BETHEL – For the ninth year, Bethel will throw its annual autumnal party this weekend, offering up for example an array of chunky or spicy or just sublime chowder for a tasting contest and music on the town green.

And despite the Labor Day weekend slayings in next-door Newry, which has cast a pall on the communities, some locals say they believe this ninth annual Harvest Fest will still pull in a big crowd.

“I think that people, they look to get happy again,” said Robin Zinchuk, executive director of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce.

“This has been a tradition and people look forward to traditions,” she said. “I would say you never can tell, but I think it will be as successful as it always has been. At least I hope so.”

“Life moves on, life moves forward,” Town Manager Scott Cole said Monday. “There was a vigil here Saturday evening, which was a very good idea. That brings closure to the event and now we move forward.”

The candlelight vigil was organized by three pastors and held at the town common. Hundreds of people came to mourn the deaths of the people slain and to support their families.

Ross Timberlake, a furniture maker and owner of Timberlake’s Home Store, said he believes people will come to Harvest Fest as long as the weather is good and they are willing to travel. He and his wife, Carole, are opening their shop on Mayville Road Friday to explain how they make Shaker furniture and other wood products.

Zinchuk said this year, the festival will have all the usual trappings – the “Chowdah cook-off” at noon Saturday with 13 local eateries participating; arts and crafts for sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; musician Denny Breau playing on the gazebo on the town green Saturday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and visits to artisans’ workshops around the region Friday.

New to the festival is a Ways of the Woods exhibit sponsored by the Northern Forest Center, a nonprofit steward of the stretch of woods considered to be the largest intact forest in the eastern United States.

The center bought an 18-wheeler to hold the traveling show of exhibits showcasing the forest’s history and cultures. The truck, which started touring Aug. 12, will roam the Northern Forest for the next three to five years, stopping at museums, fairs and schools all over New England and New York.

The festival organizers are also inviting bakers to submit traditional apple pies or non-traditional pies, which allows for other ingredients besides apples.

The weekend will wrap up with a bicycle tour starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Zinchuk said the Chamber also encourages home owners and businesses to create scarecrows. This year’s theme is “Community Spirit,” which she said she chose before the slayings.

“It’s coincidental,” she said.