St. Jude Fall Fest set

St. Jude Fall Fest will be held Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Fiesta Grounds in Zwolle.

Starting off the festivities will be the Run for Life at 7 a.m. followed by Walk of Hope, 8 a.m and a new event, a parade at 10 a.m. Gates open at 10:30 a.m. with the Opening Ceremony at 11:30 a.m.

Other activities throughout the day will be Prize Bingo will be from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m, Mud Bog, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m; balloon release at 6 p.m.; Chinese drawing, 6:30 p.m., and live auctions at 7:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Next of Kin will perform from 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Rock climbing, an inflatable jumper, food, arts and crafts and kid games will be on site for family entertainment. Admission will be $2 before 5 p.m. or $5 for all day festival and mud bog.

Raffle tickets to win a 12’ x 32’ cabin or lofted barn cabin (winner’s choice) are now on sale. Tickets are $5 each or six for $25. One hundred percent of the ticket proceeds benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The drawing will be held on Oct. 9 on the stage at the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta. For tickets, call Linda Meshell at (318) 315-0104 or stop by Bar R Enterprises on Hwy. 191 between Zwolle and Toledo Town. The cabin is being donated by local Derksen dealer, Bar R Enterprises of Zwolle.

In 2008, the St. Jude Fall Fest was attended by approximately 1,500 for games, raffles, silent auctions, and live music. This event was able to raise and donate $10,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The expectation is for the event to continue to grow by support from the community, donors and volunteers.

The fall fest is held the second Saturday of September each year and a St. Jude patient is picked as king and poster child.

St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. In the United States this year, nearly 3,000 children will be diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer. As a result of research and treatment conducted at St. Jude, the survival rate for ALL is now 94 percent, up from four percent when the hospital opened in 1962.