ages.

Along with the pumpkin stands going strong, the annual Ducks Unlimited banquet took place in Woonsocket over opening weekend, but this time on a Sunday. It was held in the Woonsocket Community and Events Center, and organizers reported that their number of attendees was up, so moving it to Sunday was a good idea.

As harvest continues and the hunting season rolls on through January, the rest of 2023 will be active for Sanborn County residents and its visitors. October is ending with a haunted house in Woonsocket, trunk or treat activities in the different communities and of course, trick or treating next Tuesday night. After Halloween has been buried for the year, Woonsocket’s annual craft fair will be in November, St. Wilfrid Catholic Church is bringing back the Turkey Shoot and several organizations spread throughout the county’s communities will be having their events for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Let the festivities begin!!

…See pictures in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!