When GEARS hosts the 13th annual Fall Festival, it will be an opportunity for people to enjoy family fun from a community collaboration.

The event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Fairgrounds, 900 E. High St.

"We are again partnering with E-town College and the E-town Middle School Student Council," said Lee Eckert, program coordinator for GEARS.

Elizabethtown College will participate with its 30th annual "Falling Into the Streets" initiative, which encourages community involvement for students. Their activities will include sand art bracelets, candy corn bowling and mini cornhole, pipe cleaner pumpkins, leaf tracing and Halloween bookmarks.

GEARS will offer activities, including an inflatable slide, a bounce house, an obstacle course, a basketball hoop shoot, a soccer kick and a football toss. The Balunguy will provide balloon art from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and haunted barn tours will also run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Additional activities will include pumpkin golf, pumpkin painting, a hayride and a barrel train ride. A variety of free activities will be hosted by the Elizabethtown Area Middle School Student Council, including a bean bag toss, a sack race and pin the bow on the skeleton.

The Elizabethtown Area Senior Center will host bingo with prizes for kids and adults, and LIV-Etown will feature an entertainment stage of live music and more. The Elizabethtown Police Department will be on-site, as will a variety of food trucks, including Hitch Coffee, Philly Cheesesteak Co. on the Roll and Dutch Country Soft Pretzels. Elizabethtown boys' basketball will host a concession stand, and information booths will be set up by Wheatland Federal Credit Union and Members 1st FCU.

The festival allows GEARS to give back to the community, Eckert said, noting, "As a nonprofit, GEARS appreciates all the great things the community does for us. We love offering special events throughout the year for the community as a thank you. We also love giving families the opportunity to spend a day together at an affordable price."

Many of the festivities are free, including the activities offered by Elizabethtown College and the middle school students, or people may purchase a wristband that includes all of the other activities.

Eckert hopes the community will turn out for the event, noting, "It's a great way to spend a Saturday."

LIV-Etown is seeking performers for the entertainment stage. For more information, email LIVetownevents@gmail.com.

For more information on the Fall Festival, visit http://www.getintogears.org/fall-festival.