Depot Park and First Magnitude host birthday bashes

Two young Gainesville landmarks celebrated anniversaries Saturday, with brews and train rides.

First Magnitude Brewing Company, a brewery and tap room located at 1220 SE Veitch St., threw a three-year anniversary party, where patrons sipped beer and listened to live music from noon to midnight Saturday.

The brewery offered more than 20 local brews that could be washed down with food from three food trucks, said Christine Denny, the president and co-founder of the brewery. Denny hoped live music from Florida bands and a warm atmosphere would make the party inviting to the brewery’s customers.

“The Gainesville community has accepted and embraced us,” Denny said.

Starting as a 15-barrel brewery, First Magnitude Brewing Company recently began selling its canned beer in stores outside of Gainesville, according to Alligator archives. The growing company has maintained its connection to the community and interest in preserving Florida’s springs. The brewery has hosted events to raise funds for nonprofits such as Florida Springs Institute, We Are Neutral, PACE Center for Girls and Girls’ Place, Inc.

Gainesville resident Brian Pope, who has visited First Magnitude since it opened, brought his wife and son to the party and said the brewery offered more than just good beer — it has a family environment.

“I think they have something very special here,” he said. “They run a damn good business.”

Down the road at 200 SE Depot Ave., Depot Park hosted its own birthday bash to celebrate its first year.

From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. between 2,000 and 3,000 people attended the event, which featured food trucks, live music, train rides, scavenger hunts, human foosball, aerial silk performers and roller skaters, said Cindi Harvey, Depot Park’s manager.

“We’re really in a growing stage,” she said. “How can we grow Depot Park into an even more amazing public space?”

Crisscrossed by railroads, the water and soil in Depot Park used to be contaminated by the gas stations, cement plant and other industrial businesses that operated in the area. In 2012, the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency restored the old railroad depot and began building the park, according to the park’s website. Children who visit the park can monkey around on the playground, cool off in the Blue Grotto water area, explore the conservation area or sprawl out on the hill.

Cada, a 12-year-old Gainesville resident, enjoys all the opportunities Depot Park creates to meet new people.

“It gets everyone in the community together,” she said.

Harvey said the first year has provided an opportunity for the park to grow. She said visitors can expect movies on the hill to be one of the next additions to the park. The rest, she said, will have to be a surprise.

“There’s so much more to come,” she said. “We are just now starting to hit our stride.”