Jacksonville welcome event aims to connect newcomers downtown

Four Jacksonville organizations will set up a welcome tent in Central Park on Friday, June 12, trying to do more than hand out information. The Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce, Jacksonville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jacksonville Main Street and the Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation will host the tent during the Downtown Concert Series, which starts at 5:30 p.m. and features 90s Kids Superfly.

The setup is simple and deliberate: meet people where the crowd already is. Organizers say attendees can stop by to learn what Jacksonville has to offer, meet new people and pick up Jacksonville goodies while the downtown concert draws families and other residents into the center of the city. Jacksonville Main Street’s 2026 concert calendar runs from May 29 through July 31, placing the welcome tent inside a larger summer schedule rather than as a stand-alone event.

JREDC says this is the third year for the welcome-tent effort, and the past two years showed a clear need for it. The organization said it kept meeting newcomers who wanted to get involved and be introduced to the community, a sign that housing and jobs alone do not settle people into a place. In a city built on informal networks as much as official institutions, the tent is meant to give new residents an easy first step into civic life.

That need sits against a population picture that has been moving in the wrong direction for years. Morgan County had 32,915 residents in the 2020 Census and an estimated 32,515 in July 2025, down from 35,547 in 2010. Jacksonville itself counted 17,616 people in 2020 and an estimated 17,801 in 2024. Census data also show an older county profile, with 21.5% of residents age 65 and older, and a median gross rent of $722, numbers that help explain why local leaders are working harder to make the community easier to join.

The welcome tent also builds on JREDC’s broader talent-attraction campaign launched in 2024, which included live-and-work videos, digital advertising and a relocation offer through MakeMyMove. That incentive package was valued at $9,300 and included $5,000 cash, three months of fiber broadband service, gift certificates and passes, plus $300 in ChamberChecks redeemable at more than 80 local member businesses. JREDC said the effort has already brought seven professionals to Jacksonville from Philadelphia, Austin, Salt Lake City, Muskego, Malta and San Diego, giving the welcome tent a practical role in helping those new arrivals stay connected after they move.