Break out your sunscreen, flip flops and your favorite Jimmy Buffett song.
Main Street Columbus Executive Director Barbara Bigelow said this year’s Market Street Festival is set for May 3-4. It will be kicking off with a “Market-ritaville” themed party at the Roger Short Soccer Complex, complete with food, vendors and Jimmy Buffett tribute band, Bluffett.
“We want everyone to come in costume and just enjoy a fun evening,” Bigelow said. “Jimmy Buffett’s concerts were super, super fun, so we hope this is also super, super fun for everybody.”
The party kicks off on May 3 at 5:30 p.m., while the concert starts at 7 p.m., Market Street Festival Coordinator Amber Brislin said.
The next day, Market Street Festival will take over downtown from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Bigelow said. This year, she and Brislin expect the festival to take up 12 city blocks downtown, including 220 arts, crafts and food vendors and two music stages.
“It’s the biggest celebration of Columbus,” Brislin said. “It’s a weekend for Columbus to shine, and it’s a weekend for everyone to come out and enjoy all that the festival has to offer, and things you can only get at the festival.”
Brislin said the festival will include vendors from all over selling almost “anything you can think of,” from pottery to hand painted crafts to hairbows. There will also be a wide variety of food offerings, including Mediterranean cuisine, Indian food, homemade ice cream, and classic festival food.
This year’s musical lineup, which will be playing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., includes Suzuki Strings, Trent Jones, Gillis Guitar Studio Students, Tyler Marsh, Jessica Horton, Paul Brady, Revive Worship, The Dawn Barham Band, Mississippi Mason, The Old Memphis Kings and Artistik.
There will also be a car show including about 50 to 60 cars throughout the day, Bigelow said.
Bigelow said she expects the festival to draw about 30-35,000 attendees, including both local residents and out-of-town visitors. How large the festival has gotten, Brislin said, shows how invested Columbus citizens’ investment in this annual tradition that has been going on since 1996.
“It’s grown to be what it is today because of the community investment and what it means for Columbus,” Brislin said. “And it shows how much people care about downtown because it’s such a large fundraiser for downtown.”
Bigelow said the festival has a “huge” economic impact on the city. In a 2011 study by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, it was estimated that 34,000 visitors spent an estimated $7.32 million. Bigelow said that economic impact only swelled more over time, reaching $7.9 million just a “few years ago.”
With how large the festival has gotten, Bigelow said, Main Street Columbus is always looking for more volunteers to get involved. The festival takes anywhere between 250-300 volunteers to pull off, both leading up to the event and on the day-of.
“Volunteers and sponsors, we could not do the festival without them,” Bigelow said. “And I know people say that all the time, but it’s true. And we have many volunteers– and I think this is what makes the festival so successful– who are return volunteers that have worked 16, 18, 20 years … on this festival.”
Bigelow said Main Street Columbus is also still accepting late vendor applications with an additional $50 fee, but spaces are going fast. For more information on how to volunteer or become a vendor, follow Main Street Columbus on Facebook or go to the Main Street Columbus office.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
