The streets of downtown Pella were packed at the first annual harvest festival over the weekend.

Events coordinator at the Pella Chamber of Commerce Sarah Treft says some of the more popular events were the bacon fest on Friday night and the pop-up shops downtown on Saturday morning.

“We’re really excited about having the first-ever fall festival here in town, and we’ve had a great turnout,” Treft says.

Many Hands for Haiti held their annual Color Blast 5K on Saturday morning, and this year in conjunction with the Herfst Feest. Executive Leader Tim Brand tells KNIA/KRLS News that more than 500 runners participated in the event. He says proceeds from the race benefit their mission work in Haiti.

Brand says their organization has expanded in the past year, including the opening of a second Mango Tree location in Oskaloosa and the development of a five-acre educational campus in Haiti.

“So we’ve got a new agronomy training center, a new equipping center which we do teacher training and leadership training, zero-to-five year old infant to mother feeding training,” Brand says. “And then we have a new commercial agronomy area as well.”

“It’s amazing to see the growth and the depth and level of the programs we are doing in Haiti.”