No playoffs? No problem. Here are 5 fun things to do this weekend in Jacksonville
It's difficult to find a bright side in the Jaguars' late-season collapse, but there's this one: Fans have some free time this weekend. It's also a three-day weekend for many people, so let's find some fun stuff to do, shall we?
How about a little comedy? Some '70s AM-radio gold? How about a music festival with a local flavor? Throwback hockey? A big Christian concert? That ought to be enough to take your mind off the NFL playoffs, at least for a while.
Mayport Fest
Bedlam Brews and Mayport Brewing are looking to make a splash this weekend with the inaugural three-day Mayport Music Heals Festival. Music starts at 4 p.m. Friday with sets by Just Beam, Mama Blue and Mark McKnight. On Saturday, the Little Dolls, Grandpa's Cough Medicine and Bonnie Blue perform. Spade McQuade, Wigeon, Dharma and the Firewater Tent Revival close out the fest on Sunday. It's at 660 Mayport Road. $25-$60.
Laughs galore
If you're looking for laughs this weekend, you won't need to search too far. Nephew Tommy from the "Steve Harvey Morning Show" is at the Comedy Zone in Mandarin for shows at 7:15 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday ($40-$55); hot young stand-up comic Mark Normand is at the Florida Theatre at 7 p.m. Saturday ($35-$159.75); and Lavell Crawford, Gary Owen, Tommy Davidson, Special K and Teddy Carpenter are at the Jacksonville Comedy Festival at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Moran Theater ($59-$99).
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AM gold
In the dark ages before Spotify, you'd actually have to turn on your AM radio to hear "Dancing Queen," "Rocket Man," "Just the Way You Are" and other hits. This weekend, you just have to buy a couple of concert tickets to hear them. The Greatest Piano Men, which is at the Thrasher-Horne Center in Orange Park at 7:30 p.m. Friday, features a cast that plays the big hits of Billy Joel, Elton John, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and others ($29-$59). Direct from Sweden: The Music of ABBA, which recreates the look and sound of the Swedish hitmakers, is at the Moran Theater at 8 p.m. Friday ($39.50-$102.50).
Return of the Kings
For a Southern city, Jacksonville sure has had a lot of hockey teams. The Rockets, Barons, Bullets, Hammerheads and Barracudas have all called Jacksonville home over the years, but the current team, the Jacksonville Icemen, are paying tribute this weekend to the greatest Jacksonville hockey team of all — the Lizard Kings, who played from 1995-2000. The Icemen welcome the South Carolina Stingrays to VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena at 7 p.m. Friday and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at 7 p.m. Saturday. They're selling tickets for $19.95 for each game and will auction Lizard Kings jerseys after the games.
Christian hits
Winter Jam is a big Christian music tour that always seems to find its way to Jacksonville around this time of year. It's a great bargain — Crowder, Lecrae, Cain, Katy Nichole, Seventh Day Slumber and NewSong, plus “prejam” acts SEU Worship, John Wesley & Reach City and Lin D — for just $15 at the door. Showtime is 5 p.m. Sunday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Fun things to do this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida
