Downtown businesses are getting ready to get their Gator on at United Way’s themed tailgate event series.
Four “Get Your Gator On!” street parties are slated for this year, and the themes will include health and fitness, rock ‘n’ roll, local art and Gainesville spirit, organization representatives announced last week.
Kim Faenza, director of communications and marketing for United Way of North Central Florida, said the Friday night events act as a pep rally before home games.
“It’s a reason to start the celebration early,” she said. “We’re a unique little town and we’re just celebrating that.”
Brandon Nappy, Swamp Head Brewery marketing director, said that by providing a beer garden for the event, the company is helping unite the downtown area.
“This seemed like the perfect opportunity to align with them and to promote downtown Gainesville,” he said.
Diego Ibanez, owner of Emiliano’s Cafe and president of the Gainesville Downtown Owners and Tenants, said the street party atmosphere will showcase downtown to visitors.
“They come in for games and we want to show them there’s a lot more to Gainesville,” he said.
“We have a tight community here of businesses … that complement each other.”
Contact Hanna Marcus at hmarcus@alligator.org.
