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Published: Thursday, Sep. 27, 2012 / Updated: Wednesday, Sep. 26, 2012 11:57 AM

Fall into fun: City of Light hosts Indian Land festival Saturday

Saturday is Indian Land’s seventh annual Fall into Fun festival, packed with community favorites, like the chili cook-off, and new entertainment and vendors.

This year’s festival will be help in a new location – at the City of Light camous at 3000 World Reach Drive, off Hwy. 521.

Kids will enjoy an entire area devoted to fun for tikes, including a rock wall, inflatable bouncers and miniature golf. Sirr Purr will make an appearance along with Homer the Dragon. Pony rides, a traditional favorite in the kid’s area, will also be available.

Musical acts will perform throughout the day and festival-goers can try their hand at being musicians themselves at a booth set up to play Guitar Hero. Among the entertainment will be the Indian Land Middle School Choir, which will sing the national anthem.

For the fourth year, the festival will include the South Carolina State Chili Cook-Off Championship. The teams will compete in the categories of Texas Style, Freestyle, People’s Choice and Showmanship.

Chili tasting kits will be sold for $3 each, to give festival attendees a chance to sample the chili and vote for “People’s Choice.” The cooks will also compete for a showmanship award, “so their booths will be festive,” said Denise Helms, cook-off organizer.

“Enjoy a fun time, try some good chili and support your community,” she said.

The festival is sponsored by the Indian Land Rotary Club. In previous years, the festival generated more than $15,000 for the Rotary Club’s charities, including sponsoring students for the Rotary Club’s annual Leadership camp, providing books for Indian Land schools’ libraries, sponsoring the teacher of the year program at Indian Land Middle School and the teacher of the month at Indian Land Elementary School, as well as funding for a new college scholarship the club hopes to launch this year.

In addition to the chili cook off and children’s entertainment, the festival will feature more than 100 art, craft and business vendors as well as food vendors.

A 5K will kick off the festival at 7:30 a.m.The festival itself begins at 10 a.m. A car show also will be among the festivities.