Jacksonville’s first October weekend brings a mix of Pride events, country concerts, a home improvement show and the seasonal return of crop mazes across Northeast Florida.
The Jax River City Pride Parade begins at 2 p.m. Saturday at Willow Branch Park, following a 1.5-mile route along Park, King, Post, Stockton and Margaret streets before finishing at Riverside Park. Entrants begin lining up at 9 a.m. Willow Branch Park also hosted Jacksonville’s first LGBT Pride Picnic in 1978.
River City Pride continues Sunday with the free Jax River City Pride Festival & Cabaret, scheduled from noon to 9 p.m. at Riverside Park. The program includes a marketplace and live entertainment, with singer Kristy Lee set to headline from 4 to 6 p.m. before a cabaret show closes the event from 6 to 9 p.m.
The Jacksonville Home + Garden Show runs from 10 a.m. Friday through Sunday at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. Admission is $12. Dozens of exhibitors, workshops, giveaways, cooking and cocktail demonstrations are planned, along with appearances by Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison of PBS’ America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country.
Music fans have several Friday options. Whiskey Myers performs at 6:30 p.m. at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, with the Ransom Brothers opening; tickets are listed from $71 to $116. Zach Top takes the stage at 8 p.m. at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena with opener Jake Worthington, with tickets listed from $51 to $184. The Jacksonville Symphony also presents Stevie Wonder & More at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Jacoby Symphony Hall, where Na’Zir McFadden leads the orchestra and Sherrod T. Brown performs vocals. Tickets are listed from $44 to $89.
Fall farm events also open or continue this weekend. Amazing Grace Family Farms in Green Cove Springs opens its Pumpkin Festival on Friday, offering a pumpkin patch, flower fields, a crop maze and funnel cakes; admission is $25. Conner’s A-Maize-Ing Acres in Hilliard opens Saturday with a pumpkin patch, corn maze, wagon rides and farm animals for $23. Sykes Family Farms in Elkton has a 9-acre crop maze, hay rides, bounce pads and snack vendors, plus live music Saturday and Sunday; admission is $17.
