The Blackbelt Benefit Group is no stranger to putting on successful events in Selma, but with just two and a half weeks left until the Riverfront Park Music and Arts Festival, they are getting into crunch time.

The group met Tuesday night with organizers to discuss final preparations and make sure everything is in place for the Labor Day event.

“When it gets closer to time it gets pretty hectic, and this is a first-time event and the first time anything like this has been held in Selma,” said Clay Carmichael, a founding member of the Blackbelt Benefit Group.

“The next few weeks are just talking to the council and making sure everything is ironed out at this point. We’ve already discussed all the details, and so everything from here on out is making sure everybody is familiar with the details and making sure that everybody knows what they’re doing and when they’re doing it.”

The festival will be the first event to be held in the Riverfront Amphitheater.

“We’ve been looking forward to it since we first planned the event,” said Josh Wilkerson with the Blackbelt Benefit Group. “We really have high hopes for the facility and the benefits it can bring to Selma, specifically the downtown redevelopment and restoration. It’s a great inaugural event.”

The festival will feature the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Kenny Brown Band, the John Bull Band and Dead Fingers.

“We want to make sure that [the amphitheater] is well fit for anybody following us,” Carmichael said. “We decided we wanted to do this to make sure [the city] had everything in the right order for future use. We’re excited to be able to use it for the first time.”

Carmichael said Tuesday night’s meeting would also focus on concessions, merchandise and tickets, among other plans that need finalizing.

“We’re going over what is needed for vendors, what we need to do with applications, who is doing what with set up and take down,” Carmichael said.

Tickets have been available online, but sales haven’t gone as well as hoped. Carmichael said he thinks it is because there is not a limit on how many tickets can be sold due to the event being outside and in a large area.

Regardless of presales, the event has had a lot of interest and the Blackbelt Benefit Group is looking forward to it. The festival will also feature the return of the Alabama River Raft Race, along with a kid zone with bounce houses, face painting and take home crafts. There will also be a vendor area with food and arts and crafts. The night will end with the city’s firework show.

The festival is Sept. 7 and starts at 12 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at blackbeltbenefitgroup.org or at the gate for $10. Children 12 and under are free.