Historic re-enactors from the frontier, Civil War and World War II eras are just some of the events planned for the 24th annual Country Fall Festival.

The festival will take place Oct. 11 and 12 in Zelienople and Harmony and include entertainment, food booths and vendors.

The festivities, sponsored by the Zelienople-Harmony Business Association, will take place from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 11 and from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Four Corners Park and along Main Street in Zelienople and along Mercer Street in Harmony.

A Harvest Dance will lead into the festival weekend. It will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Zelienople American Legion, 308 W. New Castle St. The music will be from the 1940s and '50s. From 9 to 11 p.m., the musical selections will shift to the 1960s and '70s.

Festival organizer Ethel Mae Hall said several new groups for this year's festival include a World War II encampment group and the health and wellness fair.

"It's a fun time for the whole family. It's also a learning time, too. Families can go to the mountain men, World War II group and the Civil War people and talk about their skills and even help them with skills that were done years ago," Hall said.

The campsite of the 4th Armored Division from World War II will feature the group's vehicles, tents, gear and firearms.

The historic encampment of the Independent Mountain Men, who portray the frontiersmen who trapped for furs in North America in the late 1700s and early 1800s, reflect those times by sharing the skills of knife throwing, cooking and tools of their trade.

The health and wellness fair will be Oct. 12 in the parking lot at Main and West Spring streets.

Other encampments include the 101st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and the 19th Ohio Light Artillery of the Civil War, both sharing history with weapons, artifacts and artillery displays.

Some of the foods available will include homemade vegetable soup, chili, funnel cakes, hot dogs, homemade sauerkraut, pork and beef barbecue, deep fried veggies, burgers, steak and meatball hoagies, and baked goods.

For the third year, the chili cook-off will begin at noon Oct. 11 with judging at 4 p.m. Judges will award prizes to the top three recipes. To apply, call Mary Lou Barud at 724-452-9261 or 724-316-1073.

Some of the traditional favorites of the festival will return in and around the Four Corners Park in Zelienople, including the farmers' market, arts and crafts booths, antiques and collectibles, pony rides, horse drawn wagon and petting farm, sidewalk sales and games for children.

The Strand Theatre Initiative again will present The Northern Nightmares Tours, Chiller Theater and the Solid Mold Dancers from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 11 and every Friday and Saturday throughout October.

In Harmony, the Harmony Museum will have tours of the 1809 Harmonist warehouse and the Ziegler Log House.