After a pandemic-induced hiatus for fall 2020, the downtown extravaganza that is the Ole Brook Festival returns to Brookhaven.

The 46th festival begins Friday, Oct. 1, with three hours of live music. Kendra Jenkins, Ashley Dalton and her band from Nashville and The Epic Funk Brass Band will entertain from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the intersection of South Railroad Avenue and East Cherokee Street. Food vendors will also be open in the south parking lot near Railroad Avenue.

Live music will continue Saturday with Ralph Miller at 10 a.m., Cody Dunaway at 11 a.m., and the MSA Choir at noon, followed by Rona Barrett, Montana Beeson and The Bridge Band from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and sit to enjoy the shows.

The two-day festival is the city’s biggest event of the year. The Ole Brook Car Show will take place Saturday, along with more than 100 booths in the Arts & Crafts Marketplace and lots of food vendors from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The Kids Zone will be open from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. with armbands for $10. Attractions include plenty of jumpies, a 24-foot tall Spiderman Mountain, The Ole Brook choo-choo train, Leaps & Bounds Obstacle — a 75-foot long obstacle course — and Laser Tag.

“Our staff and committee members, along with a host a volunteers and sponsors, are so excited for Brookhaven’s 46th Annual Ole Brook Festival,” said Katie Nations, Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce’s program director. “Our festival has been one of Mississippi’s Premier Family Friend Festivals for more than four decades. We hope everyone will join us this Friday and Saturday downtown!”