AUGSBURG — Autumn is here, and fall festivals are in full swing throughout Arkansas. Zion Lutheran Church will hold its 11th annual Augsburg Fall Fest on Saturday, and all are invited.
Located atop Augsburg Mountain in Pope County, Zion Lutheran Church is at
93 Augsburg Road, at the corner of Arkansas 333 and Augsburg Road, just a few miles from both Dover and London. Activities will begin at 9 a.m. with a Reformation Bike Ride, followed by a variety of children’s games and other activities for the whole family at 10 a.m.
“The festival began in 2008 as an outreach to the community to celebrate Zion’s 125th anniversary,” said Earl Schrock, publicity chairman. “It has grown every year. It’s all free, except for the German-style meal.
“For $8 a plate, visitors will receive a hand-made bratwurst on a homemade bun, served with sauerkraut or grilled peppers and onions, hot German potato salad, homemade desserts and a beverage,” he said. “A child’s plate will also be available.”
Schrock said the festival “offers something for everyone.”
The Reformation Bike ride includes two courses — a 28-mile ride and a 13-mile ride. The entry fee is $20 and includes lunch at the festival and a T-shirt. The ride starts at the church. For more information or an entry form, contact Chuck Campbell at chuckecampbell@hotmail.com.
Schrock said this is the second year for the bike ride. Organizers named it the Reformation Bike Ride in 2017, which was the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
“They just decided to keep the name,” Schrock said.
Kids’ activities at the festival will include inflatable bounce houses, a petting zoo, a Daisy BB-gun booth, a climbing wall and pony rides.
“The Arkansas Farm Bureau will also provide a mechanical cow where children can learn how to milk a cow,” Schrock said.
The 40-acre church property will be set up with arts, crafts and educational booths, along with a midday cakewalk and a display of antique farm equipment. Entertainment will be provided throughout the day, as well as bingo. A silent
auction will be set up inside the church’s new Family Center.
Two items will be given away during the festival — a 40-gun Cannon gun safe and a processed farm-raised hog. Tickets for the drawings are one for $2, three for $6 and 15 for $20. A door prize — a Char-Griller professional grill and smoker — will also be given away.
Schrock said proceeds from the fall festival will equally benefit two area mission projects — the River Valley Christian Clinic at Dardanelle and the Augsburg Food Pantry, sponsored by the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League at Zion Lutheran Church.
The River Valley Christian Clinic, which opened its doors in January 2007, offers free services to residents who cannot afford them. To qualify as patients, applicants must be uninsured, not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare, and have an income that is less than 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
“We basically serve those in Pope and Yell counties,” said Don Guess, member of the RVCC Board of Directors. “We offer services in four areas — health, dental, eye and chapel. A minister is always on duty; that service rotates among all faiths. We are supported by about 40 churches and 800 volunteers.
“Zion Lutheran Church is so supportive of our clinic,” he said. “These church members are doers.”
Schrock said the Augsburg Food Pantry, which has been in continuous existence since 1995, provides food to an average of 600 people each month. The food pantry is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. the third Saturday of each month.
Schrock said last year’s festival raised approximately $22,000.
“To date, the church has donated over $84,000 to the River Valley Christian Clinic,” he said.
“We are a small church with a big heart,” Schrock said, adding that the church has a membership of 125 and averages 65 to 80 people who attend Sunday worship services. “Our community really supports this church and others in the area. We have wonderful donors, too, from all across the country. One man in Little Rock faithfully donates $5,000 each year. And our church members give and give. They give of their labor, too.
“We built this new building two years ago as a family center and as a community center,” he said. “We want to share it with the community.”
Schrock said the fall festival “is a huge undertaking for us. We could not do it without help from our members and from our generous sponsors. We have $12,000 in sponsorships so far.
“We hope the community will support our festival again this year. We normally have people from the larger metropolitan areas and from other states as far away as California and Ohio. This will be a day of fun, family, friends and fellowship.”
More information on the Augsburg Fall Fest is available on Facebook or by calling (479) 331-3277.