PorchFest

Name: PorchFest
Start: 2024-11-09
Location: Northwest Quadrant of Historic Springfield

This music festival is held on the welcoming front porches of Historic Springfield.

Jacksonville PorchFest is a family-friendly, free event featuring musicians from a wide variety of genres and draws over 10,000 people to the neighborhood. The ninth annual Jacksonville PorchFest will have food and art vendors, over 20 bands and performing artists will be playing from 12pm - 8pm in the Northwest Quadrant of Historic Springfield (between Main Street and Perry Street, 8th Street and 10th Street). PorchFest brings important attention to Springfield’s historic architecture and ongoing revitalization and highlights the breadth of musical talent in Jacksonville. Proceeds from the festival support public arts in Jacksonville’s Urban Core.

PorchFest Through The Eyes Of A Springfield Local

Catalina Alers-Alers, Springfield local, says "It just feels homey and very comfortable. If I go to a festival at the beaches, it feels like I can get lost in the crowd. At PorchFest, you feel part of the crowd because people are sharing their homes and front porches with you. Even though you’re not going inside the house, it makes you feel like part of a giant neighborhood family."

The Springfield neighborhood is unlike any other. Catalina says "It’s such a cool feeling to walk right outside my steps and there’s all this activity and buzz going on in the neighborhood." Springfield really comes to life during PorchFest and it's a beautiful thing.

PorchFest is also a great way to explore the Springfield Historic District. For those who have never visited the neighborhood, this event embodies the welcoming, celebratory feeling its residents exude year-round. This event brings important attention to Springfield’s historic architecture and ongoing revitalization and highlights the breadth of musical talent here in Jacksonville.

PorchFest Through The Eyes Of A Performer

Mama Blue is a native of Springfield and her history is embedded in the fabric of this historic neighborhood. She was also the first performer to take the stage in PorchFest's inaugural year in 2014. “The best place to perform is at home,” she says. “I grew up here; my soul thrives here. It’s hard enough to get the world to see Jacksonville, but for Jacksonville and the state to know about PorchFest and our 'hood, I’m overwhelmed.”

Mama Blue has performed all over the neighborhood on various porches. She says every host she met felt "like family." The freedom to interact with people in the audience, has allowed her to connect with them on an even deeper level. “Every porch is like a cousin’s house. 'Grab a plate!’ or ‘Do you need anything?’ If something comes up, we band together, set it right, and let the good times roll! There’s been times when we'd overload breakers and we’d play acoustic! We’re so excited to be making good music together,” Mama Blue says, "we use what mother nature gave us and keep it' groovin'!"

As a Springfield native, Mama Blue has seen the area change and grow over the years. For her, PorchFest is when we get to celebrate our growth, spotlight the community, reconnect with veteran attendees & welcome new festival goers.“The culture here is deep, diverse, rich, and vibrant, even in it's old age! Our Springfield is a beautiful garden with seeds, clippings, and transplants from all over. Seeing how PorchFest has grown and flourished here, there is no question that Springfield is somethin' really special. Her people, constant gardeners, sowing and harvesting seeds of love, kindness, tolerance, kinship, acceptance, and gratitude,” she explains.

For those who have never been to PorchFest, Mama Blue says “no words give justice to the experience, but one thing is for sure: you’ll be fed. Food for thought, food for soul, and the vendors will definitely make you whole, with tasty treats and liquid libations! No doubt, you'll leave so happy that you came!"“It's an experience you’ve never had, if you’ve never been. When I tell you there’s love, community, camaraderie, respect, friendship (and did I say love?) here since this festival began, I feel like I’ve never met a stranger! You just have to come, I promise you’ll LOVE IT!”

To find Mama Blue’s music, visit her website at www.mamabluesings.com.

PorchFest Through The Eyes of a Dog

Just how dog-friendly is PorchFest? A local pup provides some insight below.

My humans always leash me up and take me with them to PorchFest, and there’s so much to see. There are new people everywhere — they’re singing and making music on all the front porches, eating (and dropping, my favorite) delicious foods from brightly colored trucks, and giving me lots of pets when they walk by.

I love living in Springfield. I get to go on walks past houses with hundreds of years of smells, through our green parks full of squirrels and geese to bark at and into many of our local businesses! But PoochFest is definitely the best day of the year for dogs to visit our neighborhood.