Submitted photoConstruction on the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience on Front Street in Meridian has passed the halfway mark, and the 58,000-square-foot museum is on schedule to open in April 2018.

A revered group of artists and their relatives will be welcomed to Meridian on Saturday.

All is on schedule for the celebration of artists chosen for The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) inaugural Hall of Fame class. The Hall of Fame Award Ceremony and Reception is scheduled at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Riley Center in downtown Meridian, followed by a reception.

The festivities, though, begin earlier in the day.

Six stars will be unveiled on The MAX’s Hollywood-style Walk of Fame at 1:30 p.m. Saturday across from Dumont Plaza in downtown Meridian in a presentation that’s free and open to the public. Those six will be John Grisham, Jim Henson, Robert Johnson, Leontyne Price, Muddy Waters and Richard Wright.

John Grisham will be here for the afternoon presentation, along with Jim Henson’s daughter, Cheryl; Robert Johnson’s grandsons; Leontyne’ Price’s brother, General George B. Price; Muddy Waters’s daughter, and Richard Wright’s grandson, Malcolm, said Nicole Ethridge, marketing assistant at The MAX.

That group is planning to be present for the evening awards ceremony, noted Ethridge, along with Sela Ward and other inductees’ family members and representatives. Lt. Governor Tate Reeves is also slated to be at the evening awards ceremony.

The entire list of inaugural class members includes Walter Inglis Anderson, William Faulkner, Morgan Freeman, John Grisham, Jim Henson, Robert Johnson, James Earl Jones, B.B. King, George Ohr, Elvis Presley, Leontyne Price, Jimmie Rodgers, Sela Ward, Muddy Waters, Tennessee Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Eudora Welty, and Richard Wright. Some have already had stars unveiled, and some will have them unveiled in the future, Ethridge said.

Dress for the evening ceremony includes cocktail attire, and tickets are $50. People may call 601-581-1550 to purchase tickets or for more information. Tickets can be purchased at The MAX office through Friday, or they can be bought at the door Saturday evening.