LAKEVILLE—The Lakeville community gathered at the Lakeville Lions grounds to celebrate the fifth-annual Lakeville Lions Fall Family Festival on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The Lions provided food and drinks, music, farm animals, a dunk tank, a bouncy house, and games for kids. Vendors set up to display their businesses, which ranged from pet transport services to martial arts classes to greeting cards.

Lions Clubs International, the umbrella group that Lakeville Lions falls under, aim to serve their communities and the world through events like this and other forms of service. The Fall Family Festival provides the Lakeville Lions with much of the budget they need to host other events, provide scholarships to students at area schools, and make charitable contributions.

Roland Grenier, a past president of the Lions-affiliated charity Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund, was present to receive a $1,000 check from Lakeville Lions President Norm Orrall and Lions District 33S Governor Robert Coluci.

Lakeville Lions member Gary Mansfield greeted festival goers and sold raffle tickets. He joined the Lions eight years ago and said of his time in the club, “I love it, to be honest with you.”

“These events are the fun of it,” Mansfield said. “We have different things for the whole family. We try to make it interesting for people no matter what they do.”

The farm animals, which included alpacas, goats, ducks, chickens, and a rabbit, were a big hit with families. The alpacas, named iKande (pronounced “eye candy”), Galaxy, Future, and Lord Eddard, stuck their heads out of their enclosure to take snacks from onlookers.

This year’s festival was the second one that Christina Welte brought her children to. She said her youngest child, who is 6, loves the bouncy house

“We like it, as parents, because of all the little neat activities they have,” Welte said. “And with the local vendors, seeing what local people make is pretty cool.”

Patrick Marshall, a Lions member for around seven years, sat in the dunk tank and joked with the people trying to dunk him. He came prepared with emoji masks to react to throws and make the kids laugh.

“It’s a great give-back-to-the-community thing,” said Lions member Steve Howe, who joined in 2016. “We don’t make a lot on this festival, but it allows us to do what we do and to present something for the townspeople.”