Coming up this weekend, Springfest 2018 is Batesville, Mississippi’s free annual two-day festival celebrating food, music, and the arts. In addition to the nine bands playing throughout the weekend, festival-goers can enjoy carnival rides, games, food and art vendors, the “Cornhole Classic,” and the Racing for Paws 5K.
This year marks Springfest’s 20th anniversary, and to celebrate they’re holding a birthday cake competition hosted by First Baptist Church of Batesville in the corner building across from Square Cafe. All are welcome to enter a cake that celebrates the spirit of Springfest. Votes can be cast from the time gates open until 3 pm on Saturday, May 19 with a $1 donation. The winner will be announced on the main stage that evening and receive a $100 gift card to Stubb’s. Cakes must be submitted by 6 pm Friday, May 18. All proceeds from the competition will benefit Grace Place of Batesville.
Main Street Director and Office Manager for Panola Partnership Colleen Clark said, “This is brand new for the 20th anniversary. The Baptist Youth Group is going to run it and use it as a fundraiser for their future projects.”
The 10th annual Panola County Humane Society Racing for Paws 5k starts at 8 am Saturday. The $25 entry fee benefits the Panola County Humane Society, which has no physical shelter and relies on the volunteer foster program to keep strays out of the city pound.
“It’s for a great cause and they do a great job with the race,” said Clark
Young Professionals of Panola, Mississippi is putting on the Cornhole Classic on Saturday at 11 am. Teams of two will need to sign up online at the Springfest website and pay a $60 fee to enter. All teams must check in at 10 am, and bracket assignments will go out at 10:45 am. The tournament boasts a cash prize pool of $1500, with $900 going to first place, $450 to second place, and $150 to the third place winners. Spectators are welcomed and encouraged.
“It’s going into its third year and they’ve gotten a great response,” said Clark. “The first two years they had 50 teams and this year they’ve expanded it to 60 teams.”
While community activities are what make Springfest stand out, you can’t ignore the great music lineup this year. “We try to find different genres to present,” said Clark. “We have local and regional acts. Usually our headliner is a national recording artist. We typically stick to the country genre because it’s so well received, but throughout the day there are different types of music that will appeal to a diverse crowd.”
Springfest headliner Eric Paslay delivers a powerful punch as a renowned, platinum-selling, hit songwriter and dynamic performer. Paslay has celebrated five No. 1 hits including “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (Eli Young Band), “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” (Jake Owen), “Angel Eyes” (Love & Theft), “Rewind” (Rascal Flatts) and “FridayNight,” the smash lead single from his critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. The Temple, Texas–native is a recent GRAMMY nominee (first as a recording artist) in the Best Country Duo/Group category for “The Driver,” performed by Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley, featuring Eric and Dierks Bentley and a current “Song of The Year” ACM Awards nominee for “She Don’t Love You.” A true artist’s artist, USA Today calls Paslay “flat out-brilliant” and American Songwriter names him an influencer of country music. Paslay recently released his back beat-driven groove “High Class,” the lead single from his highly-anticipated sophomore album.
Admission is free all weekend. Only a short drive from Lafayette County, you can’t go wrong with a trip to Springfest in Batesville. More details and all sign-up forms are available at batesvillemainstreet.com/batesville-springfest-2018.
Springfest 2018 Entertainment Schedule:
Friday, May 18
Honky Tonk Heroes – 6 pm
The Litigants – 8:30 pm
Saturday, May 19
Boyd & Evans – 12:15 pm
Class Act – 1:30 pm
Mississippi Stomp – 3 pm
Lucky 7 Brass Band – 4:30 pm
The Good Paper of Rev. Rob Mortimer – 6 pm
Denny Strickland – 7:45 pm
Eric Paslay -9 pm
Shouldn’t end so early my babies was starting to enjoy it