Beginning Thursday night, Fontainebleau State Park will host one of the biggest charitable events on the Northshore – the Mandeville Seafood Festival.

Food, crafts, music, contests and events for children will continue a tradition that started in 1979.

Thursday night the gates will open at 5:30 p.m. for “Country in the Park” featuring Mark Chesnutt and Sammy Kershaw as headliners. Local favorites Christian Serpas & Ghost Town will also perform and the Red Bull Girls will make an appearance. Friday, Saturday and Sunday the gates will open at 11 a.m. with the festivities beginning at noon. Friday and Saturday night the fest will close at midnight and will close at 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

Friday there will be a variety of music beginning with Jon Gill; Rick, Ricky and Friends; Coscino, Bout It Brass Band, Clockwerk, No Idea, Four Unplugged and The Boogiemen.

Saturday’s Line-up includes Mike Epstein, SoulScript, Abita Blues Band, Redline, Band Camp, Soul Revival, Supercharger and Bag of Donuts. The music coordinated fireworks display will take place at 8:45 p.m., followed by Bag of Donuts.

Sunday Chad Reeves starts the entertainment with Detective Fish, Blues Station, Christian Serpas & Ghost Town, The Radiators, The Top Cats and Five Finger Discount.

The Louisiana Lagniappe section of the festival will benefit KidSense, a non-profit group that builds playgrounds for special needs children at public schools.

In addition to a rock-climbing wall and crafts, Papillion and Radio Disney will provide musical entertainment. Inflatables and games will also be available as well as Tom “Strong Bull” Varnado and his tepee, raffles, a silent auction and other surprises, including a search and rescue dog team.

This year’s poster was created by Mandeville High School junior Hannah Goodgion.

The Northshore Kiwanis Club donates the proceeds of the $43 poster to children’s charities, including the Buddy Bear program for terminally ill children, Coats for Kids, Operation Christmas Child, scholarship programs at local high schools and children organizations such as Hope House and K-Bar-B.

The Mandeville Idol contest will be back as well with registration extended until July 2. Talented vocalists from 9-17 years of age are invited to participate by calling 624-9762 for more information.

Beneficiaries of the festival include KidSense, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, Bucks for Fire Trucks, City of Mandeville, St. Tammany Fire District 4, American Heart Association St. Tammany West Chapter, LaSAR Search Dog Team, St. Tammany Sheriff’s Reserve Division, The Thomas L. Young Auxiliary of Southeast Louisiana Hospital, Mandeville Trailhead Foundation, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Safe Harbor, Hope House Children’s Advocacy Center, St. Tammany Association for Retarded Citizens and St. Tammany Hospital Foundation.

Tickets for Thursday night are $30 in advance and $40 at the gate. Admission to the park is $15 per day, $10 advance sale and under 10 admitted free. In addition, a four-day ticket is $50 in advance.

Parking will be available at Fontainebleau State Park with overflow parking available at Monteleone Junior High School.

Shuttle buses will run throughout the parking lot areas about every 30 minutes.