The 24nd Annual Downtown Crawfish Jam Music Festival, Hattiesburg’s Original Crawfish and Music Festival, presented in part by Southern Beverage, is set for April 15, at Walthall Park. DCJ is one of the several fun neighborhood events hosted by the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood throughout the year and serves as their most significant fundraiser for the Walthall Foundation.
The Downtown Crawfish Jam is a pay-one-price music festival that features an exciting mix of musical acts starting at 11 am. The musical acts include 18-Miles band, Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble, Holly Rumbarger and the New Relics, and Backwater Brass. In addition to the bands, there’s all-you-can-eat: crawfish, burgers, hot dogs, Coke products and cold beer!
The Downtown Crawfish Jam offers a family-friendly atmosphere fit for all ages. Tickets are available on-line at dcjhburg.com and at the following locations:
T-Bones Records - 2101 Hardy Street, Midtown;
and Signs First - 4400 Hardy Street, West Hattiesburg.
Advanced Tickets
- Adult Ticket $50 (includes admission plus all-you-can-eat and drink)
- Junior Ticket $40 (under 21)
- Kids 12 and under free
Valid I.D. required at the gate to receive the "all you can drink beer" wristband. All tickets are all-inclusive. (Crawfish Guaranteed until 3 pm only)
“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.
Visitors should be aware that there will be limited parking on the streets in the neighborhood.
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.DCJhburg.com or find us on Facebook at Downtown Crawfish Jam or email info@dcjhburg.com.
The History of The Downtown Crawfish Jam
Originally called Medical Mudbugs, the Downtown Crawfish Jam was started as a fundraiser to support various non-profits in the Pine Belt. In 1999, a few medical professionals gathered near Lake Sehoy, at the now closed Van Hook Golf Course for an afternoon of music, food, and fundraising. This event was so successful; it was immediately decided to continue it on an annual basis. Medical Mudbugs, now the Downtown Crawfish Jam, has since developed into an event geared toward raising money for the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood’s Walthall Foundation.
In 2011, The Downtown Crawfish Jam took our neighborhood crawfish boil to new heights. With a committee of committed volunteers, the DCJ set out to become this area’s premier, family friendly music festival. Featuring great local and regional music and great food, we are proud to say we succeeded. “What began as a conversation around the water cooler over 20 years ago as a way to help out our community and have fun at the same time has become that, but on a scale that none of us could have envisioned,” said founder Dave Ware. “Thanks to the continued generosity of our sponsors, we are able to support Hattiesburg’s oldest neighborhood, while celebrating our area as Mississippi’s cultural destination.”
This year, the annual music event takes place on Saturday, April 15. The festival will kick off this year at 10:30 a.m. with music starting at 11:00am. This year’s lineup features the 18-Miles band, Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble, Holly Rumbarger and the New Relics, and Blackwater Brass. The Downtown Crawfish Jam also offers boiled crawfish, hot dogs, sausage dogs and hamburgers, soft drinks and beer, a Kids Zone with jumps for kids of all ages, and a family friendly atmosphere.
History of Walthall School and Park
Tucked away in the middle of the Historic Neighborhood of Downtown Hattiesburg is a little-known beacon from the early life of the Hub City. Since its construction in the early 1900s, the Walthall School and adjacent Walthall Park have sustained the Historic Downtown Neighborhood through service and shelter in education, community events, residency, and more.
For the past 18 years, members of the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood Association have devised their own innovative ways to restore and sustain this landmark location while remaining true to the spirit through which Walthall School and park came to existence.
How Walthall Came To Be
The historic Walthall School is one of the oldest and most important cultural and architectural landmarks of the city and has been a cornerstone of educational, cultural, and civic activity in the Historic Neighborhood since the building originally opened as Court Street School in 1902. Although very few who have visited know, a plaque on the Walthall School building commemorates the 1907 gathering at Court Street School, the first Parent and Teacher Association meeting ever held in Mississippi. The school served the community as an educational and civic facility until Hattiesburg Public Schools voted to close it in 1987.
After its closing, The Mississippi Department of Archives and History designated Walthall School as a Mississippi Landmark Structure in 1988, citing its pioneering role in fostering relationships between educators and families, and its role in the “development of a progressive, urban school system during the heyday of the ‘New South’ period of Mississippi history.”
Lacking continuous upkeep, the natural effects of weather and age took their toll, and the building fell into disrepair, despite many organized efforts by various partnerships to restore the building to its former usefulness. Upon hearing that Walthall School may become available for purchase, area residents formed Walthall Foundation, Inc., a non- profit, tax-exempt entity to organize public and private efforts to save and restore the property.
A full renovation in 2007, supervised by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, completely rehabilitated the property, which now provides loft living spaces that retain much of the original historic character and fabric of the structure. The renovated cafeteria kitchen and dining hall space, Condominium #108, known as “The Walthall Room,” offers community space for meetings, cultural events, and neighborhood celebrations.
Current Use
Despite facing near-blighted conditions in the latter part of the 20th century, the neighborhood rallied to maintain the area surrounding Walthall School. The Walthall Room and the grounds west of the unit, dedicated in perpetuity as a green space under supervision of the Department of Archives and History, is the site of numerous functions hosted by the Walthall Foundation the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood boards of directors. These events include the annual Victorian Candlelit Christmas, now in its 47th year. This now famous event draws visitors from throughout the city and surrounding area as well as other regions and states.
The Walthall green space is also the site of another annual event, the Downtown Crawfish Jam Music Festival, which continues to draw thousands of residents and visitors to sit on the grass under the shade of the many trees on the grounds, enjoying an afternoon of good food and music with friends, family, and neighbors. In short, Walthall Room and its grounds have served as a Historic Neighborhood communal space for many years and continue to provide a setting for many downtown area and community events that draw a wide attendance annually, many of which help raise funds to maintain the property and the operations of the organizations dedicated to its importance.
