POMEROY — After five weeks of Friday night Rhythm on the River concerts, the grand finale of the Pomeroy Blues & Jazz Society’s summer music series comes to a climax this weekend with the always popular Big Bend Blues Bash featuring artists from across the country.

Events begin Thursday at 7 p.m. with a free acoustic blues night featuring C&S Railroad at 7 p.m., Izzy and Chris at 8 p.m. and Patrick Sweany at 9 p.m.

Friday night is the Big Bend Blues Competition where a dozen or so bands will compete for $1000 in cash and the opportunity to go to the international contest later this year. Tickets for the full evening of entertainment will be $5.

The main event comes on Saturday when entertainment will begin in the afternoon and continue into the night all for the price of $15. Saturday’s artists will be Blackberry Jam performing on the main stage at 1 p.m. The Blue Z Band at 2 p.m., Ricky Gene Hall at 3 p.m. Frank Harrison at 4 p.m. Alvin Jett and Band at 6 p.m., Will Kimbrough at 8 p.m. and climaxing with the ever-popular blues singer Nora Jean Bruso at 10 p.m.

Again this year a cornhole tournament will be held as a part of the Blues Bash activities. On Friday night there will be a singles tournament starting at 6 p.m. Sign up will be at 5:30, and costs $20 a person which includes admission to the concert with 100 percent payback of the entry fees.

Saturday will feature a doubles tournament with a $500 cash prize for first place. The entry fee is $60 per team and this too includes the admission to concerts. Signup time is 1:30 p.m. with games to begin at 2 p.m. Again there will 100 percent payback of entry fees. Butch Meier, one of the organizers reported that last year the tournament paid out $500, $400, $300 and $100 in prize money.

Something new this year is a Blues School for Kids to be held on Saturday, Aug. 1, in the Court Street mini-park.

Free harmonicas will be provided and there will be a free lunch for all the kids 12 and under attending the Blues School. Two sessions will be offered, one in the morning from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and one in the afternoon from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m.

Ron Sowell and Todd Burge will have charge of the Blues School and will discuss harmonica basics and lead the kids through a performance of an original Blues song which will be written during the first session. At 2:45 p.m. Sowell and Burge will present an original Blues song written earlier in the day during the Blues songwriting and harmonica workshop with the Blues kids on the main stage at the Big Bend Blues Bash.