WellsFest: Jackson's Original Festival
WellsFest, Jackson's first music festival, was established in 1984 by Wells United Methodist Church as a gift of love to the community. The goals were simple:
to help local service organizations
to provide a day of outdoor family fun and music, free from alcohol
to show that God's love can bring people together in support of a worthy cause.
The first WellsFest simply featured area musicians, barbecued chicken, a few children's games and a silent auction. As the crowds grew, the activities were expanded to make WellsFest a unique, “must do” item on the fall social calendar.
From its modest beginning, WellsFest has grown to become a significant, award-winning metro community event drawing an estimated 10,000 persons on the last Saturday in September.
Since WellsFest began, it has raised more than $1.5 million for local non-profit agencies. Although the festival is organized and put on by Wells Church with community volunteers, all proceeds go to a local beneficiary determined annually. Join the fun on the last Saturday of September at Jamie Fowler Boyll Park on Lakeland Drive in Jackson.
WellsFest is the recipient of the 2012 Mississippi Arts Commission Governor's Award for Arts in Community and the recipient of the 2019 Governor's GIVE (Governor's Initiative for Volunteer Excellence) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Building.
WellsFest has been named one of the Southeastern Tourism Society's top 20 events for several years.
