Oxford will be celebrating one of the city’s biggest events when the 27th Double Decker Arts Festival takes place on Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27.
The red double-decker bus, imported from England in 1994, serves as the inspiration and centerpiece of the two-day extravaganza held in the historic downtown square.
Since the 2015 edition, organizers have selected a local artist from multiple submissions to be featured as the “official artwork” for the festival. This artwork is showcased on the festival merchandise, including t-shirts, posters, and light pole banners displayed around the downtown square. This year’s distinguished artist is Jules Mikell, an Oxford native who has recently begun doing commissioned artwork.
With more than 25 awards, including the 2023 Best Large Festival by the Mississippi Tourism Association, Best Festival by Mississippi Magazine, and a top 20 event by the Southeast Tourism Society, Double Decker brings more than 75,000 attendees for a weekend celebrating food, music, and the arts.
Friday, April 26
Saturday, April 27
8:30 PM – Brittany Howard
Also featured this year will be:
A Southern showcase – from tempting tasty bites to inspiring one-of-a-kind art:
The festival preserves its original charm while expanding, offering diverse Southern culinary delights and more than 140 art vendor booths. The artist showcase is open on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a preview by the Oxford Artist Guild on Friday in the Boles Wiley Alley on the Square.
Kid Zone and Blues Alley
On Saturday, The Kid Zone will be in the Lafayette County Chancery Building parking lot from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Blue Delta Jeans Company will host the “Blue Delta Blues Alley” beside The Lyric from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sports lovers will have even more of an incentive to check out the festival as the Ole Miss baseball team will be hosting Alabama for a three-game series that weekend beginning Friday. Rebel faithful, and even Crimson Tide fans, looking to soak up the ambiance of a fun weekend in Oxford will have plenty to do during Double Decker.
The festival will have a mobile app available in March that will include all relevant information, an interactive map, and musical performers’ schedules. Users will be able to customize their preferred schedule, look up art vendor booth numbers, and get real-time updates from organizers. Once available, the app will be free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
