Two popular downtown Meridian fall events have teamed up to offer a fun-filled day that begins early afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 22, and continues throughout the evening.

Queen City Oktoberfest and Budweiser Bud & Burgers will present Fall Fest from 1-9 p.m., at several downtown venues. All proceeds from the day will go to LOVE’s Kitchen of Meridian.

Oktoberfest will feature free live music on eight stages throughout downtown Meridian, a beer garden, a cornhole tournament and a Halloween parade.

In addition to a competition for the “Best Burger,” Bud & Burgers will include football on the big screen and a live music concert featuring the Louisiana-based country music band Parish County Line.

“It’s going to be a very active day downtown,” said Dan Confait, who with Doug Kennedy is founder of Queen City Oktoberfest.

The day will start with free live music from 1-5 p.m., with artists and bands performing at eight downtown Meridian venues. Sponsors and stage locations are: Construction Services Stage (DC Guitar Studio), Norman Roofing Stage (Brickhaus Bar & Grill), Thread Fasteners Stage (Weidmann’s), White Oak Properties Stage (Threefoot Brewing), Citizens National Bank Stage (Dumont Plaza), Loebs Clothing Stage (Mia’s Café), Castle Energy Stage (Rooftop at the Threefoot Hotel) and ESI Stage (Spacey’s Rock & Roll Tattoo).

Performers and locations for music entertainment is as follows:

1 p.m.: Open Mic, DC Guitar Studio; Aa’Keela & The Beats, Brickhaus Bar & Grill; Slow Burn, Weidmann’s; Naomi Taylor, Threefoot Brewing; Livestock Band, Dumont Plaza; Hunter Burrell, Mia’s Café; Dan Confait, Rooftop at the Threefoot Hotel; and Black Sheep, Spacey’s Rock & Roll Tattoo.

2 p.m.: Open Mic, DC Guitar Studio; Couch in the Woods, Brickhaus Bar & Grill; Aa’Keela, Weidmann’s; Britt Gully, Threefoot Brewing; Vibe Tribe, Dumont Plaza; Scott Houston, Mia’s Café; Emily White, Rooftop at the Threefoot Hotel; and Ole Addy & Me, Spacey’s Rock & Roll Tattoo.

3 p.m.: DeeJay Hustleman, DC Guitar Studio; Statik Vibez, Brickhaus Bar & Grill; Steve Watson, Weidmann’s; Garrett Reaves, Threefoot Brewing; Cosmic Gravvy, Dumont Plaza; Hayden Clark, Mia’s Café; John Paul Dove, Rooftop at the Threefoot Hotel: and CookieWu, Spacey’s Rock & Roll Tattoo.

4 p.m.: Phillip Savell, DC Guitar Studio; 20/59 Band, Brickhaus Bar & Grill; Chad Peavy, Weidmann’s; Kevin Ace Robinson, Threefoot Brewing; Daniel Houze Band, Dumont Plaza; Grayson Culpepper, Mia’s Café; Hannah Whatley, Rooftop at the Threefoot Hotel; and Denton Green & Friends, Spacey’s Rock & Roll Tattoo.

5 p.m.: Albert Dean, DC Guitar Studio Rodrick Fox, Brickhaus Bar & Grill; Timmy Segars, Weidmann’s; Andrew Elgin, Threefoot Brewing; Cole Hill & Good Co., Dumont Plaza; Corbitt Higginbotham, Mia’s Café; and Marcus Linton, Rooftop at the Threefoot Hotel.

At 1 p.m., a cornhole tournament sponsored by The Back Porch will be held in the parking lot of DC Guitar. Cornhole is a game in which players or teams take turns throwing fabric bean bags at a raised, angled board with a hole in its far end. The goal of the game is to score points by either landing a bag on the board (one point) or putting a bag through the hole (three points).

A $60 entry fee includes six drink tickets. Three cash prizes will be awarded: $1,000, first place; $300, second place; and $150, third place. Teams are still being accepted. Sign up in advance through the Facebook event page, or on the day of the event.

From 2-6 p.m., a Hops & Howls Oktoberfest Craft Beer Garden will be set up on Fifth Street. According to Anna Grace Tanner, communications manager for Mitchell Companies, the beer garden will feature more than14 breweries that will each have different styles of beer.

“The beer garden will have a true Oktoberfest feel, with German elements, décor and food,” Tanner said.

Bakery 900 will prepare an Oktoberfest stew with a German lager and smoked sausage, and Meridian Arts & Community Events Society (ACES) will make their special brats and kraut on pretzel buns.

A $25 admission ticket includes a complementary tasting glass to sample beer from all of the breweries. The ticket also will allow access to Bud & Burgers.

Starting at 6 p.m., the second annual Halloween parade will take place. The parade will start at the end of Front Street and continue past Brickhaus Bar & Grill. It will then turn left onto 22nd Avenue, left onto Eighth Street, then turn left onto 23rd Avenue and pass City Hall. The parade route will take a right of Fourth Street, where it will end.

Registration is still open for the parade and is $20 to enter. Prizes will include $100 for Best Overall and $100 for Scariest.

The day’s finale will be the Seventh Annual Bud & Burgers cookout competition, presented by Mitchell Distributing and First State Bank.

“It is so exciting to us to see how Bud & Burgers has continued to grow, not only in Meridian but around the whole state,” Tanner said. “When we first started planning this event seven years ago, it was important to us at Mitchell Distributing that this event was going to be a staple in the community and an event that everyone looks forward to attending each year.

“We’ve seen this event grow in towns across our other markets, but it’s been really exciting this year to see Meridian’s cook-off turn into an all-day festival with local live music, a beer garden, a cornhole tournament, a Halloween parade and Bud & Burgers,” Tanner said. “We’re just so thankful for so many folks for helping support this event and allowing us to make it such a big day in Meridian.”

Held on City Hall Lawn, gates will open at 6 p.m. and burgers will be ready to serve by 6:30 p.m., Tanner said. Admission is $10 for Bud & Burgers only and will allow attendees to sample burgers from all participating teams.

The music headliner of day will be Parish County Line. According to a press release, the band formed from a love of “good ole” country music and started in 2012 with the heart of a party crowd. With both Mississippi and Louisiana roots, front man Derek Shipley teamed up with the bayou’s talent to produce a sound seasoned with a modern twang while staying true to country roots. PCL has opened for country legends such as Tracey Lawrence and Travis Tritt, while also headlining for sold-out crowds in various venues.

Bud & Burgers will also feature a big screen to show college football games; beer and soft drinks will be available for sale.

Following the announcement of the Bud & Burgers winners at 9 p.m., Brickhaus Bar and Grill will be the official afterparty location and will feature more live music and beer specials, Tanner said.

For up-to-date information regarding the competition, as well as the link to purchase admission tickets, visit Meridian’s Fall Fest featuring Queen City Oktoberfest and Bud & Burgers event page on Mitchell’s Distributing Facebook page.