With the arrival of spring and warmer temperatures, hundreds of community residents are expected to gather in downtown Meridian Saturday for the seventh annual Allie Cat Run & Festival.

Held on the city hall lawn, located at the corner of Sixth Street and 23rd Avenue, the event includes a morning 5k run and walk followed by a day of festival activities, including live music, a petting zoo, pony rides, bounce houses and other inflatables, arts and crafts, food, face painting and much more.

“I don’t think we ever thought it would grow to this,” said Bill Carruth, who started the festival in 2018 with his wife, Leslie, and son, William, as a way to honor their daughter Alexandra “Allie” Garnett Carruth, who died at age 6 following a tragic accident in 2017.

“We were trying to think of a way to honor Allie,” he said. “It started off as the run and it kind of grew into the festival.”

Allie was an organ donor, and Leslie said they use the festival as a way to bring education and awareness to the importance of organ and tissue donation. They also want to recognize donor families and recipient families since National Donate Life Month kicks off in April.

Kicking things off Saturday morning will be the Allie Cat 5k Run and Walk, which is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Participants are encouraged to be in the start-up line by 8:30 a.m. The kids fun run will immediately follow the 5k race.

Registration is still open for the race. The cost to participate is $25 for either the 5k run or 5k walk. The kids fun run is $15. Runners and walkers can still register online at time2run.raceentry.com/allie-cat-run-and-festival/race-information. Registration packets will be available Friday at the Threefoot Brewing Courtyard next to the city hall lawn from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. Race day, in-person registration will close at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

The first 400 participants registered for the race will receive an Allie Cat T-shirt, Leslie said.

Following the morning race, a ceremony will be held to honor organ donors, organ recipients and their families. The ceremony is expected to begin between 10:30-11 a.m. Blue, green and white smoke bombs, representing the Donate Life colors, will be lighted to bring attention to organ donation.

Also, artist Gary Chapman, whose daughter Sadie Chapman was an organ recipient, will be the guest speaker. Sadie Chapman, who received a heart transplant at the age of 19, died in March 2023. Chapman created several paintings in tribute to his daughter, which will be part of an exhibition kicking off at the Meridian Museum of Art following a reception Saturday afternoon.

Live music for the event will be provided by Jonathan Quigley and My Savior Story and Tyler Sellers.

A main tent will be set up on the city hall lawn, where festival goers can purchase armbands for $15 and tickets for $1. The arm band will give children all day access to the bounce houses and other inflatables. Tickets will be needed for face painting, pony rides, the petting zone and other games and activities.

If there are any remaining Allie Cat collectible bracelets from this year’s design, as well as Allie Cat earrings, they will be available for purchase in the main tent. Raffles tickets will also be available for purchase for $10 at the main tent with prizes ranging from gift cards to gift baskets, all donated by local businesses.

The festival accepts cash and Venmo. An ATM machine will be located on site for people needing cash.

Activities are expected to conclude around 3 p.m.

Altogether, last year’s festival raised a little more than $100,000, twice as much as the first festival, Leslie said, with the total amount raised over the past six years at more than $400,000.

“Originally we were raising money for MORA, Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency, but then it grew, and we could give back to the community,” Leslie said. “The community gives so much to us and has been so supportive of our family, so this is a way that we can give back to those who need it.”

MORA, as well as a $5,000 scholarship for a Lauderdale County senior and Meridian Community College nursing scholarships, are among the annual recipients from the festival’s fundraising. The remaining money goes to a wide selection of nonprofit and community organizations whose grant applications are approved by the festival board.

The Community Foundation of East Mississippi oversees the awarding of grants. Past recipients have included the Meridian Museum of Art, Habitat for Humanity, Wesley House, Hope Village for Children, Illuminations Center for Dyslexia, among numerous others.

Much to the Carruths’ surprise, the festival seems to keep growing each year in the number of runners and festival goers.

“My fear was always that after the first year, participation was going to drop off,” Bill said, “but it has actually grown every year which has been really surprising to me.”