NATCHEZ &8212; A festival the church first organized for members now is a big outreach event at First Baptist Church, said Kathy Estes, longtime member.

Fall Festival at First Baptist, 150 D&8217;Evereux Drive, will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, $1 admission, with games, food and entertainment for every age, she said.

&8220;We&8217;ve been doing this at least 20 years,&8221; Estes said. &8220;It started out as an alternative to Halloween, but since then we found it has been a way to get to know more people in the community.&8221;

The small admission charge does not deter people from attending, and it&8217;s a bargain &8212; including not only the carnival games and huge slide and other activities but also hamburgers with all the trimmings, cotton candy and popcorn, Estes said.

&8220;We will have a little room for preschoolers and their special activities, but they can take part in anything they want,&8221; she said.

The atmosphere is a &8220;wholesome family atmosphere,&8221; Estes said. &8220;We encourage everyone to wear costumes, adults and children, but we ask them not to wear scary costumes. And we don&8217;t have any scary decorations.&8221;

The activities take place in the family life center, inside and outside, Estes said.

Some of the popular activities include the moon-walk, an obstacle course and a bungee jump. For adults, there will be bingo.

&8220;This is open to anybody and everyone,&8221; Estes said.

&8220;We ask our members to bring friends and invite neighbors.&8221;

Among other church-sponsored festivals for the Halloween holiday, two will be Tuesday, Halloween Day.

At First Baptist Church in Vidalia, 608 Texas St., the annual &8220;Trunk or Treat&8221; event will be held, 6 to 8 p.m.

Adults fill their trunks with candy and treats and choose costumes and car decorations that follow a theme. The vehicles make a circle around the parking lot off Texas Street, and children move from vehicle to vehicle.

&8220;Last year, we had 1,500 people attend,&8221; a church spokeswoman said.

&8220;It&8217;s really big. We have karaoke and a cake walk and lots of other activities.&8221;

At Parkway Baptist Church in Natchez, 117 Seargent S. Prentiss Drive, the festival is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The free event will include hot dogs, cotton candy, cake walk and games.