Purvis Street Festival on November 14: Main Street, the Car Show, and Where to Eat Nearby

"Keep on doing it year after year, keep bringing the crowds and the people back," Greg Anderson of Purvis told WDAM at the 2024 festival. "More businesses seem to get involved in it and then you got all the kids in the community that're involved."

That is a fair summary of the Purvis Street Festival. Neighbors started it, and it keeps getting bigger. This year it's on Saturday, November 14, a little over two weeks after this post goes up. It fills Main Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A festival made by people learning as they went

The first Purvis Street Festival was in 2019. Coordinator Renee Keith told WDAM in 2024 that the committee started with a simple goal and no playbook. "We wanted to do something nice for our community to promote it, promote the businesses in the area," she said. "Everybody is a volunteer on this committee and no experience doing a festival, so it was trial and error, but everybody has just done great."

That trial and error has worked out. Organizers told WDAM there were 165 vendors in 2023 and 190 in 2024, roughly 15% more in one year. The same story described how Purvis treats the date: "The City of Purvis waits all year for the second Saturday in November." November 14 is the second Saturday this year, so the tradition holds.

The money stays in town as well. The festival's About page says Purvis Street Festival, LLC is a nonprofit built by volunteers "to raise funds for improvements of our community." The 2026 event page says all funds raised go to local charities. So when you buy a plate of festival food on Main Street, the volunteers selling the day are raising money for Purvis.

Saturday at a glance

Here is what the festival's own pages confirm for 2026, plus a couple of details from past years to help you plan.

Vendor registration for this year opened May 1 and is now closed. If you've been thinking about a booth, that date is the one to watch next spring.

How the street has been laid out

The festival works because Purvis's downtown is small enough to walk. The About page describes booths "lining Main Street from the courthouse to First Baptist Church on Shelby Speights Drive." In other words, it runs from the Lamar County Courthouse to one of the town's best-known churches, along streets most people in Purvis drive every week.

The same page invites visitors to bring lawn chairs for live music on two stages, one in Purvis City Park and one beside the Lamar County Courthouse. A festival page from 2020 describes the same courthouse-to-First Baptist route and the City Park stages.

That page is older, so think of it as how the festival has usually been set up, not this year's official map. Stage locations and the band lineup can change, and the 2026 event page doesn't list performers yet. The lawn chair is still a good idea. A folding chair in the trunk means you can stop and listen wherever the music ends up.

The car show, on the same pavement

The 2026 Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show is set for the same Saturday on Main Street. WDAM's preview of last year's festival also mentioned food and cars together, so the show has been part of the day before.

Show registration is closed. The festival's note to entrants who already signed up is short: "Please print registration form, unpaid invoice, & bring day of show." If someone in your house is showing a car, print those pages the night before. Spectators just need to walk over. The cars park on the same street as the booths, so the show is part of the walk.

Before, during and after: food on Shelby Speights and Front Street

Festival food is half the fun. Still, a seven-hour street fair goes better with a coffee to start and a real lunch or supper on either side. Several places close to the festival route hold current permits on the Mississippi State Department of Health's Lamar County food facility list. Most of them are on Shelby Speights Drive, the street where the booths end at First Baptist.

To start the morning

• Steam Coffee & Cafe, 120 Front St. The state permit at this address is under the name Southern Bean of MS LLC, phone 601-329-9196, and runs through August 2027.
• Purvis Donuts & Kolaches, 162 Shelby Speights Dr., Suite B. Its permit runs from October 25, 2026 to October 25, 2027.

For a sit-down meal at 176 Shelby Speights Dr.

• Stonehouse Restaurant, 601-297-9860
• Nick's Cajun Kitchen, 601-799-6425
• La Fuente, Suite 10, 601-794-6464

Those three share one address, which helps on a crowded Saturday. If one has a wait, the other two are right there. All three permits run into 2027.

Off the route

• Jack's Family Restaurant, 27 Lamar Property Drive, is still listed as open in Purvis. It's handy if you're heading back toward the highway.
• The Shoppe Ice Cream & More, 78 Shelby Speights Dr., 601-310-1368, holds a current permit. Its directory listing shows it closed on Saturdays, so plan on ice cream another day.

Restaurants sometimes change their hours for a big street day. A quick call to any of the numbers above before you head out will tell you who's serving and when.

Three weeks later, Purvis is back on the street

Main Street gets a short break after the festival. The Purvis High School calendar lists the Purvis Christmas Parade for Friday, December 4, 2026. That listing doesn't give a start time or route. Last year's parade began at 6:30 p.m. on December 5, according to WDAM's 2025 weekend preview.

That same preview included Lewis Lights at 280 White Chapel Road, which was free and open daily through New Year's Eve last season. Check this year's schedule closer to December before you load the car.

If you're putting the festival on your calendar and wondering what it's like to live within walking distance of Main Street, or how Purvis compares with Sumrall or Petal for your next move, I'm always glad to talk it over. Let's Connect with Haley Ensminger, and maybe I'll see you on Main Street on the 14th.