A free plant party, 1,000 bikes on the beach, and Jags football 🌴

Good morning, Southside! 🌴

It is going to be brutally hot. The city opened cooling centers this week with the heat index pushing 110, so this weekend's list leans indoors and early morning on purpose. Jacksonville is still more fun than it gets credit for, you just want to be smart about when you're standing in the sun.

Quick favor first: hit reply with your zip code if you haven’t already! It takes you five seconds, it tells me which corners of the Southside to dig into, and it teaches your inbox that we belong in Primary.

Here's what's worth leaving the house for this weekend 👇

Let's get to it.

-S

TOGETHER WITH THE SAN MARCO MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION

The people who keep the Square looking like the Square
The volunteers behind Saturday's clean-up also run the San Marco Market,
Sip-In San Marco, and the Festival of Lights 5K. It is about sixty shops
and restaurants doing it on their own time. It’s worth knowing who they are
next time you are walking Hendricks.
Meet the merchants →

No money changed hands for this placement and this slot is free while we're small. Run a
Jacksonville business? Get on the list →

Plants, Sips, and Salts 📍San Marco
Free, indoors, and on our side of the river. Earth Salt Stone on Hendricks is running three rounds of plant bingo with prizes, a handcrafted drink, small bites, and a discount on their salt bath rooms. The best part: everyone leaves with a plant. It is the exact right way to spend a Friday night when it is 98 degrees outside.
Earth Salt Stone, 3915 Hendricks Ave · Fri Aug 14, 7:00-9:00 PM · Free, but grab a ticket

Fri · 🚲 World's Biggest Beach Bike Ride
A thousand riders, two miles of coastline, and a shot at a record. Proceeds go to BEAM, V for Victory, and the Two Titmice Foundation, so it is a good cause on top of a good photo. Evening start and an ocean breeze help, but bring more water than you think you need. (Jax Beach, worth the drive.)

Fri · 🎧 TroyBoi at Decca Live
A genuinely big name in trap and bass playing a room this size is not a normal Friday for Jacksonville. Late start, 18 and up, downtown on Bay Street.

Sat · 🧹 San Marco Clean-Up: The Square 📍San Marco
Ninety minutes, free, and done before the heat sets in. Meet at Balis Park, bring gloves, and help keep the Square looking like the Square. Hosted by the San Marco Merchants Association.

Sat · 🧶 Basic Crochet Class
Two hours in the air conditioning learning something with your hands. They cover the terminology, how to hold the hook and yarn, the foundational stitches, and how to actually finish a small project. Ages 13 and up, materials may be provided, free parking.

Sat · 🏈 Jags Preseason Watch Party: Jags vs Saints 📍Baymeadows
First look at this year's team, big screens, food and drinks, and pregame stuff before the 4 o'clock kick. There is lawn and patio seating as well as high tops, so if you go, aim for shade. Doors at 3.

Sat · 🧠 Epic Game Nights: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader
Trivia, games, food, drinks, and music, and a real chance to be humbled by fifth grade math in public. 21 and up. (Springfield, worth the hop.)

Sun · 🎭 "The Woman at the Well"
A free faith-based stage adaptation of the well-known story, staged in the auditorium at the Main Library downtown. Two hours, all ages, and it costs nothing, which makes for an easy Sunday evening if that is your thing.

A few Jacksonville things worth knowing, minus the doom-scroll:

Are you a Jacksonville business? Get your name in front of locals who actually read this. Partner with The Southside Brief →

That's the weekend, Southside. Stay out of the 3 o'clock sun, go do one thing off this list, then reply and tell me how it went.

See you next Thursday,
-S

The Southside Brief · San Marco to Mandarin, plus the best of Jax worth the drive · thesouthsidebrief.com