FALMOUTH — The fourth annual Shop Falmouth event is on Saturday, Dec. 5, with an expanded slate of activities planned.

The day is organized by the Falmouth-Cumberland Community Chamber in conjunction with the towns of Cumberland and Falmouth. There will be a activities all along the Route 1 corridor, including some new ones.

“It’s coming to fruition exactly as I envisioned it,” she said.

Participating businesses along Route 1 will be collecting donations for Coats for Kids, nonperishable donations of food for the Falmouth Food Pantry, and new and unwrapped donations Toys for Tots and the Cumberland Fire Department’s Firefighters for Kids toy collection program.

Planner Paula Mahony of Words@Work in Falmouth said there will also be collection boxes in a large tent in Village Park, behind Wal-Mart.

Fire trucks from Falmouth and Cumberland, as well as police and public works vehicles from Falmouth and snow removal equipment from Wal-Mart, will be parked for people to see on Hat Trick Drive beginning at noon.

Radio station WHOM will be broadcasting from Route 1 between 10 a.m. and noon, with gift cards and other items from local businesses to give away.

Also beginning at 10 a.m., and lasting until the sun goes down, Santa will be patrolling the Route 1 corridor on a Segway and giving away gift certificates.

From 1:30-3:30 p.m., Falmouth and Cumberland restaurants will compete in a chili, chowder, soup and stew competition next to the Lee Twombley Pond outdoor skating rink at Family Ice Center on Hat Trick Drive.

Participants will include  Bernie’s, Bueno Loco, Town Landing Market, Ricetta’s, Doc’s Cafe, and Portland-based Rivalries, which is planning to expand to Falmouth.

Open skating sessions will be held at Lee Twombley Pond all afternoon, weather permitting. The Falmouth Memorial Library at 5 Lunt Road will host a book sale at the Mason Motz Activity Center from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Mahony said the library will serve as a warming area for people and will serve hot cocoa throughout the day. The book sale will also be held at the library at 190 Middle Road from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4.

Starting at 2 p.m., there will be free horse-drawn carriage rides along Route 1, which Mahony said has never been done before. Trips will begin at Family Ice and circling back at Key Bank. Special holiday lighting along Route 1 has been created by Pandora LaCasse Design, which has designed several notable light displays in Portland. Mahony said the wagons will travel behind Route 1 shops and on sidewalks, and will not interfere with traffic.

“What we wanted to do was create a day that would give people activities and entertainment to round out their day of shopping, and also to show what a beautiful and convenient area (Falmouth) is to come for shopping and dining,” Mahony said.

To wrap up the evening, a community carol sing at the gazebo next to Family Ice will begin at 5 p.m. The Falmouth Library Ukulele Society, commonly referred to as the Flukes, will provide accompaniment.

Also beginning on Dec. 5 and lasting until Dec. 31 a scavenger hunt will take place with more than 40 businesses. Mahony said checklists will be available at participating stores and online. She said businesses have contributed about $1,000 in prizes, and no purchase is necessary to participate.

Colin Ellis can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or cellis@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @colinoellis.

The annual Shop Falmouth event will take place on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. until sunset along U.S. Route 1.