What's up, Jacksonville — and Happy Easter weekend!
This is one of those weekends where Jax really shows out. The 40th Clay County Fair opens TODAY, the Mandarin Art Festival is back, there's a massive Easter egg hunt downtown, Jumbo Shrimp baseball, Icemen hockey, Sporting Jax soccer, THREE big comedy shows, and Billy Strings down in St. Augustine. Let's get into it.
In today's edition:
🎪 The Clay County Fair Is BACK (It's the Big 4-0!)
🐣 Weekend Spotlight: Your Easter Weekend Guide
⚾ Jumbo Shrimp Weekend Wrap-Up
🏒 Icemen vs. Everblades (3 Games!)
⚽ Sporting Jax Soccer Double Header
🧺 Markets + Pop-Ups (5 This Weekend!)
🎶 Live Music + Big Shows
😂 Comedy
🎨 Arts + Community
👨👩👧 Family-Friendly
🔜 Springing the Blues Preview
🎪 The Clay County Fair Is BACK — and It's the Big 4-0!
The 40th Clay County Agricultural Fair opens TODAY and runs through April 12 in Green Cove Springs. They're celebrating with a "40 Sides of Fun" 80s throwback theme, and if you haven't been in a while — this is the year. They've drawn up to 170,000 people in past years.
This Weekend's Concerts (Cattlemen's Arena — included with admission):
Thu 4/2 — Curt Towne, Big Engine & Duval County Line (opening night!)
Fri 4/3 — Terri Clark
Sat 4/4 — George Birge
Sun 4/5 — Brett Young w/ Adam Calvert
Mon 4/6 — Crowder
VIP lounge seating available for a front-of-stage experience with food and drinks.
Don't miss: 40+ midway rides (grab discount armbands online before you go), racing pigs, frisbee dogs, the Early Florida Village with baby farm animals in the Little Red Barn, livestock exhibits, and fireworks Friday at 10 PM. Sensory-friendly Sunflower Hours Saturday 8–11 AM.
Details: Clay County Fairgrounds, 2493 SR-16 West, Green Cove Springs | Hours vary by day | FREE parking | Kids under 5 FREE Traffic tip: SR-16 gets rough on concert nights. New First Coast Expressway ramps just opened this week which should help — but arrive early. Download the SaferWatch app for real-time updates.
CHECK IT OUT HERE!
🐣 WEEKEND SPOTLIGHT: Your Easter Weekend Guide
Easter weekend in Jax is kind of ridiculous this year. Here's the quick-hit plan:
SATURDAY, APRIL 4:
Riverfront Palooza — 10 AM – 2 PM — Riverfront Plaza, Downtown Jax Jacksonville's BIGGEST Easter egg hunt — 15,000+ eggs across five age-group hunts, food trucks, face painting, DJ, puppet shows, Easter Bunny photos. FREE. Get there early, it gets packed. Bring your own basket.
58th Mandarin Art Festival — 10 AM – 5 PM — Mandarin Community Club, 12447 Mandarin Rd Running every Easter weekend since 1968. 100+ juried artists, green market, food court, live entertainment, children's art show, and a bake sale you will buy too much from. Beautiful grounds, $2 suggested donation. Free parking/shuttle at Masonic Lodge on Loretto Rd. (Back Sunday 10am–4pm.)
CHECK IT OUT HERE!
SUNDAY, APRIL 5:
Easter at the Ballpark — Jumbo Shrimp vs. Sugar Land — 2:05 PM — VyStar Ballpark My favorite Easter Sunday call. Pregame egg hunt, brunch picnic, Family FUNday, Kids Round the Bases. Last game of the Sugar Land homestand — here's your sign to GO.
Mandarin Art Festival Day 2 — 10 AM – 4 PM — Same spot. Hit it Sunday morning, then head to the ballpark. Pretty perfect Easter day.
⚾ Jumbo Shrimp vs. Sugar Land Space Cowboys
The defending Triple-A National Champs wrap up their first-ever Pacific Coast League series this weekend:
Fri 4/3 — 20 Years of "Getcha Head in the Game" Night — Friday Night Fireworks + $2 Miller Lites + Red Shirt Friday ($1 off if you wear red)
Sat 4/4 — Firework Saturday — Baseball + fireworks. Can't beat it.
Sun 4/5 — Easter at the Ballpark — 2:05 PM — Egg hunt + brunch picnic + Family FUNday + Kids Round the Bases
(Last chance to see them at VyStar until April 14 — they head to Norfolk after this.)
🏒 Icemen vs. Florida Everblades
Three-game homestand at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Great promo nights if you haven't been to an Icemen game yet:
Thu 4/2 — $3 Beer & Wine Night — 7 PM — Best happy hour deal in Jax sports.
Fri 4/3 — White Out Cancer Night — 7 PM — Luminaria ceremony, cancer awareness jersey auction. Donate $5+ Thursday to paint a loved one's name on the ice. Wear white.
Sat 4/4 — Hockey is for Everyone Night — 7 PM — Promoting inclusion on and off the ice. Special braille puck with your ticket.
⚽ Sporting Jax — Saturday Soccer Double Header!
Sporting Jax is playing TWO matches at Hodges Stadium (UNF) on Saturday. Brand new pro club, inaugural season — the atmosphere has been great.
