One day before the festivities begin, organizers for the 28th RiverFest are watching the weather forecasts and hoping the South’s fickle spring weather patterns will bring good weather for the weekend.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed and praying,” RiverFest president Christy Pecanty said, adding there is no backup date for the annual arts and crafts and music festival. She said the last time a RiverFest was rained out was 10 years ago.

RiveFest begins Friday evening and continues through Saturday night, and the weather forecast for both days is not promising.

According to the National Weather Service in Jackson, the Friday forecast calls for rain with a high temperature in the upper 70s with a thundershower. Saturday’s forecast is identical to Fridays, and none of the events scheduled to go on during RiverFest are indoors with the exception of the Alcorn State University Jazz Festival, which is not affiliated with RiverFest.

“This weather can change on a whim,” Pecanty said. “We’re hoping something changes.”

RiverFest begins at 6 p.m. Friday with concerts on the festival’s South Stage at the corner of Crawford Street and Washington Street. Music starts on the North Stage by China Street at 7 p.m., with events and activities continuing Saturday with the arts and crafts show, food vendors and other attractions on Washington and Walnut streets. The event ends Saturday night with a series of performances by musical groups on both stages. Admission is $10 each night.

Headliner for this year’s event is Texas-born and raised country singer and multi-instrumentalist Craig Wayne Boyd, who was the seventh-season winner of the television show “The Voice” in 2014. Boyd and his band will lead a list of 12 musical acts performing at RiverFest.