Mark your calendar and plan to bring your family to the fifth annual Leeds Downtown Folk Festival & John Henry Celebration on Saturday, Sept. 15, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 16, from noon to 6 p.m.—rain or shine. Admission and parking are free to the public.

The Alabama Board of Tourism has named this two-day festival in historic Leeds, Ala., one of the top 10 tourism events in the state during the month of September.

According to Festival Planning Committee Chairman Jeff Falletta, the outdoor festival will feature a juried art show with demonstrators, live music and entertainment, a variety of children’s activities, an antique car show and lots of regional and ethnic food.

A special event planned for this year’s festival is a symposium that will examine updated evidence for John Henry in Leeds. An African-American railroad man, Henry is believed to have died after winning a contest with a steam drill as the company he worked for blasted through two tunnels south of Leeds in the 1880s. The symposium will be held at the Leeds Historic Depot.

Leeds is conveniently located about 15 miles east of Birmingham, about 45 miles from Anniston and about 60 miles from Gadsden. The festival site in downtown Leeds is only two miles south of I-20 exit 140. Locals and visitors alike are invited. You may want to bring a folding chair and stay all day.

If you would like to be a sponsor of the festival, to register for the juried art show or antique car show, or to volunteer to help, please call 205-699-1892 or visit the festival’s website at www.leedsfolkfestival.org for more information.