Mission Arlington^® hosts a Fall Festival every year on the Saturday prior to Halloween, except for this year, when Halloween falls on a Saturday.  We will host our festival this year on Saturday, October 31st – from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The festival is free, and designed as an alternative to Halloween, a safe, family-friendly place for children from our Bible studies.  The festival is also open to the public.

Children attending the festival will enjoy a fresh-cooked meal, served around picnic tables in a beautiful shaded area outdoors.  Many of the children come dressed up in all kinds of costumes. Obstacle courses and tractor-driven hay rides seem to be one of the favorite attractions.  It has the feel of being out on an open range, as the tractor and hay-filled trailer circles around what once was a family-owned farm in the center of our city.   As much as the children appreciate this ride, the youth and adults seem to enjoy it as much or more.  Smiles, laughter, and hugs around the hay make this an exhilarating and special event.

Large, specially-designed “bouncy houses” form the foundation of the next station.  It is invigorating to see how much fun young people can have on these bouncing bundles of energy, throwing kids up into the air, and sliding them down chutes to the ground.  Multiple “bouncy houses” make up this section, filled with the smiles and laughter of children having great fun.  It’s good exercise too.

The next station is a giant carnival, pictured above. The carnival has multiple booths with various games, such as “go fish,” bowling, cake walks, and so much more. When the children finish with each booth, they are given tickets which they can trade in for prizes. These prizes are donated to the mission, so that we have creative and substantive items to hand out to the kids.  All of it is free, of course, and designed to bless the children and their families.  Because of the generosity of this community, we always have plenty to  give away.  The atmosphere of the carnival is perhaps as much fun as the carnival itself.  People mill around, talk with each other, enjoy their children, and have time to enjoy the company of other adults.   It is a great time.

The final station, placed at the exit, is almost like a candy store.  For weeks prior to the event, a generous community of people collected individually wrapped bags of candy and brought it to Mission Arlington^®.  Leading up to the festival, various individuals and groups have been putting the candy into bags, getting ready for the big day.

The Fall Festival is one of our favorite events each year – children, families, laughter, and good clean fun. We love loving the children, and being part of such a safe and fun community event.  Thank you for all you do to support our work here, making these events possible.  We are a grateful people. #blessed.

You can still donate candy at our downtown location up through October 31st.  If you (or your group) are interested in volunteering, please call 817-704-6143, and we’ll get you set up.