Designer aprons, hand-carved wooden spoons and “silverwearable” jewelry were only a few examples of the art displayed at the 28th Annual Downtown Festival and Art Show this weekend.
An estimated 100,000 people wandered through the brick-paved streets of downtown Gainesville from City Hall to the Hippodrome State Theatre, stopping at more than 250 booths showcasing artwork of all kinds.
From paintings and photographs to bird baths and pet accessories, the booths were packed with people craning to take a peek.
“I’ve had a great festival,” said Kay Edenfield, a first-time artist to the festival, “not just monetarily, which was good, but I met a lot of great people.”
Edenfield said one of the things that impressed her the most was the festival was college students she met at her booth.
She said they were all polite, and even though most of them could not afford to buy most of the pieces, they still stopped and complimented her on her work.
Lynzee Marmor, a UF creative photography freshman, volunteered at the Imagination Station, where kids could make various crafts and get their faces painted. She said she got a chance to look around at all of the displays before her shift and was impressed with all of it.
“It’s fun to browse,” Marmor said, “and they don’t make you feel obligated to buy, so it’s not uncomfortable.”
