The Peter Anderson Festival, the largest fine arts festival in Mississippi and one of the largest in the southeast, will kickoff Saturday morning, with more than 150,000 people expected to attend the event in downtown Ocean Springs on the Mississippi coast.

Voted Festival of the Year in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society, the Peter Anderson Festival is now in its 45th year, with an estimated 400 arts, crafts and food vendors participating, including a large number of Alabama artisans. The festival has an estimated economic impact of about $25 million for the Mississippi coast.

The event began in 1978 as a means to increase public awareness of local artists. The festival is named in honor of Peter Anderson, the original potter of Shearwater Pottery, founded in 1928.

The inaugural event featured just 56 booths in the chamber of commerce parking lot.

“When we started out, it was mostly to get the local artists to come out and show their wares,” said Margaret Anderson, daughter of Peter Anderson and the festival’s driving force for 26 years. “It went really well.”

That’s an understatement. This weekend, the 400 or more booths will run up and down Washington Avenue and along Government Street as virtually the entire downtown Ocean Springs area is turned over to the festival.

For those interested in attending the festival, here’s what you need to know:

• Hours: The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. There is no admission fee, but donations are accepted at each of the three main access points on Government Street and Washington Avenue.
• Parking: Park-and-ride services are available and encouraged, with parking available at Ocean Springs Upper Elementary and Oak Park Elementary on Government Street and Greyhound Stadium. on Hanley Road. Shuttles will run from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., picking up attendees and dropping them off at either the eastern Government Street entrance to the festival or on Porter Avenue near City Hall.
• Festival guide: The festival guide, which includes all vendor information, available food booth and live music offerings, will be available at each of the main entrances and can also be found along with other information at the festival website.

The City of Ocean Springs, in conjunction with the festival, closes numerous streets for the festival beginning at 3 a.m. Saturday to allow vendors to begin setting up booths. The roads within the festival footprint will remain closed for the duration of the festival, reopening by 7 p.m. or at the discretion of Ocean Springs police.

Motorists on U.S. 90 or traveling south on North Washington Avenue should be prepared for delays at the Washington Avenue/U.S. 90 intersection due to the closure of Washington south of the highway.

The road closures include:

• Washington Avenue from Calhoun Street to U.S. 90
• Government Street from Washington Avenue to Magnolia Street
• Porter Avenue from Bellande Avenue to Jackson Avenue
• DeSoto Street from Cash Alley to Church Street
• Bellande Avenue from Bowen Avenue to Government Street (intersections only)
• Kotzum Avenue from Bowen Avenue to Government Street (intersections only)
• Robinson Street will be open only to business and residential traffic.

Golf carts, skateboards and bicycles are not allowed within the festival grounds.