Get ready… SET… GO! 🎉🏃🏿‍♂️🏃🏽‍♂️ The JWJ BDAY 5K & Block Party is back! 🏁👟 Celebrate James Weldon Johnson’s 155th birthday with a run/walk through historic LaVilla, then party at JWJPark 🎶🥂✨ Visit tinyurl.com/JWJBDay5kOfficial for details 🏆 Register at tinyurl.com/JWJBDay5k2026 🏁👟

April is PACKED at JWJ Park! 🌻 Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter and get this info & more delivered directly to your email!

Happy Easter from Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park!🌷 Wishing you a day filled with sunshine, fresh air, and simple moments that feel good. 💛

Food Truck Friday, but make it DESSERTS 😋🍭 If you’re from Jacksonville, then you already know the classic, nostalgic Honey Dripper House! Serving up those ice-cold, throwback treats that hit every time! Catch them in the park on April 18th for The Cookout from 2–7 PM!

Every cookout needs two things: good food and music 🔥🎶 DJ Dr. Doom is bringing the heat with the hottest tracks at this year’s Cookout! Join us April 18 from 2–7 PM at JWJ Park. This event is FREE and open to everyone! Tap the link below for more info and follow for updates. thecookoutjax.org

Words hit different in the open air ✍🏽🌿 Join us TODAY at James Weldon Johnson Park for Poetry in the Park from 12–1 PM, featuring Aniah Heaven 🎤✨ Big thank you to Hope at Hand, Inc for showing up and pouring into our community every Thursday this month!

March was a beautiful month ✨ We kicked things off with the launch of our photo exhibit at The Jessie, celebrating stories that make our city special. And if things have felt a little brighter lately (and bubbly 👀), you’re not imagining it - just a little something new in the mix...

April is PACKED 🔥 There’s something happening almost every day! If you’re looking for plans, you’ll find them right here at James Weldon Johnson Park. Jax is anything but boring this month! See our link tree for more information about each event: linktr.ee/JamesWeldonJohnsonPark

Save the Date for After Hours at JWJ Park: Luau Night!🍹🌺🌴🍋‍🟩Enjoy tropical hand-crafted cocktails at the Cork & Barrel Mobile Tavern, vibes provided by Mr. Al Pete, tasty bites from Good Food 24/7, vendors, & more! ✉️RSVP: tinyurl.com/AfterHoursatJWJParkLuau 📅May 8, 6-9pm 📍135 W. Monroe Street

Volunteers WE NEED YOU! Join us on April 18th for The Cookout here in James Weldon Johnson Park from 2- 7PM! Help represent your neighborhood, be a mediator in the spades tournament, regulate games and activities, and more! Volunteer here: https://tinyurl.com/cookoutvolunteers

Spring is HERE and we have LOTS in store at JWJ Park!🌻Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter and get this info & more directly to your email!

So grateful for everyone who showed up to volunteer orientation! 💛 Your time, energy, and heart mean everything, and we couldn’t do this without you. Excited for all the amazing things we’ll accomplish together!

"Meet the regulars at James Weldon Johnson Park." 🌿 Huge thank you to JaxTDY for featuring our newest photo exhibit at The Jessie this week! Stop by and don’t miss all the incredible features inside The Jessie. Read the whole article with the link here: https://tinyurl.com/jaxtdy

Join us on Saturday, April 25th from 9a-12p for an Earth Day Cleanup in JWJ Park!🌳🌷🌿🌻 We'll be planting, cleaning up, and beautifying our beloved JWJ Park to music, and we'll have food trucks on site to fuel us while we work. 🍔 RSVP: tinyurl.com/JWJEarthDay2026 🌸🌳🎉 Sponsored by @VyStarCreditUnion 💙

Get Ready for the Imagination Playground at JWJPark! 🎨 Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter and get this info & more directly in your email!

