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PAUL:

If you'll give me five minutes, I'll give you everything you need to know for this weekend's Hal's St. Paddy's Parade in Jackson.

Hey, it's Paul Wolf with a front-row seat to conversations on culture from Jackson, Mississippi. We call our podcast Soul Sessions. It's the people, places, and events that make the City With Soul shine. On this podcast extra, it's just a quick rundown of one of my favorite weekends of the year. The 43rd annual Hal's St. Paddy's Parade and Festival is this Saturday, March 28th and here's how to make the most of it.

First, a little context because this parade has a genuinely great origin story. Back in the early 80s, Malcolm White and some friends got a permit to parade down Capitol Street dressed as Tennessee Williams characters. That's it. That was the whole plan. But Malcolm and his brother, Hal, saw something bigger in it and over time, they evolved it into this one-of-a-kind fusion of Mardi Gras energy and Jackson soul. And every year since it's been a fundraiser for Children's of Mississippi. So it's fun and it does good.

So let's start with Friday night because you really don't want to skip this part. The Hal's Marching MALfunction and Second Line Stomp is a New Orleans-style Second Line through downtown Jackson. And it's genuinely one of the most fun things you can do. It started back in 2011 as a walking tribute to Hal White, co-founder of the parade. And it's been a parade weekend staple ever since. Costumes are encouraged. It's free to join and the whole thing kicks off at Cathead Distillery around four. There'll be food trucks and family fun, so bring your whole crew. The Stomp towards at Hal & Mal's gets going around 7:15, and the vibe is 'Friday we stomp, tomorrow we march.'

Okay, so on to Saturday. This year's theme is Stars, Stripes, and Shamrocks. Jackson celebrates America 250 with Mayor John Horhn as the Grand Marshall. If you've got kids, you need to be at Smith Park by nine. There'll be rides and games and food, all that kind of stuff. The pet parade is at 10 a.m. and the children's parade at 11. Then the main parade rolls at noon. That's one hour earlier this year. It starts near Cathead on Court Street and then to West Street, then to Capitol, then to State before wrapping up behind Hal & Mal's.

And listen, if you've never been to this parade, I want you to understand what you're walking into. This is not a small-town parade. There are hundreds of participants and tens of thousands of people on the streets watching. Crews and floats, dance groups and marching bands from all over the state. The Sweet Potato Queens are here every year led by Boss Queen Jill Connor Browne and they are a sight to see. After the parade, the official after party at Hal and Mal's gates open at one and music starts at three with the Dallas Cowboys DJ Blackbeard, the CheeWees and AJC and the Envelope Pushers. If you've never heard them, they put on a show.

Now, before you go, a few things to know. There are some updated rules this year and they're honestly pretty straightforward. Organizers are just trying to make sure this parade is around for another 43 years. So here's the quick version. No setting up your spot the night before. Setup now starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Porta-potties, you don't need them. We're going to have plenty of those along the route. Bring food, but cook it ahead of time. Leave the grill at home. No open flames on site. No glass bottles. And this one's really important when you leave: will you clean up your spot, please? Bring a garbage bag. That's it for the full list of rules and the updated route. Check out HalsStPaddysparade.com.

This parade weekend has always been about getting all of Jackson in one place for one really good time. We'll have links to everything in our show notes at visitjackson.com/soulsessions.

This podcast is produced by Visit Jackson, the destination organization for Mississippi's capital city. Our executive producers are Jonathan Pettus and Dr. Ricky Thigpen, and I'm our managing editor. There's always something great going on in Jackson and we keep up with it at visitjackson.com.

I'm Paul Wolf and you've been listening to Soul Sessions.

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