First United Methodist Church will host its annual Fall Fling event this weekend, featuring two days of activities, fun and fellowship.

According to Kaye Buckman, head of the event’s planning committee, activities will kick-off Friday at 5 p.m. with face painting for children and an opportunity to have their picture taken with Santa Claus. Photos are $5 each, but packages can be purchased, as well. At 5:30 p.m. the church will host a barbeque chicken dinner, prepped by the men of the church. Tickets are $8 per plate and can be purchased at the church’s office. Pre-ordering is recommended and availability is not guaranteed at the door, Buckman said.

Also at 5:30 p.m., the church will conduct its second annual “Pick 3,” which involves participants paying $5 to have their name thrown in a drawing for their favorite three out of five items, Buckman said. Items for this year include a Southern Tide shirt from Russell’s Gentlemen’s Clothing, jewelry from Stewart’s Jewelry Store, a Christmas item and items for each a boy and girl. Simultaneously, the church will be opening its Christmas shop, which features an array of new and slightly used items for attendees to browse.

Buckman said a reverse drawing will be held at 7 p.m., featuring a variety of nice items like gift baskets, gift certificates, toys, appliances, a flat screen TV, a week-long vacation at Ocracoke and a John Deere lawn mower. Tickets are $100. Halfway through the drawing, a mini live auction will be held, which will feature items like jewelry, a fishing rod holder that mounts on a truck, Adirondack chairs and a variety of other items, Buckman said.

“We have some really nice things in there [for the reverse drawing],” Buckman said. “Everyone [who buys a ticket] goes home with something nice.”

On Saturday, festivities will resume with another opportunity for children of all ages to have their photo taken with Santa, as well as the church Food Fair, Buckman said. The fair will feature items prepared by the women of the church, such as fresh cakes, cookies, breads, pies and frozen casseroles. There will also be brown bag lunches available for $5, which includes soup, sandwiches, fruit and chips, Buckman said. Also on Saturday, the church’s Christmas shop will be open, and a group of Boy Scouts will be sponsoring a car wash.

The event, the biggest fundraiser of the year for the church, started more than 20 years ago, Buckman said. The money raised from the event goes toward church and mission projects like the church’s Matthew 25 mission, which feeds the homeless one Saturday out of each month, and is split amongst various subgroups within the congregation, Buckman said.

“It was very small,” Buckman said. “I saw a vision where I could take it and really run with it and try to incorporate some of the things that will bring out more people,” Buckman said. “It’s a really nice function, and we’re trying to get some more families out. I have a good committee, and all my girls on the committee have done a good job. We have lots of fun, and we raise money to help different organizations in our church. We do a lot of mission stuff. We split it around, and our people in the missions decide on how it is spent.”

To preorder tickets for the barbecue chicken dinner, call the First United Methodist Church at 252-946-3311. FUMC is located at 304 West Second St., Washington.