What Is 904 Day? Jacksonville's September 4 Celebration

904 Day is an annual celebration of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida held every September 4, named for the region's 904 area code. It began as a social media hashtag, gained organized backing from local partners in 2021, and now includes a mayoral proclamation, small business deals, and community events across the First Coast.

So we built a holiday around a telephone routing prefix that Bell assigned us in 1965. Other cities name things after founders. We went with the number you dial before the number.

Why September 4?

The date is the area code. 9/04. That's the whole mechanism, and it's the same trick Miami runs on March 5 and Orlando runs on April 7. 904 Day started a few years ago, inspired by those area code events in Miami and Orlando.

Jacksonville took to it faster than either of them. The 904 was already on hats, plates, truck windows, and forearms long before anyone put it on a calendar. Naming a day after it was less an invention than paperwork.

Who Started 904 Day?

Nobody, at first. The first mentions of #904Day showed up organically on social media, and the celebration picked up momentum in 2021 when local partners including the City of Jacksonville, WJCT Public Media, Downtown Vision Inc., the JAX Chamber, Visit Jacksonville, the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Wingard joined forces to amplify it.

The committee has grown since to include the Downtown Investment Authority, the Jacksonville Daily Record, 904 Happy Hour, The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, LOL JAX Film Fest, Northside Pride, Explore Clay County, the Garden Club of Jacksonville, Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park, UNF Athletics, and Springfield Preservation and Revitalization.

That's eighteen named partners, and the organizers say there are more. There's a standing committee and an official website at hoorayfor904day.com. The site carries an interactive event map, blog posts from community partners, and a free digital toolkit with downloadable graphics, bingo cards, and sample social posts.

The hashtag has a toolkit now. With bingo cards.

Is 904 Day an Official Holiday?

No. It's a proclamation, not a legal holiday. Nothing closes. Mail runs, schools are open, and you still have to go to work.

Mayor Lenny Curry signed the first official city proclamation declaring September 4 as 904 Day, and the city has issued one every year since. Curry's version leaned on geography: Jacksonville is the largest city by landmass in the continental United States at over 840 square miles, which means the city makes up the majority of the 904 area code.

It also admitted the obvious. The proclamation notes that Orlando, Miami, and Tampa were already using their area codes to build civic pride. We read that as an official municipal document conceding that Miami thought of it first.

In 2026, Mayor Donna Deegan delivers the proclamation as the keynote at the 904 Day Breakfast.

What Actually Happens on 904 Day

Events, deals, and a lot of posting. The shape changes year to year, but past celebrations give you a fair picture:

• Downtown block parties. James Weldon Johnson Park has hosted vendors, food trucks, music, and 904 trivia from 5 to 9 p.m.
• Museum and venue programming. The USS Orleck Naval Museum and the Ritz Theatre and Museum have both run 904 Day events.
• Neighborhood history walks. In 2024, the Northeast Florida Sierra Club teamed with the crew behind "Moncrief Springs: The Movie" for a 1.5-mile urban hike through Historic Durkeeville, starting at 2503 N. Myrtle Avenue.
• Mall-scale everything. Orange Park Mall's 2025 lineup had local music, a Rolling Gems skating troupe performance, 20 local nonprofits, and a scavenger hunt for fifty $50 gift cards.
• $9.04 pricing everywhere. Businesses across town price things at $9.04 for the day. The Jacksonville Zoo and Community First Igloo have both run versions of it.
• A breakfast. VyStar and community partners launched the 904 Day Breakfast in 2025. LIFT JAX co-leads the 2026 edition at VyStar Tower, doors at 7:00 a.m. and program at 8:00, where the mayor delivers the proclamation.

Then there's the timing bit. Visit Jacksonville suggests building a 904 Day bucket list and seeing how much of it you can finish between 9:04 a.m. and 9:04 p.m. A twelve-hour window, opening and closing on the minute. We are very committed to the number.

Where the 904 Actually Reaches

Further than most people assume. The area code covers nearly all of Northeast Florida, from Fernandina Beach down to St. Augustine and out through the counties ringing the city. The Florida Public Service Commission puts it at all or most of Nassau, Duval, Baker, Bradford, Clay, St. Johns, and Union counties.

Which means 904 Day is a Starke holiday and a Ponte Vedra holiday at the same time, and both parties are correct.

There's an asterisk now. The 324 overlay launched February 26, 2024, covering the same territory. New lines can come with 324. Existing numbers didn't change. So a small and growing share of the people at the 904 Day party are not, in the strictest sense, in the 904. We're letting it go.

How to Celebrate 904 Day 2026

September 4, 2026 falls on a Friday, which puts it at the front of Labor Day weekend. Labor Day is Monday, September 7. The whole thing has more runway than usual this year.

1. Spend money at a local business. This is the actual point of the day and the easiest box to check.
2. Leave a review for a place you already love. Visit Jacksonville pushes this one, and it costs nothing.
3. Go somewhere in the 904 you've never been. A neighborhood, a park, a museum. Pick one you've driven past for years.
4. Wear the area code. Not required. Widely observed. Our Jacksonville sticker collection handles the low-commitment version.
5. Check the map late. Event lists firm up in the last weeks of August, so anything you find in July is incomplete.
6. Tag it. #904Day is the hashtag the whole campaign runs on.

You can also just eat shrimp in Mayport and tell people it counts. Nobody is checking, and the proclamation is not that specific.

Our full 904 Day 2026 event roundup has every confirmed event with times, addresses, and links.