The St. Frances chili and macaroni feed will fill the tables at the annual fundraising Harvest Fest from noon until they sell out Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Nolan Center.

The event gives residents a chance to grab a warm meal, pick out pumpkins and pick up baked goods, and support the animal rescue organization heading into winter.

The kids games are scheduled to continue to 4 p.m. even if the chili runs out.

“Nolan Center is a great help,” said Joan Sargent, the lead shelter volunteer and adoption coordinator for St. Frances. “For the chili and macaroni feed, they just let us use the kitchen.”

Meals will sell for $12 as a combo that includes chili, dessert and a drink. All proceeds will go directly to the group’s rescue, foster and adoption programs. Sargent noted St. Frances took in four cats over the past two months, all of which needed veterinary attention upon arrival.

“Once they’re in our hands, if we don’t have any record on them and we pick them up off the street, we make sure that they’re vaccinated before they’re adopted out,” she said. “And if they have to be altered (neutered or spayed), we alter them.”

In addition to the food, the annual pumpkin patch will be set up outside on the Nolan Center lawn.

Pumpkins will sell for standard grocery store prices rounded up to a charitable donation rate. Sargent said she is grateful for the support from IGA and City Market for donating the pumpkins. All revenue from the pumpkin patch will be dedicated to the half-off spay and neuter program, helping owners lower veterinary expenses.

Any funds left over from the day’s operations will go toward building plans for a future permanent animal shelter on leased borough land behind the U.S. Forest Service.

“We’re still working on it. We’re not giving up,” she said, noting that material and freight expenses have complicated planning. “As fast as we can make money, the economy goes up.”

Attendees for the Saturday event are encouraged to focus on fun and food, which Sargent said drew a packed crowd last year.

“It pretty much filled up the Nolan Center for those four hours last year,” she said. “It was big, it was fun.”

Saturday’s festival begins the busiest fundraising period of the year for St. Frances. The group will follow the weekend feed with an online Thanksgiving pie sale, a multi-week silent auction and a table at the December holiday market.