JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Hundreds of music fans strolled the streets of Historic Springfield, just north of downtown Jacksonville, on Saturday as front porches across the neighborhood became stages for the 12th Jacksonville PorchFest.
More than 20 acts were booked to play between noon and 8 p.m. Listeners drifted from house to house, set up on lawns and sidewalks, grabbed food from trucks, sipped craft beer and browsed arts vendors set up along the blocks. The festival costs nothing to attend and is aimed at families.
Springfield Preservation and Revitalization, the nonprofit behind the event, has worked to improve life in the historic district since 1974. Organizers bill Springfield as the city’s oldest front-porch neighborhood and use the day to draw attention to its old homes and its ongoing comeback.
Money from PorchFest goes back into public art and amenities in the urban core. Since the first festival in 2014, it has paid for more than a dozen projects, among them murals, sculptures and painted crosswalks. The City of Jacksonville and the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville are among the event’s funders.
Maps of the porches, the performers and parking were posted online and handed out at a welcome tent, and the lineup spanned a wide range of musical styles from local talent. Gateway Jax, the developer building the Pearl Square mixed-use project nearby, returned as presenting sponsor. Its chief executive, Bryan Moll, called the festival a beloved neighborhood tradition and said the company, as Springfield’s newest neighbor, wants to help celebrate the culture of the city’s urban neighborhoods.
Filed under: Jacksonville FL Neighborhood News