E. Jackson to Close Tonight for ‘Eat in the Street’ Event

East Jackson Avenue will be closed at midnight to traffic from the Courthouse Square to 9th Street for the Eat in the Street event on Saturday.

Any cars left on the street will be towed at the owner’s expense beginning at 4 a.m.

The DHS lot and one row of parking near the parking garage will also be closed from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Eat in the Street will feature several activities, live music and great food to celebrate the opening of the newly designed East Jackson Avenue.

Get your stretch on

Start the morning with Yoga in the Street at 8 a.m. with Lydia Siniard Foster. Bring your yoga mat and get your yoga on in the street in front of Visit Oxford.

Family-friendly activities

From 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., a balloon artist will be set up on the lawn of Visit Oxford creating balloon art for children. From 1-4 p.m., Ole Miss Athletics will have interactive games for young Rebel fans. This setup will be located in the parking lot behind Olive Juice Kids, next to Visit Oxford. Members of the athletics department will be present to meet and greet and to distribute promotional posters for the upcoming season.

Small bites

With tables and chairs lining the middle of East Jackson Avenue, patrons can grab food from “small bites” menus around the Square and, quite literally, eat in the street. Participating restaurants offering special menu items include Saint Leo, Moe’s BBQ and SoLa. As more join in the coming weeks, Visit Oxford will add them to online promotions and throughout their social media.

Live Music

Live music will kick off with Jimbo Mathus and the Dial Back Sounds taking the stage at 5 p.m; Mathus is a local singer-songwriter and guitarist who has played the Double Decker Arts Festival several times, the latest being in 2018 as part of the Squirrel Nut Zippers band.

Memphis soul gospel queen Elizabeth King will take the stage next. King recorded her first single in 1970 but didn’t release her first full-length album, Living in the Last Days, until 2021.

The headliner for ‘Eat in the Street’ is Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors who will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. An Americana act hailing from Nashville, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors have sold over 150,000 albums to date and played over 2,000 concert dates in seven countries.

Staff report