MERIDIAN, Miss. – Sipp & Savor returns to the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, also known as The MAX, on Saturday, April 12, 2025. Close to 50 chefs, master mixologists, and many distillers will fill The MAX Courtyard and line the streets of downtown Meridian to present samples and tastings for festival attendees. The event starts at 6:00 pm on Front Street in front of The MAX, or 5:00 pm for Premium Pass holders.
Chef Vishwesh Bhatt of John Currence’s City Grocery Restaurant Group will headline the 2025 festival. Bhatt was named Southern Living’s Southerner of the Year in 2019, the same year he was awarded Best Chef: South by the James Beard Foundation. His first book I Am From Here, published in August 2022, was awarded the James Beard U.S. Foodways Cookbook Award in 2023. Bhatt started as a prep cook at City Grocery in Oxford in 1997 and worked his way up to Executive Chef at Snackbar, which opened in 2009.
Party band Fly by Radio will take the main stage.
Sipp & Savor tickets are available for sale online, and a limited number will be available at the gate, the day of the event. Attendees are encouraged to purchase in advance.
Festival favorites from last year are returning including James Beard Semifinalist, Best Chef South, Alex Eaton (Aplos, Smoke Show), two-time James Beard Semifinalist, Best Chef South, Hunter Evans (Elvie’s), Loma Xayalinh (Lomakase’), Brandon Cain (Saw’s BBQ), two time James Beard Semifinalist, Best Chef South, and Most Outstanding Restaurant, Alex Perry (Vestige), Food Network Star Finalist and Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chef”, Cory Bahr (Parish Restaurant), and more. Elvie’s made The New York Times’ America’s Best Restaurants list in 2022, one of only 50 restaurants featured across America.
New to this year’s event includes Damien Cavicchi of Hal + Mals in Jackson, Geno Lee of the Big Apple Inn, Leslie Roark Scott of Ubon’s Barbeque in Yazoo City, among 15 others.
Beverages this year include exciting lineups from Mitchell Distributing, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Queen’s Reward Meadery, Caymus Wines, Wonderbird gin, Ole Smoky Moonshine, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Meridian and more.
“A festival we’ve looked forward to ever since its inception. With a super friends assembly of talent, it’s the perfect setting where nary a long face is to be had, and a wonderful bite of food is just around the corner,” said Chef Alex Perry. Perry has been involved in Sipp & Savor since 2019, was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award Best Chef South three years running, and was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award, Most Outstanding Restaurant in 2024.
Chef Loma Xayalinh, Sipp & Savor Chef Committee Member and featured chef, said of the festival, “it’s like having all the restaurants you want to dine in one place. You not only get to sample their signature dishes, but you also get to meet and interact with the chefs up close and personal. It’s packed with food, fun, and live entertainment, including free bad dad jokes from Lomakase.”
Sipp & Savor is the annual fundraiser for The MAX benefiting its educational efforts in and around the state. The MAX showcases Mississippi’s creative legacies in one immersive museum experience. Visitors of all ages can explore the global impact of Mississippians on music, literature, art, entertainment, and cuisine.
Visit www.sippandsavor.com to learn more and purchase tickets. Visit msarts.org for the latest information about all upcoming events, including the upcoming exhibit, Thank You Please Come Again, featuring photographs from Kate Medley’s James Beard nominated book of the same title. The exhibition focuses on service station restaurants throughout the South.
Tickets will be available for purchase at https://sippandsavor.com/ starting Friday, November 29, with a presale for MAX Members only starting Tuesday, November 26. Visit msarts.org to learn more about The MAX and become a member.
About The MAX
The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience explores the state’s creative legacies in one immersive attraction. Come discover the Mississippi roots of some of the world’s arts and entertainment icons – Elvis Presley, Oprah Winfrey, B.B. King, Faith Hill, Sela Ward, Margaret Walker, Eudora Welty, and Jim Henson, to name just a few.
The MAX is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The museum is located at the corner of Sela Ward Parkway (22nd Avenue) and Front Street, overlooking the railroad at the edge of Meridian’s historic downtown. Street parking is available, with shops and restaurants within walking distance. For more information visit msarts.org or call 601-581-1550.
WRITTEN BY: Gabby Ortiz, Marketing Coordinator
