The Charles Templeton Ragtime Jazz Festival is sponsored by the University Library and the Charles Templeton Sr. Music Museum as a means of enhancing the research in the area of ragtime music, increasing the awareness of the Templeton collection housed in the MSU Library and introducing people to the sounds of Ragtime being performed by world-renowned ragtime musicians.

The festival is comprised of a blend of major concerts, mini-concerts, seminars and tours of the Music Museum. Seminars will be held in Mitchell Memorial Library and major concerts will be held at the McComas Hall Auditorium on the MSU Campus.

The 2014 Festival will be held March 28-29, 2014 at Mississippi State University. Jeff Barnhart, internationally renowned pianist and entertainer, will serve as the festival's Artistic Director.