Mount Carmel United Methodist Church (UMC), 2203 Harmonyville Road, Elverson, will present its second annual Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

There will be a free bounce house for children, and pumpkins will be available to paint. In addition, people of all ages are invited to participate in a cake walk for a nominal fee. The prizes will be cakes made by congregation members.

Food will also be available, and there will be an ice cream truck on-site. "We will be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs outside, and we will be having homemade doughnuts, which will be delivered that morning," said Patty Levengood, church Sunday school teacher and one of the event organizers. Varieties will include plain, cinnamon and powdered.

The event will also include a craft sale and a sale of white elephant treasures. Vendors will be set up inside the church's fellowship hall.

Live music will be provided by The Happy Dutchmen German Band from Kutztown, which is popular in Berks and Lehigh counties. The band performs wearing authentic German attire. "They do a lot of polkas and (Oktoberfest) songs. They are fun and entertaining," said Levengood, noting that the band will be located in the picnic pavilion.

There will also be a pie baking contest. Participants are asked to bring a whole pie and the recipe. First-, second- and third-place prizes will be awarded. To enter the pie baking contest or reserve a craft table, call 484-520-6263 by Friday, Oct. 14. The event will be held rain or shine. In the event of severe weather, most activities will be moved indoors.

Mount Carmel UMC holds its Sunday service at 10 a.m. Children's Sunday school is offered at the same time.

Oher programs at the church include a virtual coffee time, which is held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday mornings. People may access the program at http://www.mountcarmelumc.org.

A men's breakfast is held on the third Saturday of each month at 8 a.m. Men are asked to register by calling the church office at 610-469-9151. The next scheduled breakfast will be on the morning of the Fall Festival.

The church also has a community garden program, which began in June of 2021. The community garden features raised-bed gardens surrounded by a fence. Those who plant vegetables in the garden may take home what they grow or share the harvest with others.

"We fenced in a larger area this year and we had more people (participate)," Levengood noted.

The harvested produce, including tomatoes, was placed in bins outside the church this summer, and community members were invited to take whatever they needed. Other produce was donated to Mission First in Pottstown, which has a community meal program and an outside refrigeration unit that provides fresh food to people in need, along with a food box containing nonperishables.

Mount Carmel UMC is located just north of St. Peter's Village. For more information, call the church office, visit the previously mentioned website or http://www.facebook.com/MountCarmelUMCStPeters.