Featuring a full weekend of activities October 13-14
The 41st Annual Octoberfest in Downtown Cleveland is scheduled for October 13 – 14 and will feature a full gamut of activities.
The weekend will kick off on Friday with the Mississippi Delta State Barbecue Championship competition. This event is sanctioned by the Memphis Barbecue Network and is the final competition of the Delta BBQ Battle circuit, which awards approximately $13,000 to winners at Octoberfest. Applications for patio and professional teams are available at octoberfestms.com.
A couple of exciting new additions to the festival this year include BBQ demonstrations and a tour of champions. Malcolm Reed with HowToBBQRight and Killer Hogs BBQ Products will be offering ticketed BBQ Demonstrations at Delta Arts Alliance on Saturday. Wicker’s Tour of Champions, sponsored by Jeff Jones, will also be offered on Friday and will allow registered participants to tour the championship BBQ row as well as sample and judge the offerings. Tickets for both demonstrations and the tour of champions are on sale at octoberfestms.com.
There will also be live entertainment provided by singer/songwriter/guitarist “Mississippi Marshall” Hopper from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Delta Arts Alliance pavilion.
Saturday morning kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with a Kid’s Confetti Run sponsored by Junior Auxiliary of Cleveland. There will be a crafts area at Delta Arts Alliance following the Confetti Run. Children of all ages are welcome to participate.
Entertainment will begin at 9:30 a.m. with community performances from dance troupes and gymnastics teams followed by OcTUBAfest, a brass ensemble from Delta State University’s music department that will perform a selection of tuba and horn polka pieces.
At 12:00 p.m., there will be a partial eclipse viewing at the Wiley Planetarium tent. Eclipse glasses will be available for a donation of $1, and arts and crafts activities will be offered at no charge. This annular eclipse is the second of three notable solar eclipses viewable from the USA, and it will appear as if the sun is forming a ‘ring of fire’ around the moon.
Live music will begin at noon featuring Gospel singer Alicia Perry, Deep Roots artist Variety, Thomas “Little Killer” Sanders and Joe Garcia. Announcement of the BBQ competition winners will take place between 5 and 6 pm followed by the festival headliner, Billy Allen and the Pollies who will take the stage around 6:30 p.m.
Concessions sales and food vendors will be available both Friday and Saturday. Arts and crafts vendor sales will take place Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Over 100 arts and crafts vendors will be on display in Downtown Cleveland. A children’s area will also be available Saturday.
This widely-popular downtown event would not be possible without the help of sponsors, volunteers and a dedicated planning committee.
“We are thankful for our event sponsors who are also active members of the Chamber of Commerce,” said Robert Maxwell, President of the Chamber of Commerce. “We also greatly appreciate the help of our volunteers and Octoberfest planning committee.”
Octoberfest merchandise and BBQ products will be available for sale at the festival. Octoberfest t-shirts are already available for purchase at octoberfestms.com, and additional merchandise is coming soon!
For more information on or to sponsor the event, visit octoberfestms.com or contact the Chamber of Commerce at 662-843-2712.