Lampeter United Methodist Church (LUMC), 1101 Village Road, Lancaster, will host its annual Fall Fest from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19. The free community celebration will feature a variety of fall-themed activities for children, complimentary refreshments and prizes, and it will benefit LUMC's food bank, Blessings Pantry.

Free hot dogs, chips, popcorn, hot chocolate and coffee will be available to guests while supplies last. In the event of rain, the event will take place inside LUMC.

Although Fall Fest will be free to attend, LUMC asks guests to bring a nonperishable food item to support Blessings Pantry. Blessings Pantry provides short-term, emergency food assistance to families and individuals who reside in the Lampeter-Strasburg and Penn Manor school districts. The pantry, which is located at LUMC, is open from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and on the first and third Saturdays of every month, as well as from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. No appointment is required to receive food items. For more information, call 717-464-4161.

Activities will include a bounce house, barrel train rides and a station where children can make autumnal crafts. Fall Fest will also feature multiple stations to offer games such as pumpkin golf, football toss, basket toss and goldfish pingpong. A pumpkin patch containing 150 pumpkins donated by Cherry Crest Adventure Farm will be open for children to pick their own pumpkins and decorate them with stickers and markers.

Attendees will receive a stamp card when they arrive for Fall Fest. Participants will receive a stamp after they complete a game; once the card is filled with a stamp from each game station, it may be exchanged for an item at the prize table. Prizes will include small, Halloween-themed items such as toys and other knick-knacks.

This is the fourth year LUMC has held Fall Fest, a tradition started by church members Sarah Short and her mother, Mary Martz's. The mother and daughter, who are long-standing members of the congregation at LUMC, decided to get involved with the church's children's ministry team after Short became a mother. Shortly after Martz' and Short joined the ministry team , Short proposed starting a new tradition of hosting an annual community celebration in autumn. The inaugural Fall Fest took place in October 2021, and the event has grown every year in both the number of attendees and variety of activities offered.

"Last year, we were worried about attendance because we had to move inside due to the rain. But there were huge lines down the hallways for games, and we had a pretty great turnout," Short said. "(Fall Fest) has gotten bigger every year, and more and more people get involved and help plan everything. It's one of our favorite events."

To learn more about LUMC and its programs and events, visit http://www.lampeterumc.com.