Every year on July 31 people from around Jackson gather together in the Midtown area for 731 Day’s biggest and most beloved event: Porchfest.

“My connection with Trunetta really sparked all of this,” Crystal Brown, owner of Crystal’s Zen and Juice, said.

In 2021, after the city of Jackson received a $100,000 grant from the “Love Your Block” program, Sarah Cagle and her husband, Jonathan Cagle, applied to install a mural as a new public art piece. The artwork got accepted and thus commenced the journey of designing and painting the Hub City Blueprint and Sherwin Williams mural on Airways Boulevard.

“Downtown is the heart of every city. Improvements bring attraction, and for businesses, that’s make or break. To me, I thirst for it. I want to see more. Any improvement to downtown is an improvement to the heart of the city,” Karen Caldwell, property co-owner of James Shoe Hospital, ComeUnity Cafe, and owner of The Hughie airbnb downtown, said.

Ginger Williams, real estate agent, trusted advisor, and networking expert, has been in the business of connecting with people since she attended her first networking event after having been a stay at home mom for seven years outside of college.

Annika Krebs, owner of Hello Grace Boutique, wanted to own a business for as long as she could remember.

“We’ve just kept meeting every Thursday night and we’ve got kind of a world recognized team now.”