Along with cooler temperatures, art and music will be abundant this weekend in downtown Gainesville.
The 29th Annual Downtown Festival and Art Show will be held downtown from the Hippodrome State Theatre to City Hall.
The event kicks off at 7 p.m. today with a free blues concert on Bo Diddley Community Plaza. The art show will open Saturday at 10 a.m. and continue through Sunday.
“We have a community that totally supports the arts,” said Linda Piper, events coordinator for the festival.
The festival is organized by the City of Gainesville Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.
Piper said the weather forecast will be “absolutely perfect” for the festival; temperatures are expected to drop this weekend.
The show includes 250 artists in addition to performers at three different stages. It is expected to attract 100,000 visitors, about half of which usually come from out of town, according to entertainment coordinator Bill Hutchinson.
The art show was one of the top 30 festivals in the country last year, according to Sunshine Artist Magazine.
The performers range from the Lost Safari Drummers, an ensemble that plays African beats, to the Greenwood Morris Dancers, who perform folk dance.
“We have such a variety that makes it really fun to present our local talent,” Hutchinson said.
Although the performers are all local, the artists come from as far away as Minnesota or California.
“Many are nationally known, so we’re very excited about that,” Piper said of the show’s artists.
The art show began with 600 applicants that a committee narrowed down to fill 250 spots.
Event planners said the slow economy did minimally affect the number of applying artists this year due to factors such as travel expenses. Usually there are about 650.
“The economy seems to be coming back,” Hutchinson said. “It’s not as scary for these artists.”
Local acrylic painter Miriam Novack, who likens her work to looking into a kaleidoscope, has been participating in the art show for 10 years.
“Gainesville’s a small city, yet we have a top-notch show,” said Novack, who will be at Spot 51 in the show.
Although she does about 12 art festivals a year, Gainesville’s is one of her favorites.
“It’s nice to have loyal people who follow your work,” she said.
