Downtown on the Escatawpa · Every May
Smokin’ theRiver City
Outboard drag boats scream down the Escatawpa at close to 100 miles an hour, a few feet off the downtown boardwalk. Free, loud, and pure River City.
What it is
The fastest thing on the river.
Once a year, downtown Moss Point turns its riverfront into a race course. Outboard drag boats line up two at a time and tear down a straight stretch of the Escatawpa while the whole River City watches from the boardwalk, close enough to feel the spray. It is sanctioned by the Outboard Drag Boat Association and hosted by Moss Point Main Street, and the racers come from across the Gulf South and beyond.
No grandstand between you and the water. That closeness is the whole point, and it is why racers keep putting Moss Point near the top of their favorite stops on the circuit.
Roll the tape
Feel the river shake.
A minute of Smokin’ the River City is worth a thousand words. Turn the sound up.
From the water and the air
Race weekend, shot in Moss Point.
On the day
What to expect.
Racing up close
Watch from the boardwalk with no barrier between you and the water. The vantage is the draw.
Food and vendors
Barbecue, cold drinks, and food trucks line the riverfront between heats.
Live music
Downtown fills with sound all weekend, on the water and off it.
Free and family friendly
No tickets, no cover. Bring the kids, bring a chair, stay all day.
“It’s probably the best spectator sight we have. It fires you up.”Cameron White, drag boat racer, to WLOX
Two boats, one straightaway, the whole River City on its feet.
Watch the runWhy it belongs here
Moss Point has always been a river town.
They call it the River City for a reason. The Escatawpa runs right through downtown, and for generations that water has been where Moss Point works, fishes, and gathers. Smokin’ the River City takes that birthright and turns the volume all the way up: a homegrown race weekend that puts the riverfront, and the people who love it, on full display.
It is a young tradition with an old soul, and it grows every year. Racers who could run anywhere on the outboard drag circuit keep coming back for the crowd and the closeness of this one stretch of Mississippi water.
Plan your day
Come down to the water.
- Downtown riverfront boardwalkAlong the Escatawpa in downtown Moss Point.
- Every MayA two-day race weekend. Watch our channels for this year’s dates.
- Always freeNo tickets. Public parking on Main Street and at the City Hall lots.
- Bring a chairSet up on the boardwalk and settle in for the day.
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