The 11^th Annual Augsburg Fall Fest will be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Zion Lutheran Church located at the intersection of Highway 333 and Augsburg Road, north of London and northwest of Dover.

Beginning in 2008 as an outreach to the community to celebrate Zion’s 125^th anniversary, the festival has grown every year, bringing in people from all over the River Valley, from the larger metropolitan areas and from other states as far away as California.

There are activities for everyone at this year’s Augsburg Fall Fest. The festival will begin at 9 a.m. with a Reformation Bike Ride (28 mile Full Reformation and 13 mile Mini-Reformation). A $20 entry fee includes lunch at the festival and a T-shirt. Entry forms are available by emailing [email protected].

At 10 a.m., kids can participate in free games. They can play on bump and jumps, visit a petting zoo, improve their sharp-shooting skills at the Daisy BB gun booth or challenge each other on a climbing wall.  They can go for a pony ride, learn to milk a large mechanical cow supplied by Arkansas Farm Bureau, play on the playground equipment or just enjoy running and jumping on the church’s 40-acre property.  All of the children’s activities are free.

Also planned are arts, crafts and educational booths, a mid-day cake-walk, an antique farm equipment display, all-day musical entertainment and bingo. A silent auction will be held inside the new Zion Family Center.

Throughout the day, visitors can purchase delicious German food—handmade bratwursts on homemade buns, served with sauerkraut or grilled peppers and onions, hot German potato salad, homemade desserts and drinks of their choice. 

Besides providing a family-fun day on the second Saturday of October each year, Augsburg Fall Fest is a fundraising activity for two area mission efforts — the River Valley Christian Clinic in Dardanelle and the Augsburg Food Pantry, sponsored by the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League at Zion Lutheran Church.  All proceeds are equally divided between these two organizations. The River Valley Christian Clinic offers free medical, dental and eye services to residents who cannot afford them. The Augsburg Food Pantry, which has been in continuous existence since 1995, provides food to an average of 600 people each month.

Last year, the festival raised almost $22,000.  To date, the church has donated more than $84,000 to the River Valley Christian Clinic. The Fall Fest Committee invites everyone to come and join them for a day of fun, family, friends and fellowship on top of Augsburg Mountain. Admission to the festival is free.