DOWAGIAC — After a year of preparation and planning, the Dowagiac Church of Christ is ready to host its second annual Free Family Fun Fair.

The church offers families of the community a free summer afternoon, said Mandy Wallace, the event’s coordinator. The event will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. June 29, at the Church of Christ, 58273 M-51, Dowagiac, and will include a bounce house, hayride, pony rides, sack race, face painting, dunk tank and refreshments. New to the list of activities this year is a slip and slide and sprinklers for attendees to beat the summer heat. Child ID finger printing will also be offered by the Dowagiac Moose Lodge 933.

“Our goal is just to be able to make a difference — to just to be able to give families, primarily young families, something that they can do that will make a fun summer memory for them and their children that doesn’t cost them anything,” Wallace said.

The first fair, hosted last June, attracted more than 200 hundred people, despite the Church of Christ having a congregation of less than 50 members.

“We did the fun fair for the first time last year, and it was a huge success. Everyone loved it,” Wallace said. “Our congregation is less than 50 people, so for us to have that kind of a turnout from the community was really awesome. We decided to definitely do it again this year.”

The idea for the event started with the church’s drive to be a presence in the community.

“Even though our congregation is small, we try to be very involved because that’s what Jesus would do, and that’s the whole point,” she said. “Community is important, and that’s why the congregation is there. That’s why the church is there. This is just one more thing we can do for the community.”

The church makes the event free and does not accept donations because it is not about the money, but for the community, Wallace said.

The church hosts several other community events throughout the year, including a coat giveaway for children in the wintertime, a blood bank hosted in the building once a year and a food bank that is open one day a month. The church also participates in the city’s annual Christmas parade.

Parishioners who attend the church hail from other cities besides Dowagiac.

“We have members who are from all over the place,” Wallace said. “We have folks who come to our church from Niles, and from South Bend and Mishawaka.”

Planning for the event immediately began last June, which included members reaching out to businesses and prepping the activities, Wallace said.

“It is a lot to pull off with a pretty small group of people working behind the scenes, but every minute of it is worth it,” Wallace said.