Thanks to The Resident Jax for featuring our own Bill Prescott, Board Chair of Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park, in Circles Magazine's 20 Really Good People. Check it out here https://residentnews.net/bill-prescott-the-steward/ Reviving the Heart of Downtown. 🌿

The Imagination Playground: Create & Connect: JWJPark becomes the coolest art school in Jax! Local artists teach kids painting, sculpture, music, dance, theatre & more in hands-on workshops.   📍WHERE: James Weldon Johnson Park 📅WHEN: 4.19.26 11a - 4p ✉️RSVP: tinyurl.com/ImaginationPlaygroundJWJPark

@UnitedWayNEFL + James Weldon Johnson Park present The CookOut — a FREE family festival celebrating Jacksonville’s neighborhoods! April 18 the park becomes a living map of flavor, music & pride. Choir sing-off, spades, live music, line dancing, kids activities, food trucks & more. thecookoutjax.org

160 Years of Stories Exhibit OPEN! 🖼️ Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter and get this info & more delivered directly to your email!

Right outside City Hall and steps from the park, this marker tells an important piece of Jacksonville’s story. In 1914, Florence M. Cooley helped establish the Florida Equal Franchise League here, advancing the fight for women’s right to vote. 💜🗳️

BTS of our new photo exhibit at The Jessie! We’re proud to present “160 Years of Stories” which highlights the moments, memories, and locals whose lives have been touched by James Weldon Johnson Park. Stop by and explore the stories before they're gone! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJ160Exhibit for a preview!

Volunteers - check your email! 📬 We have exciting things coming up at the Park, and if you’ve signed up to volunteer, your Welcome Packet is waiting! Inside you’ll find important details - plus the link to RSVP for our upcoming Volunteer Orientation. Sign up here: tinyurl.com/jwjparkvolunteer

Celebrating 160 Years of Stories in JWJ Park is now open to the public! As told by Barbara Colaciello and photographed by Toni Smailagic - the photo exhibit can now be seen at The Jessie in Downtown Jacksonville, or online at tinyurl.com/JWJ160Exhibit!

So Much To Say About JWJ Park! 💬 Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter and get this info & more delivered directly to your email!

Happy International Women’s Day 🌸 Women bring life into this world and carry strength, honor, pride, and sacrifice into every space they lead and nurture. Today we celebrate the women shaping our communities and the young girls growing into the next generation of powerful women.💐

A Chicago resident shared a 1920s family photo - recognizing it as James Weldon Johnson Park. Dagmar, born in Denmark in 1872, immigrated to Nebraska in 1890 as a mail-order bride, later moved to Chicago (likely during the World’s Fair), and died in 1951. Her story now circles back to us. 💛 #WHM

Thank you to Folio Weekly for featuring James Weldon Johnson Park and our incredible Executive Director, Liz McDonald! We’re proud to see her leadership and vision for community highlighted. 🎥 Watch & read the full feature: https://tinyurl.com/JWJPFolioW

Thank you Arbus Magazine for mentioning James Weldon Johnson Park in your most recent publication "Where the River Leads!". Read the article here: tinyurl.com/WTRLArbus *Art in the Park, as mentioned in the article, has been postponed.

Taking a look back at February 🌿 Thank you to our everyday parkgoers, those who showed up for Galentine’s Glow Up — your energy makes this space special. Stay connected, donate & get involved: linktr.ee/JamesWeldonJohnsonPark

Happy Women's History Month! We honor the women who build, lead, and persist — often without recognition. The women on our staff who shape this park with vision and care. The women-owned businesses who trust us with their dreams. Those across our city carrying communities forward everyday.

MARCHing into Spring in JWJ Park! 💚 Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter and get this info & more delivered directly to your email!

Jacksonville, mark your calendars for The CookOut! 📅🔥 On April 18th United Way of NEFlorida and JWJ Park are teaming up to bring you a free, family-friendly festival that celebrates every neighborhood that makes our city special. Visit www.thecookoutjax.org for details!

Have you noticed James Weldon Johnson Park’s new banners?! 👀 We’re turning 160 this year - and we’re celebrating all year long! 🎉Volunteer with us, donate, or even host your next event in the Heart of Downtown. Stay connected by checking out our LinkTree: shorturl.at/Az7w8

Wrapping Up February Like... 💖 Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter and get this info & more delivered directly to your email!

This Black History Month, James Weldon Johnson Park continues to be a stage, a canvas, a gathering place. We honor Black voices, creatives, and hold space for the stories still unfolding. Here, confidence is nurtured, community is cultivated, and every voice is reminded: you deserve to be heard.

