The Engine House No. 5 Museum, in association with nonprofit organizations, will be putting on the Allendale Fall Festival Saturday, Sept. 23. The festival will showcase a variety of activities, including a 5K run, a car show and a free tour of the Engine House No. 5 Museum.

The festival will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Allendale Community Park. The 5K will start the day off at 8:30 a.m. and will benefit Relay for Life. This will be followed by numerous other family activities starting at 11 a.m. 

Jeff Blum, owner of the Engine House No. 5 Museum, believes people can enjoy the festival, along with learning about history. 

“The history here is not the history of artifacts but innovation through man’s need to preserve life and property,” Blum said. 

The Engine House No. 5 Museum has a collection of items revolving around firefighting. There will be no admission fee on the day of the festival. It will also be the largest attraction at the festival. 

At the museum, there are pieces gathered from the eastern part of the country that date back to more than 200 years ago. Blum said it is amazing to have this in West Michigan, when most other collections of similar works are typically in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts or other states on the East Coast. 

The Fraternal Order of Leatherheads (FOOLS), a firefighting organization, will be setting up an obstacle course for people of all ages to go through at the festival. The course will include dragging different-sized fire hoses, crawling through a tunnel and using a fire hose to put out simulated fires. The course is free; however, you can pay $2 to be timed and record your score. The proceeds will benefit veterans at the American Legion Post 401. 

“This event will have a collection of everything history-related in the firefighting history of Grand Rapids,” said Kimberly Blum, director of development for the Allendale Fall Festival. “We are really hoping Grand Valley students see what’s there in their community and get involved.” 

Firefighting will be a common theme at the festival, but there will be several other events as well. The car show held by Auto Body Xperts will display classic cars of all types, and participants can check out all the cars, as well as get an up-close look at an Army M60 tank, Blum said. The proceeds again will be going toward American Legion Post 401.

An arts and crafts show will begin at 11 a.m. During this time, people can expect to see different crafts catered to adults. This will include jewelry, as well as homemade goods and children’s toys, Blum said. While perusing the arts and crafts, people can head over to food trucks that will be present. 

There will be a wood-fired pizza truck, a gluten-free cheesesteak truck and a Hawaiian food truck. At this same time, the Holland Police Department’s “Polar Patrol” will be giving out donuts in the morning and ice cream in the evening.

“The whole event is tailored to college students that love classic cars, crafting arts or exercising in the 5K run,” Blum said. 

No sign-up is necessary for the festival, and parking will be available. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/Allendalefallfestival/.