The Refuge Fall Festival is Saturday, Oct. 28

Pentecostals of Carrollton The Refuge will host its sixth annual Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the church, located at 220 Port William Lane.

The event, free and open to the public, will include candy, activities, and games for the whole family including a decorated walkway, three bounce houses, multiple vehicles for the Trunk or Treat, photo booths where visitors can take pictures, free popcorn, hot dogs, drinks and candy and more.

“It’s just a good time for the kids and a safe place for them to be,” Billy Puckett, the event organizer, said. Although close to Halloween, Puckett said the event is a fall festival rather than a spooky event.

“It will not be scary or frightening at all in order to make sure that everyone has a good time,” he said. “We want it to just be a fall festival — a clean, safe environment for kids to have some fun, get some candy, and be loved.”

Puckett said about 40 volunteers from the church help make everything happen. “It’s a complete volunteer effort,” he said, adding that last year’s festival drew about 1,000 visitors — volunteers served 1,000 hot dogs — but the church is hoping for an even bigger turnout this year. “We want more,” he said. “That’s our goal is to come into contact with more and more.”

One of the things that will be carried over from last year is earlier event hours. Originally, the event was always held at night to draw on Trick or Treaters, but when the church changed the time to earlier in the day it had actually attracted more people. “I think it’s a safer environment rather than when it’s dark,” Puckett said.