Being a public-facing member of the Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, community meant that Mary Brooks, the namesake and operator of Ms Mary’s, which she co-owns with her husband Bart, often listened to her customers’ tales. As patrons chose their hot meals or sweet treats inside the North 2nd Street storefront, many reminisced about the street fairs that the City used to host in years past, lamenting at the lack of community events held in the Hancock County town.
Bart Brooks, Mary’s husband, had at times joined in, describing the way he used to help his uncle set up fireworks for public Fourth of July festivals, the likes of which he hadn’t seen since he was a kid.
Hearing these repeated stories inspired the Brooks to play a role in realizing their customers’ wishes themselves. They reached out to friends and partnered with neighboring businesses in the downtown area to organize a new street festival, which they marketed under the name Bay Fest.
After a year of preparation, the inaugural Bay Fest took place in the spring of 2025, coinciding with that year’s Jeepin The Coast. The festival featured numerous local artisans and vendors setting up on Main Street and surrounding streets in downtown Bay St. Louis to sell everything from homemade crafts such as soaps and jewelry to jellies and spirits, as well as handcrafted pottery and artworks. Brooks also gathered a number of local musicians to perform live throughout the day.
“People are always looking for a good weekend festival, and we managed to get a good following together of people who wanted to help out in any way they could,” Brooks told the Mississippi Free Press.
In the midst of her preparations for the first Bay Fest, Brooks had an unusual interaction with a vendor who was looking to take part. The vendor had apparently paid the fee to set up their stall, only to realize afterward that they had actually applied for “the wrong Bay Fest.” As Brooks soon learned, an apparently entirely separate event also called “Bay Fest” was taking place in the town of Bay Springs, Mississippi, in the center of the state some 140 miles north of Bay St. Louis around the same time.
“I hadn’t been aware that the name I’d picked out had apparently been taken before that,” Brooks said. “It was quite an amusing coincidence to learn about.”
This year, both Bay Fests are taking place over the last weekend in May: the newer one in Hancock County in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region and the long-running one in Jasper County in East Central Mississippi.
An Established Bay Fest
While the existence of another Bay Fest nearly two-and-a-half hours away was news to Brooks, e residents of Bay Springs have long been aware of the annual staple in their community, which has been taking place on the weekend after Memorial Day for 36 years. Former Mayor J.E. Smith worked together with the town’s board of aldermen to organize the festival as a way to bring the community together while drawing attention to the area’s music scene.
Current Mayor Donal Brown has been managing the event since taking office in 2021. He, too, had been unaware of the other Mississippi-based Bay Fest that debuted last year until later on.
“I became aware of the coincidence with the other Bay Fest some time after the fact, but with them being two and a half hours out from us it didn’t bother me,” Brown told the Mississippi Free Press.
The Jasper County Bay Fest takes place in Smith Park on Brick Street in the city’s downtown district. The event features a crafts festival that starts on Friday morning and runs until midnight, offering handmade items such as clothes, wood carvings, metalcraft artwork, quilts and more. Numerous food vendors will also be on site including The Lemonade Company, Nun Nun Barbeque, Papaw’s Confections, It’s a Wrap Rolling Cafe, T and J’s Confections and others.
One participating food vendor, 10-64, is a Laurel-based food truck that former highway patrolman Alex Hodge established after he left the police force in 1994. The food truck’s name comes from the police code used to tell officers to go on lunch break.
Jessica Welborn, Hodge’s assistant, said that this year 10-64 is bringing back a popular seafood item that the food truck debuted just last year specifically for Bay Fest.
“Our Bay Fest Bowl is something our customers have all been asking about since last year, but it’s a Bay Fest exclusive,” Welborn told the Mississippi Free Press. It’s a seafood bowl with shrimp, chicken and Andouille sausage served over rice with our own special seasoning mix. We’re also going to be bringing out catfish, shrimp tacos, loaded tots and plenty more.”
On the music front, past Bay Fest lineups have at times sported big-name headliners like Jamal Roberts, a Meridian, Mississippi, native who won season 23 of American Idol and performed at Bay Fest 2025.
This year’s music artists will perform live on both Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30, with sets divided by genre. Country Night begins at 6 p.m. on Friday in Smith Park and features performances from Backroads Reunion and the Kat Miller Band; Gospel Night begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday and features Jewel & Converted and Cannan Hill; and R&B Night begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday and features performances from Jammie Evans, JQuan Da BluesSinger and Latisha & Friends.
