In March, Ocean Springs asked Amtrak to stop a Mardi Gras Service train on Washington Avenue for the Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival. Seven months later, that stop has not been approved. Amtrak's timetable dated Monday, October 5, 2026, lists New Orleans, Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula and Mobile, and it does not list Ocean Springs. If you're hosting people for the 48th festival on Nov. 7–8, the plan you can count on today is a train to Biloxi with a Coast Transit bus connection, or one of the free school lots with a shuttle.
That changes how you plan. Guests coming from New Orleans or Mobile now have a rail option that didn't exist a few festivals ago. The last few miles still rely on the same parking-and-shuttle system the train stop was meant to ease.
Why the city asked
The request came from a real crowding problem. Cynthia Sutton runs the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce–Main Street–Tourism Bureau, which hosts the festival. She put the scale plainly: "We get 300,000 tourists throughout the year that come to Ocean Springs, and we capture about 100,000 of them during the Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival."
Janee Herring manages Wild Flier on Government Street and has greeted out-of-town shoppers there for five years. She told WLOX, "They love the town, they don't like the parking." Mayor Bobby Cox described the fix he had in mind:
"People can come and they can get off the train right here on Washington Avenue, come to the festival, they can get back on the train when it's over and go back home or go to wherever they want to go, and it alleviates some of our parking issues that we have."
He was careful about expectations from the start. "It's not a guarantee," Cox said. He added that if a festival stop worked, "then we move forward to permanent." The city's resolution went further than Peter Anderson. It asked for temporary stops during both Cruisin' the Coast and the arts festival.
Where the request stands
The proposal went to the Southern Rail Commission, the regional body that backs the route. At its March 6 meeting, Todd Stennis spoke about the complications of adding a stop so close to the Biloxi station and the timing and delay problems it could cause. The commission voted to support a study of whether the stop is feasible. It also said it wanted to look at "creative solutions for bus transportation from the Biloxi station to Ocean Springs."
Each update since then has kept the idea in the study phase:
| When | Who | What they said |
|---|---|---|
| June 5 | Southern Rail Commission minutes | Temporary seasonal Ocean Springs stop still a proposal, to be evaluated for ridership, demand, access and community benefits, within a Gulf Coast study running July 2026 to July 2027 |
| Aug. 16 | WLOX, quoting commission chair Knox Ross | Officials studying a seasonal festival stop or a permanent one, with federal funding to examine it |
| Aug. 17 | Sun Herald | Commission "contemplating" a possible seasonal Ocean Springs stop |
| Sept. 3 | AL.com | A seasonal stop timed to events like the Peter Anderson festival is "among the ideas being explored" |
| Oct. 5 | Amtrak timetable | No Ocean Springs stop listed |
The study period runs into 2027, so this festival weekend falls well before it ends. As of early October, no public approval or rejection had been announced, and no Ocean Springs train time or boarding plan had been published. Amtrak hasn't ruled the stop out. It just hasn't confirmed anything, so check again closer to Nov. 7 before you send anyone a train plan.
The train your guests can ride this year
The Mardi Gras Service runs two trains a day in each direction, and the full New Orleans-to-Mobile trip takes 3 hours and 43 minutes. For Ocean Springs, the two stations that matter are Biloxi at 890 Esters Boulevard and Pascagoula at 505 Railroad Avenue.
| Direction | Biloxi | Pascagoula |
|---|---|---|
| Toward Mobile, morning | 9:43 a.m. | 10:10 a.m. |
| Toward Mobile, evening | 7:41 p.m. | 8:08 p.m. |
| Toward New Orleans, morning | 7:39 a.m. | 7:11 a.m. |
| Toward New Orleans, afternoon | 5:41 p.m. | 5:11 p.m. |
The festival runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, so which way your guests are coming makes a big difference.
Guests from Mobile have the easier trip. A train reaches Pascagoula at 7:11 a.m. and Biloxi at 7:39 a.m., and the trains back east leave Biloxi at 7:41 p.m. and Pascagoula at 8:08 p.m. That leaves time for dinner in Ocean Springs after the booths close.
