After announcing closure, Schwabe Pumpkins to reopen this fall

After making the decision to officially close this past October, a beloved Manitoba pumpkin patch has decided to keep going.

Schwabe Pumpkins, located north of Winnipeg on Highway 8, took to social media Friday evening to announce it would return this fall.

“After George’s stroke in 2022 and the loss of his job, we spent over a year unsure if we could afford to stay on the farm,” said owner Melody Schwabe in a post on Facebook. “When we announced we were closing, we thought we were preparing for the end.”

A few days later, her husband, George, was offered a job, and Melody says it changed the direction of everything.

“We still had big questions. My heart health hasn’t been perfect. Caring for our daughter takes time and energy. Farming is beautiful, but it is not small work,” said Melody. “So we paused. We prayed. We talked. We weighed what this place means to our family.”

Then she says something unexpected happened: Manitobans reached out in an overwhelming way.

“The messages, the stories, the families who said this farm is part of their fall tradition… it reminded us that what we’ve built here matters,” said Melody. “This community came together for us last year in ways we could never have imagined. So we’ve decided to keep going. Maybe not forever. But, we are not finished yet.”

Schwabe Pumpkins, located at 1160 Meadowdale Rd. in St. Andrews, will officially reopen this fall.

“We are so grateful to still be here.”