FERRIDAY &045; The Delta Music Festival is just days away, and the final preparations are being made &045; including a schedule of back-to-back musical acts.

Chairman of the festival committee Judith Bingham said she thought everything was falling into place with the work of committee members.

&uot;I think we are ready,&uot; Bingham said. &uot;I’m resting pretty easy with all these hard workers.&uot;

Groove Line will start the show at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by Escape at 10:15 a.m. A local performer chosen from submitted tapes will sing between 10:45 and 11 a.m. At 11 Easy Eddie and the Party Rockers will play. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and his band Capitol Offense will play from noon to 12:45.

Louisiana Secretary of State Fox McKeithen’s Louisiana Cavalcade will take the stage at 1 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony of the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame. Headliner Percy Sledge will close out the festival starting around 3:15 p.m.

Other festival events include a car show of about 35 cars and an Army vehicle, more than 50 vendor booths and a rock-climbing wall.

Festival posters, $5 each, will be on sale throughout the day along with T-shirts. Posters signed by artist Shirley Byrne will be $10.

Percy Sledge and Huckabee are scheduled to arrive in the Miss-Lou Friday night. Huckabee will have a state police escort into town.

Festival committee members spent their time finalizing details such as amplifiers, extension cords and gates at Monday’s committee meeting, the last before the event.

The committee decided to add a sixth entry gate to better control foot traffic. The admission fee of $2 will be collected at gates located between the Delta Music Museum and Delta Bank; between Bradford Insurance and the Delta Mission; between Louisiana Avenue and First Street; on Louisiana Avenue behind the stage; between Concordia Bank and the Super 10; and between Second Street and attorney Lloyd Love’s office.

Volunteers will man all gates from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The committee is made up of representatives from the Ferriday Police Department, the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office, Delta Bank, Concordia Bank, the mayor’s office and many other volunteers.