It’s that time of year again—time to gather friends and family and celebrate one another at the 21st annual Deep River Family Day, which will take place on Saturday, Sept. 20. For the past two plus decades, the town has come together in late September to celebrate family, friends, and community and this year promises more of the same.

First conceived by local merchants as a way to both celebrate Deep River and thank the community for supporting local businesses, the celebration has grown into a multi-venue event with something for residents of all ages.

“We have a lot of fun activities planned throughout out the day,” said Deep River Park & Recreation Director Carol Jones.

Kicking things off will be the one-mile fun run, which begins at 8:15 a.m., followed by the annual 5K run/walk at 9 a.m. sharp. The first 100 participants to sign up will receive a commemorative T-shirt. (Other shirts will be available for purchase.) The USATF certified race will be chip timed by Greystone Electronics through bib tags and there will be water stations, snacks and a free prize drawing.

After the race, runners and others can enjoy a wide array of activities in town throughout the day, up and down Main Street and beyond. There will be discounts at various stores such as Anchor and Compass, which will also have a fishing pond available for kids. Ashleigh’s Garden will give out free roses to the first 50 people, and CDE Nursery school will serve snow cones at the kids’ carnival, which will be held at the Deep River Elementary School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., complete with a bungee run, bouncy house, obstacle course, and more.

Deep River Pizza holds its always-competitive pizza-eating contest at 2 p.m. and hayrides will be given from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a free Zumba class held at the Veterans Memorial Green from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and Deep River Fire Department will have a children’s Fire Safety House open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. In addition to all this, the little red trolley will run all day throughout town, transporting visitors to various Family Day activities.

Not to be forgotten is the famous Pet Parade, sponsored by Pet’s Choice, meeting at Liberty Bank at 3 p.m. with the parade down Main Street beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Activities will culminate in the evening with live entertainment at Plattwood Park, which will include music by Mad Men, followed by the much-anticipated fireworks display sponsored by the Parks & Recreation Department, Whelen Engineering, and Haynes Materials.

“It really is a good time had by all. Families bring picnic dinners and they always have elaborate spreads of all kinds of food,” said Jones.

She added, “We welcome all and we hope that everyone comes out to share in a fun family day.”

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit www.deepriverct.us.