NATCHEZ — The Natchez Food and Wine Festival’s menu is a collaboration of a little bit of this and a little bit of that, Chair René Adams said.

“It’s a showcase of our region,” she said. “It’s a melting pot of what the river is all about.”

Natchez, Baton Rouge and New Orleans will bring the best of the best of its cuisine, from turtle to duck and biscuits and grits in the festival’s ninth year.

The genesis and revitalization of the festival began nine years ago when organizers decided Natchez needed an event during those last, slow, dog days of summer.

“This is kind of the last hoorah before school starts back,” event organizer Stratton Hall said. “A lot of out-of-towners are coming, which is the whole purpose of the Natchez Food and Wine Festival.”

Regina Charboneau, who is one of the festival’s founders, said event organizers have estimated the ratio between local and out-of-town attendance is 50:50.

Hall said participants seem to flock from New Orleans, Alexandria, Jackson and Baton Rouge.

“We have folks that are coming from all areas,” she said. “It’s a great weekend destination.”

And to keep the participants busy, festival organizers have a jam-packed weekend lined up.

Friday night is the Tastings Along the River at the Natchez Convention Center.

New Orleans-based restaurants Adelaide, Hotel Monteleone, Broussard’s and K’Paul’s will feature dishes, as will Tsunami from Baton Rouge.

Local participating restaurants are The Vue, The Castle, High Cotton, Pearl Street Pasta, Monmouth’s 1818, King’s Tavern, Natchez Manor and Planet Thailand.

Wine and beer vendors will provide samplings coupled with the cuisine, and Osgood & Blaque will provide the live entertainment.

“Friday night is going to be very exciting,” Hall said.

The beer vendors, which include Lazy Magnolia, NOLA Brewing Company and Southwest Distributors are some of the few breweries that will be participating — a new addition this year.

“It’s not strictly for beer heads or wine heads,” Hall said.

Afterwards, a private party for the chefs and ticket holders will take place at Bowie’s Tavern.

Tickets for the tasting are $50 advanced and $65 at the door. Tables of ten can be purchased for $500. Tickets include the after party at Bowie’s.

Hall said approximately 50 percent of the tasting tickets have already been sold.

Saturday begins bright and early at 8 a.m. at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center with the Martha White Biscuit Cook-Off, with music provided by the Bayou Blue Grass Band.

“We’ll get your toes tapping in the early morning,” Hall said.

Saturday’s Progressive Lunch and home tour begins at 11 a.m., and will move from The Bailey House, to Glen Auburn and end at The Merrill House.

“The progressive lunch is one of the favorites,” Charboneau said.

Indeed, almost all of the tickets for the progressive lunch have been sold out, Hall said.

The progressive lunch is $45 per person.

At 2 p.m. Saturday is a wine and cheese tasting at Dunleith, which is $45 person.

Russ Archer will be mixing up drinks at Under-the-Hill Saloon for two mixology classes at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The mixology class has plenty of tickets left, Hall said, and is $30 per person.

Saturday afternoon took some careful planning, she said, because when people look to participate in the festival, they want to enjoy multiple events.

“We’ve been reorganizing our times and we tried to stagger this year,” she said.

Saturday concludes with “An Invitation to the Natchez Table,” featuring full courses paired with wine at Monmouth, The Elms and Twin Oaks.

Tickets for the evening event are $85 per person.

Hall said nearly all of the tickets are sold out for Saturday night’s event.

“And then if that’s not enough for the weekend, we have a champagne jazz brunch at The Carriage House,” Hall said of the lone Sunday event.

For $50 a person, participants can enjoy brunch and music by Osgood & Blaque at The Carriage House at 11 a.m. and also at 12:30 p.m.

“It’s 100 people at each and tickets are selling out quick,” Hall said.

All tickets can be purchased at Natchez Pilgrimage Tours at 640 S. Canal St.

Tickets can be ordered over the phone at 601-446-6631 or 1-800-647-6742 or online at www.natchezpilgramage.com.

“We’d love to sell out on absolutely every event,” Hall said.

Adams said The Natchez Food and Wine Festival is a prime example of Natchez tourism and of many entities working together.

“The best thing about the food festival is it is so many people volunteering their time and so many different organizations working together to make it successful,” she said. “And that’s what Natchez Tourism is all about.”

And all those entities are already working together for next year’s festival, which will be its 10th anniversary.

“We’re already lining up some chefs for next year,” Hall said. “I can’t believe it’s been 10 years.”

The dates for next year are July 30 through Aug. 1.