Sidewalk art fest, Disney on Ice and other fun things to do this weekend in Jacksonville

Tom Szaroleta, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
·2 min read

It's the last weekend in March, and Easter to boot, so there's no shortage of things to do in the Jacksonville area. You've got the home opener for the local AAA baseball team, Mickey Mouse on ice skates, two art festivals and a pair of boy-band singers to choose from.

Play ball!

A new video board at 121 Financial Ballpark stands ready for the Jumbo Shrimp.
A new video board at 121 Financial Ballpark stands ready for the Jumbo Shrimp.

Baseball season is officially upon us: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp open the season with a three-game homestand against the Gwinnett Stripers. They'll have a street carnival outside 121 Financial Ballpark before Friday's 7:05 p.m. first pitch. They also play at 6:35 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. $7-$38.

More to do Easter weekend: Looking for Easter egg hunts in the Jacksonville area? Here are more than a dozen

Impressive Impressionist: Immersive Monet show opens in downtown Jacksonville

Disney on Ice

An all-new Disney on Ice show comes to Jacksonville in 2024.
An all-new Disney on Ice show comes to Jacksonville in 2024.

Characters from “Encanto,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Moana,” “Tangled” and other Disney hits take to the ice for six shows. A pre-show “character experience” with Moana is available for an additional fee. "Disney on Ice: Find Your Hero" is at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena at 7 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday. $25-$90.

Mandarin Art Festival

The Mandarin Art Festival is an Easter weekend tradition.
The Mandarin Art Festival is an Easter weekend tradition.

It's Easter weekend, so it must be time for the annual Mandarin Art Festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday with professional artists, a green market and live entertainment. It's at the Mandarin Community Club, but parking will be at the Masonic Lodge on Loretto Road and the Church of Our Savior on Mandarin Road. $2.

Art in the Park

Sidewalk chalk artists will take over James Weldon Johnson Park Saturday in downtown Jacksonville.
Sidewalk chalk artists will take over James Weldon Johnson Park Saturday in downtown Jacksonville.

The walkways in James Weldon Johnson Park will be the canvas for a unique art festival on Saturday. Amateur and professional artists will draw on the sidewalks with chalk, then judges will decide which is best at the Art in the Park festival, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. Free.

Joey Fatone and AJ McLean

Joey Fatone and AJ McLean team up for a Saturday night show at the Florida Theatre.
Joey Fatone and AJ McLean team up for a Saturday night show at the Florida Theatre.

Back in the day, it would have been unthinkable for a N’Sync member and a Backstreet Boy to even be in the same city at the same time. Now Joey Fatone and AJ McLean are performing side-by-side, sharing a band and doing their big hits together.  Showtime is 8 p.m. Saturday at the Florida Theatre. $39.50-$124.50.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Five fun things to do in Jacksonville, FL this weekend