Sylvarena, Mississippi, native Latisha Hamilton Earnest, who works as the choral director for Laurel High School, established Latisha & Friends in 2014. Hamilton plays guitar and does vocals for the five-piece band, which also includes a keyboardist, a drummer, a second guitarist and a bassist. The group has been performing at almost every Bay Fest since 2018.
“My family and I went to Bay Fest every summer when I was growing up, so when I first got the call to perform there myself, I was so excited,” Hamilton told the Mississippi Free Press. “The crowd at Bay Fest is always great and so welcoming. I feel right at home performing there for all my friends and family.”
Hamilton, her parents and her six sisters have sung for their church for many years and perform as their own band called the B&H Gospel Singers, the name of which comes from Hamilton’s mother’s maiden name of Bobbett and her father’s last name of Hamilton. The group currently has two albums out, “Be Ready” and “Hallelujah.”
Each year’s Bay Fest since 1991 has also prominently featured a car show with more than 100 antique and custom modern cars, with trophies for Best Show Truck and Best in Show.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed organizing Bay Fest during my time in office and getting to see it all come together each year,” Mayor Donal Brown said. “It always brings so much enjoyment to the community. I hope anyone who’s near Bay Springs can come out to see us and have a great time.”
A Spotlight for the Handmade and Homemade
This year’s Bay Fest in Bay St. Louis will take place in Old Town on the grounds of the Bay St. Louis courthouse as well as the surrounding streets. Craft vendors such as Jensa Jo’s Handmade Jewelry, Savvy Renea Designs, Tory Beth Boutique and Coastal Laser LLC will have booths set up at the courthouse and along the roads in Old Town.
James Favre, owner of Coastal Laser LLC, is a chemical plant worker in Bay St. Louis who went into business for himself selling custom-made hats in 2023. Favre uses a laser engraving machine to engrave logos and designs onto leather patches that he then stitches onto hats by hand. He works on his hats by night after coming home from working full shifts at the plant during the day.
“Making what I call my ‘Southern-style hats’ started out as something I was just doing as a hobby but it quickly took off and I became busier and busier with it over time,” Favre told the Mississippi Free Press. “Last year’s Bay Fest proved to be a great way to get the word out and bring in out-of-towners to shop and support local businesses here. Local festivals are a great way to let folks from all around see what Bay St. Louis has to offer.”
Bay Fest will also feature live music from Rumours, Jonis Compretta and the Bay Town Groove, and Assumed Risk throughout the day.
Waveland, Mississippi, native Chad Barnett, founder and drummer for Assumed Risk, first put the band together in 2020 after meeting a group of musicians planning to play for a local event who needed a drummer.
While several members of that initial group moved on, Barnett joined with lead singer Don Savage and lead guitarist John Anderson to form the initial trio that became Assumed Risk. The band has since added bassists Jesse Loya and Barry Regula and backup singer Tracey Downey.
“Folks come and go a lot in this industry but we’ve stuck it out this long and become like a little family,” Barnett told the Mississippi Free Press. “All three of the bands coming to Bay Fest this year are local, and we’re all friends who do everything we can to support each other and other local bands as well. I can promise that everyone who comes out to see us is going to have a great time.”
In addition to most of the food and craft vendors from last year’s event making a return, many restaurants in the downtown area are also taking part and offering specials throughout the day, including Bertha’s Soul Food and Barbecue, Cuz’ Seafood Restaurant and Mockingbird Cafe. Brooks is also bringing her own business’ food to the festivities.
“What I’ve loved most about putting on Bay Fest is providing a place for handmade, homemade local craft of all kinds to get a spotlight,” Brooks said. “We pulled in thousands of people last year and got to show them so many unique things you won’t find at any mall or big box store, and our hopes are just as high for this year as well.”
Bay Springs’ Bay Fest takes place from 8 a.m. to midnight on Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30, while the Bay St. Louis Bay Fest takes place from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 30. For information on the Bay Springs Bay Fest, call 601-764-6235 or visit the City of Bay Springs Facebook page. For information on the Bay St. Louis Bay Fest, visit thebayfest.com or find the event on Facebook.
