Threefoot Festival returns to Meridian this weekend

Downtown Meridian will come alive this weekend with live music and an art car parade.

The festivities are part of the Threefoot Festival, which is returning after taking a hiatus in 2020.

“We’re very excited,” said Betty Lou Jones, president of Meridian Council for the Arts, which is sponsoring the festival. “It’s wonderful, because everyone is so excited and ready for a party.”

Meridian has a long history of arts events, Jones said, but the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented Meridianites from attending these activities.

“Our population has been deprived of the things that they are used to doing, like attending concerts and attending events downtown,” she said. “Anybody that you talk to is ready to come, because they are feeling that it’s time for the party to start again.”

The festival begins the evening of Friday, May 14, with a parade of artistically decorated cars. People are traveling to Meridian from other states to take part in the parade.

“They turn vehicles into works of art,” Jones said.

The Budweiser Clydesdales will also be at the festival to lead the parade on Friday. The famed horses will return Saturday for another parade at 3 p.m.

After the parade ends, festival goers will be able to dance to the tunes of Compozitionz, a R&B and soul band from Jackson. Live entertainment continues on Saturday, May 15 with gospel music by the Meridian High School’s choir, folk music by Jake Leg Stompers and other genres of music.

Also on Saturday, 150 artists will show off their work, which varies from fine art painting to handmade rocking chairs.

Festival goers will also able to enjoy food and beverages, and run a 10K, a 5K or 1 mile in the Threefoot Race. The festival also has a Youth Art Contest, and some contestants will receive awards on Saturday.

“This is an arts festival, but it’s more than that,” Jones said. “It’s economic development, and it’s also memory-making for our residents and their visitors.”