Downtown isn’t boring. You’re just not at James Weldon Johnson Park. ✨ Check out these visuals from our most recent event - the Galentine's Glow Up 💖 Want to host an event like this with us? Visit this link to book now: tinyurl.com/JWJParkEvents

Be part of something great and join JWJ Park Doves! A volunteer program here in James Weldon Johnson Park that allows YOU to be a part of the growing community of Downtown Jacksonville and gain exclusive access to James Weldon Johnson Park events! Join here: https://tinyurl.com/jwjparkvolunteer💖

We want to hear from you! Take our Quarterly Survey and win $25! 💭 Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter!

Did You Know? On October 18, 1960, John F. Kennedy delivered a campaign speech in what is now James Weldon Johnson Park in Downtown Jacksonville. Wishing you all a happy Presidents Day. All Park activities are paused today, Monday, February 16th. Activities will resume on Tuesday, February 17th.

🌹❤️ Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovers and friends out there! 💌 We had so much fun at our Galentine's Glow up last night! Thank you to everyone who came out and made it a night to remember! Share a little kindness today and celebrate the magic of connection! 💖💕

Hey Man! Check out the Galentine's Glow Up Bar Menu! Come out February 13th from 6-9PM with Pink Drinks and vibes from Mr. Al Pete it's a perfect night to come out with your besties! ❤️‍🔥 With Cork & Barrel Mobile Tavern, Living Beauty Florals, Vintage Exchange. Food from Mochi Cafe and Cloud Crunch!

Can't wait to see you all TONIGHT, February 13th from 6–9 PM at James Weldon Johnson Park for Galentine’s Glow Up featuring the beautiful and unique Cork and Barrel Mobile Tavern 🤩🌟💖 Here's a sneak peek of the tavern getting ready for the party 😍✨🥂🍾💖🩷💃🍷🍸🎊 Visit tinyurl.com/GalentinesDayJWJ to RSVP!

Glow up your Galentine’s night with delicious bites from Cloud Crunch and Mochi Cafe 🍡🧁 Join us TONIGHT, February 13th from 6–9 PM at James Weldon Johnson Park for Galentine’s Glow Up — good vibes, good food, and your favorite girls under the lights 💖🌟 Visit tinyurl.com/GalentinesDayJWJ to RSVP!

Mr. Al Pete is setting the soundtrack for Galentine’s Glow Up - expect feel-good hits, dance breaks, and nonstop energy under the lights. 🎧💖 Grab your girls and come ready to glow 💕🌟 Galentine's Glow Up Friday, February 13th in James Weldon Johnson Park Visit tinyurl.com/GalentinesDayJWJ to 💌RSVP!

We’re featuring Living Beauty Florals at our Galentine’s Glow Up — bringing fresh blooms and beautiful energy to the park. ✨🌸 Join us tomorrow, February 13th from 6–9 PM in James Weldon Johnson Park! Visit tinyurl.com/GalentinesDayJWJ to 💌RSVP!

The Galentine's Glow Up is GLOWING UP! We're so excited to announce @MiluRodriguezArt is joining us tomorrow night for Galentine's Glow Up in James Weldon Johnson Park from 6 - 9 PM! Glow with us! 💌RSVP here: tinyurl.com/GalentinesDayJWJ

At Galentine’s Glow Up, we’re turning friendship into art 💕
💗 Make custom friendship bracelets and Paint your own candles 🕯️ Grab your girls and meet us THIS Friday, February 13th from 6 - 9 PM in JWJ Park. A night of creativity and connection. Visit tinyurl.com/GalentinesDayJWJ to 💌RSVP!

We are EXCITED to announce that @VintageExchangeJax will be joining us at the Galentine's Day Glow Up for a FREE CLOSET SWAP!✨ Don’t have anything to swap but want to participate? Vintage Exchange will be taking donations for JWJPark in lieu of swapping! Visit tinyurl.com/GalentinesDayJWJ to 💌RSVP!

Grab Your Gals and GLOW This Friday in JWJ Park! 💖 Stay connected to our socials for updates, check out our weekly lunch and live music schedule, and watch our feeds for any changes! Visit tinyurl.com/JWJNewsletter to subscribe to our newsletter and get this info & more delivered to your email!

Named for James Weldon Johnson - co-creator of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” - our park honors his national legacy and Jacksonville’s history. We strive to create a welcoming space where every voice is heard and cultures connect.