ZELIENOPLE — About 15,000 people are expected to fill the downtown area and neighboring Harmony this weekend for the 32nd annual Country Fall Festival.

“This was the fastest year I remember,” said festival founder and organizer Ethel Mae Hall.

Hall said she and more than a dozen other organizers start preparing for the festival in February — contacting crafters, musicians and other vendors.

“We meet once a month,” she said. “It has grown.”

The festival begins at 9 a.m. Saturday with sidewalk sales and a farmers market at the Four Corners Park.

Crafts include handcrafted jewelry, handbags, decorative candle warmers, candles, Christmas ornaments, welcome signs and more.

The farmers market will feature fall decorations and harvested crops including apples, pumpkins, fall mums, corn stalks, gourds, squash and straw, among others.

Musical entertainment also will fill the air throughout the weekend.

Hall said the continuous lineup of music was scheduled “in order to include everyone.”

“It’s more or less letting the whole town take part in the festival,” she said.

On Saturday, the North Main Street gazebo will feature live music from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. with Freddy Kelleher, the Country Showcase Band and A Cross Town.

The sidewalk area by the Spring Street parking lot will feature Pat Blackburn from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 6 p.m. and Nathan Massie from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

On Sunday, the North Main Street gazebo will feature music from the Banjo All Stars, Angela Autumn and Frank Meade.

The Musical Jubilee makes its return for the second year at the Spring Street parking lot. The following are scheduled to perform for the jubilee: Dan Hulse Banjo Minstrel Show, noon to 1 p.m.; The North Star Kids, 1 to 2 p.m.; Waldo Young, 2 to 3:30 p.m.; and Johnny Calinger, 3:30 to 5 p.m.

More information, as well as a full list of musical performances, can be found at www.zeliefallfest.com.

Other staple features returning this weekend include horse-drawn wagon rides and tours of the historic Buhl and Passavant Houses.

Harmony also will have events to go with the fall festival.

A car cruise is planned for Creekside Plaza on Sunday. Hall said about 250 cars will be at the plaza.

“It was a great selection of different types of cars,” Hall said of last year’s car cruise.

Historic tours of the Harmony Museum also will be available, as well as family-friendly activities.

Free shuttle bus rides also will be provided for the festival on both main streets for Zelienople and Harmony.

Pickup and drop-off spots for shuttle rides include Passavant Retirement Community, Walgreen’s in Zelienople, The Bottle Brush in Harmony, Zelienople Mini Mart and One Enchanted Evening in Zelienople.