The ninth annual Kenan’s Mill Festival is fast approaching.

The festival, which will take place Nov. 6, will feature music, crafts, food and fun, said Janet Gresham, one of the event’s organizers.

Gates open at 9 a.m. and the music will begin at 11 a.m. with decorated fiddler Caleb Bryant.

“Caleb is a young fiddler who has won many competitions and currently plays fiddle in CrimsonGrass – a bluegrass Gospel Group in the West Alabama area,” said Gresham. “Caleb began playing the fiddle when he was four years old. God has blessed him to be able to progress into quite a fiddle player. You’ll be shocked as you listen to this young man. You’ll have to remind yourself that he’s only 9 years old.”

The music will continue with the Grasshopper Stringband, a nontraditional bluegrass band from Marion, and the Carrell Family Bluegrass Gospel Band.

The event, Gresham said, offers something for all ages.

“This is a family-oriented outdoor festival,” she said. “Children especially like the free hayrides in a wagon pulled by a vintage tractor. The ride takes the children down a long, shady lane and back. Last year, the festival introduced an Alabama clay hands-on workshop, which will be offered again this year.”

Popup inflatable games are also available.

Arts and crafts vendors will offer their handiwork for sale, usually everything from birdhouses to quilts, handmade jewelry and baskets.

Some people, Gresham said, just like to come  to the festival for a relaxing day outdoors.

“Many people, especially the adults, enjoy bringing folding chairs or sitting on hay bales in front of the bandstand so they can take in all the music,” she said. “There are also tours of the mill, where Jim Wood will grind corn into stoneground cornmeal and grits.”

Both will be offered for sale. Wood also tells about the history of the mill and can tell visitors how Kenan’s Mill is different from the waterwheel grist mills.

The mill house will be open, and visitors can walk across Valley Creek via a swinging bridge or old iron bridge to see the “beehive” charcoal kiln.

A vittles wagon will have hamburgers, hotdogs, Hoppin’ John, other sides and rinks and homemade cookies. The Dallas County Master Gardeners are making the cookies.

For more information, visit kenansmill.selmaalabama.com.