The Pahrump Disability Outreach Program, or PDOP, is a small nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of children with disabilities and their families.
PDOP also concentrates on education of the community regarding disabilities.
The organization held its popular three-day Pumpkin Days event at Ian Deutch Memorial Park on Friday, Oct. 21 through Sunday, Oct. 23, where hundreds of area families participated.
The event serves as a major fundraiser for the organization, founder David Boruchowitz said, while noting that his young son Noah was diagnosed with Down syndrome at the time of his birth.
Shortly thereafter, Boruchowitz moved his family to Nevada from the northeast.
“We went through the community to look for some kind of a support group, but there was nothing here,” he said. “So we started the organization, and thought that we needed to come up with a fundraiser. And as we looked around the community, there was no legitimate fall festival that had that farm feel of hay and pumpkins, like we had in upstate New York and we just couldn’t live without it, so we decided that we would do this as a fundraiser, and here we are 13 years later.”
Regular social events
Boruchowitz also said that monies generated from Pumpkin Days funds various events for families.
“It is our main fundraiser and it funds all of our social events throughout the year,” he said. “We do a social event every month, where all the kiddos and their families get to come and have fun for free, so the organization pays for that using the funds raised during this fundraising event.”
Boruchowitz said the Pumpkin Days event has grown exponentially over the years.
“This year we have our normal hay maze which I think is the best ever, and that’s because I designed it,” he said with a laugh. “Of course we also have the hay pyramid which is phenomenal as usual. We do have the riding bull back again. Last year we debuted the riding bull and we’re happy that the Bearded Lady Saloon donated it again this year, so we want to give a shout-out to them. We also just finished the Monster Dash 5K run where we had 80 participants, which is high for us, so it’s good back to the normal.”
Additional Pumpkin Days attractions included a train ride, face paintings, a petting zoo courtesy of Pahrump’s RNG Farms, and a haunted house.
“We expanded the haunted house and made it longer, wider and added a little bit more spook to it this year, and we obviously have our pumpkin patch, which apparently, pumpkins are in short supply this year.”
A change in venues
Boruchowitz went on to say that the organization decided to switch the venue to Ian Deutch Memorial Park after hosting the first event at Petrack Park more than a decade ago.
“Even though we’re cramped on space, the shade and the grass and the trees is what we were looking for,” he said. “We want it to feel like you’re at a farm and an actual fall event but we’re definitely out of space so we’re cramming things in, but we make it work. I think it’s better because can see your kids from anywhere, unlike Petrack Park where they can be way on the other side. It’s better here because it’s all fenced in. We have somebody at every gate so we it just feel it’s more secure for families running around and having fun.”
Numerous sponsors
Regarding vendors setting up shop at the event, Boruchowitz said PDOP members and volunteers preferred to rely exclusively on sponsors throughout the community.
“We have always kept it no vendors, so we do everything ourselves,” he noted. “My in-laws and the art group does the food. We do the cotton candy, and everything else so the only real people that could be considered as a vendor here are the Bearded Lady Saloon. We also have a ton of sponsors we’d like to thank for this event and they can be found on our website.”
For information on meetings, events or to make a donation, login to pahrumpdisabilitiesoutreachprogram.com, or follow activities on Facebook.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes