FERRIDAY — Bringing life back to downtown Ferriday has been a dream of Mayor Glen McGlothin for decades.

And even though he’ll be leaving office right as his dream comes true, nothing can beat seeing an old run down building on First Street transformed into a central hub for Ferridians.

During the next few weeks, the Will Haney Ferriday Music Hall will receive last minute touch ups before its grand opening on May 26.

The building, also referred to as the Ferriday Festival Pavilion, sits on 3.1 acres of land the town owns across from Rockabilly Plaza.

Equipped with seven open spaces for farmers or flea market vendors, a concert stage area and a commercial kitchen, McGlothin said it’s a

multipurpose building that he hopes will bring more people to the downtown area.

“It was always a dream of mine to have live music and a building for the community in downtown,” McGlothin said. “This building can be used for anything from a music festival to a wedding reception to a family reunion.”

The $785,000 project was funded by an $800,000 state capital outlay grant.

McGlothin said Ferriday needs to embrace its musical heritage and cater to the economic development it can bring to the town.

“Everything is geared toward tourism and music because that’s really what we have right now,” McGlothin said. “We’re not landing a bunch of large companies, so we need to work with our strengths and keep people coming to Ferriday.”

Petron Inc. of Alexandria handled revamping the building and contractors are working to finish electrical and pluming details before fire marshal approval.

McGlothin said there are two buildings adjacent to the new music hall that can also be used to boost downtown in the future.

McGlothin said he has invited Gov. Bobby Jindal, as well as other state and federal officials who have contributed to the project, for the grand opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be an all day event and we hope to have a good turnout,” McGlothin said. “This is going to be a great asset for Ferriday.”