Second Street was hopping in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s -- and it hops the first weekend in October every year.

The Second Street Festival celebrates its 20th year this weekend, looking to the past to commemorate the fabled street's swinging heyday, when Jackson Ward was known as The Harlem of the South.

The neighborhood was home to businesses, restaurants, artists and an active nightlife. At its core was Second Street, sometimes known as The Deuce, a business district anchored by the Hippodrome Theatre.

The biggest black acts of the day, restricted by Jim Crow laws from playing in the rest of the city, all came to the Hippodrome: Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, James Brown and more.

The Second Street Festival has been paying tribute to that heritage every fall since 1989. But over the years, the festival has grown into something more.

"To the African-American community, it's more of a reunion weekend, a chance for people to come home who have moved out of the area," said Mavis Wynn, event operations manager for Venture Richmond, which runs the festival.

When the festival began it was called the 2 Street Festival at the time -- it was just a one-night event on one block. But it proved popular and has grown into a 2½-day, four-block party.

Like a bride's ensemble, this year's festival will offer some things that are old, some things that are new.