Families in Missouri City can enjoy carnival games, food trucks, crafts, a silent auction and more at First United Methodist’s 30th annual Fall Festival on Nov. 9.

The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Festival co-chair Lori Wirth said the church tries to make the festival inclusive for everyone, offering free admission, parking and activities. Guests can enjoy inflatables, bounce houses and classic carnival games like ring toss, with the opportunity to redeem tickets for prizes.

“I love to see the families come and the kids play all day,” Wirth said. “I think that's my favorite part of it: just seeing families take part in everything and make a day of it.”

In addition to games and activities, guests can enjoy food trucks including Hot Diggity Dog, Carey’s Frozen Delights and DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks.

Attendees also have the option to eat lunch at the Tea Room inside the church’s fellowship hall. The Tea Room will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with food prepared and served by members of the congregation. The menu includes chicken salad or chicken cordon bleu, fresh greens salad, dinner roll, choice of pumpkin crunch or mocha cake for dessert and an assortment of iced teas. Entrees are $13 per person and desserts are $2.

The festival also features a crafts marketplace—with more than 50 local vendors offering handmade goods and holiday gifts—and a silent auction featuring themed baskets donated by church members and Sunday school groups.

“Last but not least, there's a home baked treat shop where members of the congregation bake all kinds of goodies, like cakes and pies and gluten free things ...Those are available for sale at Aunt Hattie’s Bake Shop,” Wirth said.

Each year, volunteers select a signature dessert, with samples available and the dry ingredients and recipe packaged up for purchase. This year’s signature recipe is Spicy Pumpkin Bread. Guests can also purchase a cookbook featuring the past 30 years of signature recipes for $5.

The Fall Festival serves as a fundraiser for both church and community programs. In previous years, funds have benefited local organizations like East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry and local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, as well as church improvements such as technology upgrades and facility maintenance.

“The Fall Festival planning committee gets together and looks at all of the requests for donated funds, and then we look at how much we've raised, and then we disperse funds throughout the community,” Wirth said.

The Fall Festival is a great opportunity for students to get service hours. Volunteers are needed for set up, running events and take down after the festival. To sign up to volunteer, visit the website here.

For more information about First United Methodist’s Fall Festival, contact the church office at 281-499-3502 or visit fumcmc.org.

The above story was produced by Multi Platform Journalist Mary Katherine Shapiro with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.