After COVID-19 canceled it last year and caused it to be postponed from its normal May date this year, Market Street Festival is moving forward.
Market Street Festival, one of Lowndes County’s largest festivals, will be held Sept. 17 and 18 in downtown Columbus. Named a top event of the Southeast for the last 20 years, Market Street is ready to bring back visitors and economic impact to Columbus after a year off, Main Street Columbus Director Barbara Bigelow told Columbus Exchange Club members Thursday at Lion Hills Center.
“It’s still our 25th anniversary,” Bigelow said. “It’s just a year late.”
The festival will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 with a concert and parade through downtown. Activities continue the following day beginning at 8 a.m. with the Market Street Mardi Gras 5K and various other events throughout the day. Children’s activities will be available and more than a dozen musical acts will perform throughout the weekend.
About 224 arts and crafts vendors will sell products at the festival, Bigelow said, filling almost every spot available. Food, drink and beer vendors will also be stationed throughout the festival area.
Bigelow said Market Street is Main Street Columbus’ largest fundraiser of the year, funding a third of the organization’s yearly budget. Because the festival was canceled last year, she said Main Street needs this event in order to operate.
“We were so fortunate at Main Street because I have a great board of directors who guide me wonderfully, and we had a reserve to fall back on,” Bigelow said. “Now, I need to replenish our reserve, and I need to also build our budget for this year because we still have several months left in the year and a lot of activities coming up that we need to fund.”
Originally planned for May 2020, Market Street’s 25th Anniversary has been rescheduled three times in an effort to ensure the safety of Columbus residents and visitors. While COVID-19 cases are still prominent throughout the state, Bigelow said safety is of utmost importance, and Main Street is watching guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local officials, taking all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus throughout the event.
“We are moving forward as safely as possible,” Bigelow said. “… We are going to encourage masks. We are going to encourage distancing. We will have hand sanitizer stations throughout. We will be doing everything we can to make it the safest possible. We feel our community needs this festival.”
Nearly 400 individuals will volunteer to ensure the event runs smoothly.
Ten years ago, Mississippi State University Extension Service conducted a survey on the economic impact and participation of the festival. Bigelow said Extension determined over 34,000 visitors attended the event, and it brought in $7.32 million of revenue.
“The festival has grown since then,” Bigelow said. “We have more vendors than we had 10 years ago. We have expanded the boundaries of the festival. We have doubled the children’s activities. I’m pretty sure our economic impact has also increased.”
Bigelow said Columbus is ready for an outdoor event like this.
“It’s a great time to get outdoors and enjoy our downtown and our community,” Bigelow said. “All of the vendors we have spoken with are anxious to come back. It’s just a fun time. We invite people to come out and enjoy the festival.”
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