Guests from New Orleans have a tighter day. Their morning train reaches Biloxi at 9:43 a.m., and the return toward New Orleans leaves Biloxi at 5:41 p.m., less than an hour after the festival closes. For them, the train fits best as part of a stay in your guest room, not a same-day trip.
Neither station has much on site. Biloxi is a platform with no shelter and no Amtrak ticket kiosk, and Pascagoula is the same. Guests should book ahead and keep their tickets on their phones. Coastal Mississippi advertises Coach fares from $15 each way for the full route and lower fares from intermediate stations. Festival-weekend prices aren't fixed, so check them in Amtrak's booking system.
Coast Transit Authority's Biloxi Transit Center sits across the street from the Biloxi platform, and CTA Route 7 serves downtown Ocean Springs. CTA's connection page lists Route 7 on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with no Sunday service and a $1.75 adult fare. That page dates from July 2025, so confirm the hours before November. If they still hold, a Sunday train guest will need a ride from you between Biloxi and downtown. No dedicated festival shuttle from the Biloxi station had been announced as of early October.
If they drive instead
Most guests will still arrive by car, and the festival's park-and-ride system handles that. The official site recommends three lots:
- Ocean Springs Upper Elementary: parking is free
- Oak Park Elementary: parking is free
- Greyhound Stadium: listed as a pickup point; the 2026 page doesn't state a fee
Shuttles from all three lots are free. They drop riders at the Government Street entrance or the Porter Avenue entrance by City Hall. Handicap parking is available near City Hall and the Ocean Springs Library. Coast Transit Authority buses are ADA-accessible, and groups arriving by motor coach should schedule a drop-off with the Chamber. The festival site says parking on private property, along Bienville Boulevard or on side streets is not allowed. Shuttle hours and frequency for 2026 haven't been published. Last year's every-30-minutes schedule isn't a promise for this year.
As of early October, we hadn't found a final 2026 police notice with closure times. The city's May 5 board agenda listed closures for approval on Washington Avenue from Railroad to Josephine Street, Government Street from Washington Avenue to Magnolia Avenue, and Porter Avenue from Jackson Avenue to City Hall, with no times attached. In 2025, roads closed at 3 a.m. Saturday and towing started at 3:30 a.m. If you live inside that area, plan around the final police notice once it's posted.
Leave bikes, skateboards and golf carts at home, since none are allowed inside the festival. Pets are discouraged. If a dog comes, it must be leashed, carrying it is recommended and it may be asked to leave.
What's new once they're inside
Organizers describe more than 400 artist, crafter and food-vendor booths, and Blue Moon is back as presenting sponsor. Sutton's note in the 2026 guide points to three things that are new or returning this year.
- A mixology experience, new this year, featuring local restaurants and bartenders. Participants and location hadn't been published as of early October.
- The Blue Moon Experience, back on Government Street, where visitors paint their own Blue Moon pint glass.
- The first artist-designed festival shirt. The Chamber ran the contest with Shearwater Pottery and members of the Anderson family. The winner is Coast artist Adam Plitt, whose design brings together Peter Wade Anderson, his pottery and the family's story.
You don't have to wait for the festival to buy the shirt. It's on sale now through the festival website and in person at Shearwater Pottery at 102 Shearwater Drive, the Ocean Springs Visitors Center at 1000 Washington Avenue and TatoNut Donut Shop at 1114 Government Street. Prices are $27 for short sleeve, $33 for long sleeve, $43 for a sweatshirt and $25 for a hat. If you pick one up early, your guests won't have to stand in line at the entrance booths.
Guests bringing kids have a few spots off the main streets. The Young at Art market is on the Walter Anderson Museum of Art grounds. The Mary C. O'Keefe Center lawn has a hands-on marine-education area led by the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, plus Raising Cane's Plinko.
If this weekend has you thinking about how close you want to live to downtown, or what your own house would bring with Government Street a short walk away, The Worth It Group can walk you through the numbers calmly and clearly. Get a Free Home Valuation, and we'll show you what homes near the festival area are trading for.
