PorchFest Returns to Historic Springfield Next Saturday: Free Music on the Porches, Noon to 8, in Its 12th Year

One of Jacksonville's signature fall Saturdays is a week away. Jacksonville PorchFest returns for its 12th year on Saturday, November 7, from noon to 8 p.m. in Historic Springfield, Visit Jacksonville announced — a free, family-friendly music festival held on the welcoming front porches of the neighborhood just north of downtown.

Throughout the afternoon, dozens of bands perform on historic front porches throughout Jacksonville's oldest neighborhood and thousands of attendees fill the streets, the SPAR Council, which presents the festival, said. Visit Jacksonville puts the draw at more than 10,000 people. Alongside the music there are food trucks, beer and wine, and an arts vendor market where local artists, artisans and makers sell their work.

PorchFest began in 2014, and its first performer was Mama Blue, a Springfield native who has played porches across the neighborhood in the years since. The festival brings attention to Springfield's historic architecture and ongoing revitalization, Visit Jacksonville said, and proceeds support arts-related activities in Jacksonville's urban core — public art that includes the 'Welcome to Springfield' mural at First and Main Streets and the 'Giraffe' sculpture in Klutho Park, installed to commemorate the original site of the Jacksonville Zoo.

The festival is funded in whole or part by the City of Jacksonville, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and LISC Jacksonville, SPAR said. For neighbors, the appeal is the one a Springfield local described to Visit Jacksonville: people sharing their homes and front porches makes the crowd feel like part of a giant neighborhood family.