VIDALIA — Get out the fiddle, dulcimer and banjo, and get ready to chow down — the fourth annual Vittles and Fiddles bluegrass festival will be this weekend at the Vidalia Amphitheater.

The festival will unofficially begin at 6 tonight with a free jam session in which the public will be allowed to participate.

“Whoever wants to get up there and play can,” Vidalia Fire Chief Jack Langston said.

The Vidalia Fire Department sponsors the festival, which includes a showcase of local bluegrass talent and a gumbo cook-off, to raise funds for their training facility.

The facility, located on Logan Sewell Road, currently has a burn building and a small classroom on the site, Vidalia Fire Chief Jack Langston said.

In the future, the department hopes to build a drill tower, a confined space rescue area and a designated area for vehicle extrication, he said.

Bands scheduled for the festival Saturday include Flatland-Rush, Sandy Hill, McCall Creek and the Harrigills, and at 7 p.m. two-time bluegrass vocalist Alicia Nugent will perform.

The festival begins in earnest at 11 a.m. Saturday, with an all-day admission price of $5.

No admission will be charged for children younger than 10.

Entrants in the gumbo cook-off will have a $20 entry fee, as well as a $5 fee for 110V and $10 for 220V hook-ups.

The cook-off begins at 7 a.m. Saturday.

Gumbo tasters’ kits will be available for purchase, and the contest will award first, second and third place awards for gumbo, as well as a people’s choice award.

No alcohol will be permitted on the festival grounds.

For more information, contact the Vidalia Fire Department at 318-336-6262.