By Blake Deshazo
The Selma Times-Journal

Kenan’s Mill, one of a few functioning mills in the United States, will be up and running Saturday for its 15th annual fall festival.

Sylvia Smith, Kenan’s Mill chairman, said the festival is a chance to show off the mill and the way people used to live when the mill was built in the 1800s.

“There are a lot of festivals, but when we redid the mill after it was given to us, we wanted something to kind of give people more of a reason to come than just to see the mill,” Smith said.

The festival will feature live music from local acts The Grasshopper Band and Jesse James Crowe, stone-ground cornmeal and grits, arts and crafts vendors and children’s activities.

“It’s just kind of old-timey stuff out in the country to relax, have a little music, food and games,” Smith said.

“We started it really to show the mill because not too many of those old water-powered grist mills exist anymore.”

Smith said the festival also gives people a chance to see what the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society has done over the years to maintain the mill and make it an attraction.

“We’ve added a lot of things out there. If people haven’t come in a while they might be surprised because we’ve added a bandstand,” Smith said.

“When we first started we just didn’t have those things. The first year we had it the band stood on a couple of wood pallets and sang without any mics. We’ve been adding amenities to make it nice over the years.”

Smith said there will be homemade apple cider made from an old-fashioned press, a hayride, train ride and many other activities, including old-fashioned games like three-legged and sack races.

The festival is from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Admission is $5 per person and $2 for children 11 and younger.