Bath will hold its annual Autumnfest series of events Saturday, Oct. 12. Contributed

BATH — The annual Autumnfest, a combination of time-honored events around the city, returns Saturday, Oct. 12.

“It’s evolved a little bit over the years,” Tamara Lilly, who serves on the Main Street Bath board and chairs the organization’s Promotions Committee, said last week.

This year’s event serves as “an umbrella” over several activities, Lilly said. Notable among those is the 21st annual Citizen Involvement Day, which honors several Bath residents and organizations for their contributions to the community.

“There’s so much already going on that weekend in the community, that we take the opportunity and package it a certain way, and present it to promote what everyone’s doing, to promote businesses but also the events that are happening already,” Lilly said. “… You’re both getting to see your neighbor, and also supporting the downtown.”

“Touch a Truck,” an event hosted by Midcoast Maine Community Action and Families CAN!, will be held in the Old Customs House parking lot at 1 Front St. from 9 a.m. to noon. For those sensitive to the noise, no sirens or horns will sound from the fire trucks and ambulances between 9-10 a.m.

Bath residents can try to win a ride to school via a fire truck, the Bath Area Family YMCA’s “veggie truck” will be on hand, and face painting and raffles will be held as well.

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The Bath Rotary 4-Way 5K Run/Walk will kick off at 800 High St. at 9 a.m., and conclude at 12:30 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Frazier Metcalf Memorial Swim for Health Fund, and registration is available at runsignup.org.

A 10-mile bike ride to Butler Cove, led by Bath’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, will begin at Waterfront Park at 9:30 a.m. Helmets and bright clothing are required, and the difficulty level is moderate.

The Bath Farmers Market will offer fresh goods at Waterfront Park between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Citizen Involvement Day begins there at 9:30 a.m., with 40 nonprofit organizations offering information. The citizen of the year will be announced and honored, and community spirit, community project, and youth awards presented.

Assistant City Manager Marc Meyers called Citizen Involvement Day “a wonderful celebration of service and community spirit in Bath,” adding nonprofits will be “raising awareness, promoting their programming and recruiting volunteers.”

“The excitement around Citizen Involvement Day builds up every fall,” Meyers added.

Various downtown businesses will be holding events throughout the day, such as Halcyon Yarn’s annual open house. Listings are posted on the Autumnfest 2019 Facebook page.

The DaPonte Strong Quartet performs in Patten Free library’s reading room from 5:30-8:30 p.m., and the classic musical comedy “The Producers” will take the Chocolate Church Arts Center stage from 7:30-9:30 p.m.

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