Men (USL Championship) vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies — 7:30 PM — First in-state rivalry match of the men's inaugural season. Tampa Bay in Jax. You know what to do.
🧺 Markets + Pop-Ups
Great market weekend — you could hit a different one each day and not run out of things to browse.
Riverside Arts Market (RAM) — Sat 10 AM – 3 PM — 715 Riverside Ave, Under the Fuller Warren Bridge FIRST SATURDAY = First Saturday Brews. Free yoga at 9 AM, live music on the river stage, artists, makers, farmers, food trucks. Animal Care & Protective Services on-site with adoption info — fair warning, you might leave with a dog.
Beaches Green Market — Sat 10 AM – 2 PM — Penman Park, 321 Penman Rd, Jax Beach Local organic produce, fresh-cut flowers, locally roasted coffee, handcrafted soaps, local honey, handmade cheeses. One of those markets where you go in for tomatoes and come out with three bags. Love this one.
Mandarin Art Festival Green Market — Sat 10am–5pm & Sun 10am–4pm — Mandarin Community Club Part of the art festival (details above). More artisan, more curated than your typical farmers market — local products, plants, and handmade goods under the oaks.
Atlantic Beach Farmers Market — Sun 10 AM – 2 PM — Jack Russell Park, 800 Seminole Rd, Atlantic Beach 60+ vendors, farm-fresh produce, handmade jewelry, local art, baked goods. Playground right there for the kids. Great Easter Sunday warm-up before the ballpark.
Jacksonville Farmers Market — Open daily (Sat 7am–5pm, Sun 9am–4pm) — 1810 W. Beaver St The OG — largest and oldest in Northeast Florida. More traditional produce market, unbeatable prices, and specialty/ethnic items you won't find elsewhere. Plant selection is great right now if you're in spring planting mode.
🎶 Live Music + Big Shows
Stacked weekend for live music. I don't think I've seen a lineup this good across the region in a while:
Billy Strings — Thu–Sat (6:30 PM) — St. Augustine Amphitheatre Three sold-out nights at the Amp. If you've got tickets, you already know. (Every ticket generates $1 to Friends of Anastasia State Park.)
Stavros Halkias: The Dreamboat Tour — Fri 7 PM — Florida Theatre Just sold out Radio City Music Hall. Now he's here. If you like Stavvy's World, Fat Rascal, or just unapologetically funny stand-up — grab tickets before they're gone. I don't think he'll be playing rooms this size much longer.
Zarna Garg: Million Dollar Excuses — Fri 6 PM & 9 PM — Ponte Vedra Concert Hall Two shows! Her "Indian Mom" comedy has been blowing up. First headlining tour. Great girls' night option.
Demetri Martin: The Quick Draw Tour — Sat 5 PM — Ponte Vedra Concert Hall One of the smartest comics working. The 5 PM start makes it a perfect early date night — done by 7, grab dinner after.
😂 Comedy
Between Stavros, Zarna Garg, and Demetri Martin (above) — three nationally touring headliners across two venues in one weekend. That's rare for us.
Don D.C. Curry — Various dates — Comedy Zone, 3130 Hartley Rd — Check showtimes online.
🎨 Arts + Community
58th Mandarin Art Festival — Sat 10am–5pm & Sun 10am–4pm — Mandarin Community Club, 12447 Mandarin Rd (Details in Weekend Spotlight above.) Longest running juried art event in NE Florida. If you only do one "arts" thing this spring, make it this.
April First Wednesday Art Walk — Wed April 1 (5 PM) — James Weldon Johnson Park, Downtown You just missed it — mark next month!
Jax Pop Con Vol. 3 — Sat 10 AM — Jacksonville Main Library All-ages fandom and gaming event. Fun for the nerd in all of us.
👨👩👧 Family-Friendly
Riverfront Palooza — Sat 10 AM – 2 PM — Riverfront Plaza — 15,000+ eggs, five age-group hunts, crafts, face painting, Easter Bunny. FREE.
Easter at the Ballpark — Sun 2:05 PM — VyStar Ballpark — Egg hunt + brunch picnic + Family FUNday + Kids Round the Bases. THE play for Easter Sunday.
Mandarin Art Festival — Sat & Sun — Children's art show, green market, bake sale, outdoor vibes under the oaks.
Clay County Fair — Now through April 12 — 40+ rides, racing pigs, frisbee dogs, baby animals, concerts. Kids under 5 FREE.
The Oz Experience: Escape the Wicked Glitch! — Ongoing — Balis Park, 1999 San Marco Blvd — Immersive Wizard of Oz adventure for the whole family.
🔜 COMING UP: Springing the Blues!
The 34th Annual Springing the Blues Festival — April 10–12 at Seawalk Pavilion, Jacksonville Beach. Three days of world-class blues on the ocean — general admission is FREE. Friday from 5pm, Saturday and Sunday from noon.
VIP passes available if you want shaded front-of-stage seating and private restrooms (worth it for an all-day hang). Named one of the top 50 music festivals in the world by Downbeat Magazine. Full preview coming next week — don't sleep on those VIP passes.
CHECK IT OUT HERE!
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Talk soon and Happy Easter, Jax! — Austin