The Downtown Crawfish Jam Music Festival to celebrate “Girl Power” and promote Ovarian Cancer Awaren
This is a press release from the DCJ Committee.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The 20th annual Downtown Crawfish Jam Music Festival (DCJ) presented in part by Southern Beverage, is set for April 21, 2018 at Walthall Park. DCJ is one of several fun neighborhood events hosted by the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood throughout the year and serves as their largest fundraiser for the Walthall Foundation.
This year's festival is dedicated to long-time neighborhood resident and an original member of the festival committee, Debi Davenport who is currently battling Ovarian Cancer.
“We knew we wanted to do something special this year in honor of the 20th Anniversary,” said Festival Chairman, Brian Saffle. “We were playing with the “All-Girl” line up idea at the end of last year when we started booking our music, but we weren’t really sure how we wanted to tie in the “Girl Power/ Strong Woman” theme. Then a couple weeks ago, Debi was diagnosed of Ovarian cancer, and we just knew we had to make that a central theme.”
In an effort to raise awareness and also to raise money for the Debi Davenport Ovarian Cancer Awareness Fund, we will have an Ovarian Cancer Awareness booth at the event providing information, and teal ribbon merchandise for sale. There will be a raffle for a commemorative DCJ-18 poster and T-Shirt signed by all of the bands. Additionally, $10 of every DCJ-18 event t-shirt sold will go to the Debi Davenport Ovarian Cancer Awareness
Walthall Park located in the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood in Downtown Hattiesburg. This, pay-one-price music festival features an exciting mix of musical acts - featuring four All-Girl bands- including Abigail Lenz-Allen’s Sugarmouth, Eden Brent, Maggie Koerner, and the Original Pinettes brass band as well as all-you-can-eat: crawfish, burger, hot dogs, Coke products and cold beer! [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] The festival will kick off this year at 8 a.m. with the Annual USM CPSG's (Council Psychology Student Government)Voodoo (Zombie) 5K run. The Voodoo run will take place on Saturday morning, at 8 a.m. in downtown Hattiesburg, ending at Walthall Park at 9:30 a.m. prior to the start of the Downtown Crawfish Jam. For more details about the 5K, visit their facebook page at www.facebook.com/CPSG5Krun.
Music is set to start at noon a.m. and run until 5:30 p.m. featuring Sugarmouth, Eden Brent, Maggie Koerner, and the Original Pinettes brass band.The Downtown Crawfish Jam (DCJ) also offers, boiled crawfish, hot dogs, sausage dogs and hamburgers, soft drinks and beer, a Kids Zone with various slides and jumps for kids of all ages, and a family friendly atmosphere. Also available in the kids zone will be Bop's Frozen Custard selling ice cream and a snow cone vendors.
Walthall Park (located at 600 Walnut Street at the intersection with Rebecca Avenue Advanced Tickets are on sale now at dcj-hburg.blogspot.com. Ticket outlets at the following locations will be avlailable starting April 1st: Twin Forks Wine & Provisions- 409 Hemphill Street, Downtown; T-Bones Records - 2101 Hardy Street, Midtown; and Signs First - 4400 Hardy Street, West Hattiesburg. Advanced Tickets are: Junior Ticket $30 (under 21) and Adult Ticket $40 (includes admission plus all-you-can-eat and drink). Valid I.D. required at the gate to receive the "all you can drink beer" wristband. Day of the event tickets will be $50 for adults, $30 for under 21, and children 10 and under are admitted free and get a limited food ticket. All tickets are all-inclusive. (Crawfish Guaranteed until 3pm only)
MUSIC LINE UP
11:00 - SugarMouth
12:30 – Eden Brent
2:30 – Maggie Koerner
4:00 – Original Pinettes Bass Band
“Pets, tents and coolers will not be allowed in this year,” said Brian Saffle, DCJ Chairman. “We are expecting a large crowd this year, so we are making every effort to make sure our guest enjoy the day. Rain or shine the event will happen, but we are all praying for a beautiful spring day,” said Saffle.
Parking for this year’s event will be made easier as well thanks to Sacred Heart School and Grove Transit. Parking will be available at the Sacred Heart High School campus located at the corner of West Pine and 2nd Ave, as well as the church parking lot, and Grove Transit will shuttle people throughout the day back and forth between the parking lots and the Walthall Park. Visitors should be aware that there will be limited parking on the streets in the neighborhood. Walnut Street will be closed off between Hall Avenue and Rebecca Avenue and Rebecca Ave will be closed between Walnut St and Court St.
Proceeds from the Festival are reinvested in the community through the HHNA and Walthall Foundation; providing support for projects and events in the Downtown Hattiesburg area. Some of these projects include Historic Preservation Projects and upkeep of the Walthall property as well as, events like the Victorian Candlelit Christmas.
For more information: online visit www.DCJ-hburg.blogspot.com or find us on Facebook at Downtown Crawfish Jam or email info@hattiesburghistoricneighborhood.com.
[endif]
