Manayunk's annual summertime arts festival has been a hit for decades.

And the Second Saturday promotion, sponsored by the Manayunk Development Corp., has garnered success in its own right.

Now, community leaders are attempting to create yet another local event they hope will grace Main Street for years to come.

It's called "Homegrown Manayunk's Fall Festival," and organizers can't wait to see how things play out when the new promotion is unveiled Saturday.

"We're not only just celebrating local businesses, but the things local businesses are doing (that) really contribute to an environmentally sound community," said Howard Moseley, interim executive director of the Manayunk Development Corp., which is sponsoring the event along with Sustainable Manayunk, a local group that promotes buying locally and supporting groups and businesses with environmentally friendly practices.

The promotion was inspired by a host of Manayunk businesses already engaging in practices meant to cut back on pollution and save resources. People like Moseley saw the need to make this known to the wider community.

Take Bruce Cooper, a longstanding Manayunk business owner who operates Jake's Restaurant and Bar and Cooper's Brick Oven Wine Bar. The local entrepreneur has been buying heavy cream for more than 20 years from a Lancaster farmer.

Cooper also purchases his sausage locally, as well as his ricotta cheese and corn. Basically, all of his gourmet pizza toppings come from somewhere nearby.

"You have really hands-on owners ... who end up building these relationships with the farmers, (something) you think would have happened 80 years ago," Moseley said. "It really tells you there's a lot that we haven't lost that's really quaint."

The new event will give business owners a chance to showcase their local and sustainable products. Some restaurateurs will be offering a sample of their cuisine, while other retailers will talk about their "green" or recycled products.

There will also be live music, including performances by the Mummers' string bands, and a special guest appearance by the Bacon Brothers, Michael and Kevin, who will autograph their new CD/DVD single, New Year's Day, which was recorded right here in Manayunk at Main Street Music. Proceeds from sales of the disc will go toward the Save the Mummers Foundation.

The event is poised to be both entertaining and educational.

"We feel that this festival has the elements of who we are and where we want to go," said Joan Denenberg, a public relations consultant who has been working with the development corp. "We want to entertain . . . but we want to educate our consumers."

As for merchants like Cooper, Denenberg said they are examples of what's being done right in the community from an environmental and sustainable standpoint.

"I think he (Cooper) is a good example of the beauty of this local retail," she said.

Moseley agrees.

"Why we chose to really urge our restaurants to get involved is it brings people back to look at local food," he said. "It's a real sustainable process."

Of course, there are other businesses in the neighborhood that practice sustainability. Take Machismo's, the local burrito bar. They purchase their tomatoes locally, an important ingredient in their fresh salsa. They will also participate in "Homegrown."

Then there's the Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant, a longstanding community business that will offer tastings of their locally brewed beer. Commonly known as the "Brew Pub," the restaurant is a good example of sustainability, Moseley said, since they recycle their grain, much of it going to the "Henry Got Crops!" community supported agriculture program at W.B. Saul High School for Agricultural Sciences in neighboring Roxborough.

The Brew Pub will also offer tours of the brewery during Saturday's event, a chance for folks to see the inner workings of a beer-making operation.

"A lot of the retailers and businesses have really jumped on this," Denenberg said. "It's something that's near and dear to their heart. They're proud of what they're doing."

Many restaurants will also feature "homegrown dishes," Denenberg said, which are meals prepared with ingredients obtained from local farms.

The festival will also feature a healthy living component, with businesses such as Cadence Cycling talking about bicycling as a healthy alternative mode of transportation.

The event will also tap into the arts, with local artist Joe Barker capturing the festival with paint and brush, and artist Charles Cushing finishing his rendition of Citizen's Bank Park on the steps of Orbit art gallery.

"We're even shocked at how well this has been put together," Denenberg said, noting organizers spent a mere month planning the event. "We think it has real potential. It's a celebration of really what Manayunk is."

The festival will linked with POST, the Philadelphia Open Studios Tour, which takes place citywide. Denenberg said there are a number of artists who live and work right here in Manayunk, and many of them will open up their workspaces to visitors.

"It all makes sense," Denenberg said. "The whole artist studio thing is very homegrown."

Moseley views this event as a great of example of what his group is doing to try and bring the community and business district together.

"We hope that this is going to be one of the things that links us back to the residents," he said.

Moseley said much effort has been spent throughout the years trying to "connect one side of Main Street to the canal." Now, focus is being placed on connecting both sides of the street to the overall neighborhood, he said.

"We want to send that message that Main Street is a place you can come to," he said.

In the end, it's the charm of Main Street that Moseley wants to expose. In an "increasingly pre-packaged, cookie-cutter world," it's nice to have local, quaint commercial districts like the one in Manayunk, he said, as an alternative to corporate America.

"As business owners, we want our money to stay in our community," he said. "What we should be fighting for is for jobs to be local jobs."

"Homegrown Manayunk's Fall Festival" will take place Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. rain or shine. To accommodate sound stages, Main Street will be closed to vehicular traffic between Green Lane and Carson Street, and on Cotton Street between Main and Cresson streets.

The event will also include arts and crafts demonstrations, and appearances by local nonprofit organizations.

To learn more visit www.manayunk.com.

Reporter Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com