As Rich Ambrose of Winfield Township supervises, James Hetherington, 7, loads a scoop of corn into a 90-year-old mill that gradually makes finer meal at the Zelienople-Harmony County Fall Fest Saturday.

ZELIENOPLE — Judging by the hundreds of people traversing the borough's streets and parks, the Zelienople-Harmony Area Country Fall Festival has surely come a long way since its inception 33 years ago.

“We had two roasters of cabbage rolls and one band,” Ethel Mae Hall said of the first Fall Festival.

The festival, which covered Main Street and every open space in the downtown Zelienople area, was held on Saturday and Sunday. Hall's cabbage rolls would last just minutes today, as thousands attend the event each year.

Foods from award-winning barbecue to gyros to hot sausage to gourmet cupcakes were sold with gusto on Saturday at the noon hour on the southeast corner of Main Street and Grandview Avenue.

At the park across the street beside Park United Presbyterian Church, hundreds of shoppers scooped up items from vendors offering soaps, dog gifts, seasonal signs, jewelry, fall-themed wreaths and home decor.

The borough's ongoing Streetscape Project, which has seen the construction of new curbs, sidewalks and light posts on Main Street, did not slow shoppers down as they bumped strollers over random gravel areas where a sidewalk slab had not yet been poured.

A scavenger hunt, chili cook-off, kids' barrel train rides, tours of the Passavant and Buhl houses, entertainment, kids' games and a pumpkin decorating contest rounded out the events on Main Street.

A full story will appear in the Butler Eagle Monday.