Gainesville celebrates 41st Annual Downtown Festival & Art Show
By Halima Attah | Nov. 21Located on the streets surrounding Bo Diddley Plaza, this year’s festival ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Avenue
More The Avenue
THE AVENUE
|
MUSIC
The BASH music festival spotlights Gainesville’s diversity through art, music
By Isabella Marzban | Nov. 8The BASH — a three-day music festival featuring national, regional and local rock 'n' roll, Americana, blues, soul and country artists — took over Depot Park this weekend. In addition to music, more than 70 arts, crafts and food vendors were also present.
THE AVENUE
Planting roots: how the Gainesville Giving Garden fits in with local farm culture
By Lauren Brensel | Nov. 7As the founder of the Gainesville Giving Garden, Boria-Meyer added more partnerships to that list Nov. 5 when she hosted the garden’s first farm-to-table benefit dinner. The banquet was at Frog Song Organics — it was the farm crossover of the millenia, raising $2,000 in ticket sales for the garden.
THE AVENUE
|
ART AND THEATER
Art from The Arc: Disabled Alachua artists will sell jewelry, paintings at expo
By Lauren Brensel | Nov. 4The Arc of Alachua County, a nonprofit organization that services people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), will hold its first arts and crafts expo Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Arc, located at 3303 NW 83rd St., administers day programs and staffs group homes for around 107 people with IDD. All proceeds from the sale will go toward the artists.
THE AVENUE
|
ART AND THEATER
Hippodrome Theatre to unveil 3 plays at New Works Festival
By Averi Kremposky | Nov. 3The Hippodrome Theatre will bring back its annual New Works Festival Nov. 4 and 5, which aims to showcase both experimental and unconventional plays written by a diverse pool of Florida playwrights. The festival will feature three plays — one premiere Friday and a double premiere Saturday.
THE AVENUE
|
MUSIC
Gainesville FEST musical festival celebrates 20th anniversary
By Naomi Volcy | Oct. 31FEST, the three-day, multi-venue event, celebrated its 20th anniversary Oct. 28-30. Performances were scattered across a variety of downtown Gainesville locations — with music venues like Heartwood Soundstage, bars like The Bull and other local establishments featuring lineups of punk rock, pop-punk and other musical genres — drawing in crowds from across the country.
THE AVENUE
|
LIFESTYLE
‘The town that time forgot’: 47th Annual Micanopy Fall Festival returns
By Isabella Marzban and Luna Boales | Oct. 30The 47th annual Micanopy Fall Festival, which took place Oct. 29-30, brought nearly 500 vendors and hundreds of visitors to the historic city’s main road. The arts and crafts festival was free to the public and featured a variety of north central Florida artists, musicians and food trucks. Music by local artists like the Chasing Rabbits Bands and Inisheer Irish Dancers greeted passersby as they browsed the festival’s offerings.
THE AVENUE
|
LIFESTYLE
Dr. Anthony Fauci look-alikes take over downtown Gainesville
By Jiselle Lee | Oct. 27Julie Anspach was one of seven contestants who participated in the Oct. 26 Dr. Fauci Look-Alike contest. The contest was hosted by The Bull and Gainesville actor Glenn Terry.
THE AVENUE
|
MUSIC
Gainesville celebrates rock ‘n’ roll legend Tom Petty despite last year’s controversy
By Isabella Marzban | Oct. 24Between Oct. 20 to Oct. 22, more than 3,000 Petty fans gathered to celebrate the life and music of the rock ‘n’ roll legend, who died in October 2017. Tickets ranged from free general admission passes to VIP gold and silver packages, which cost up to $125.
THE AVENUE
|
LIFESTYLE
Gainesville Pride Festival returns for the first time since 2019
By Heather Bushman and Veronica Nocera | Oct. 24Thousands of students, parents, children and Gainesville residents gathered in Bo Diddley Plaza Oct. 22 for Gainesville Pride Festival’s grand return. The festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but attendees came back in full force — adorned in all colors of the rainbow and representing all sectors of the LGBTQ community.
THE AVENUE
|
ART AND THEATER
#UNLITTER bottle cap mural unveiling highlights need for recycling efforts
By Luna Boales | Oct. 21About 30 students, city officials and residents gathered at City Hall Thursday in anticipation of the mural’s unveiling. Members also called for a change in the city’s refusal to recycle bottle caps, despite a recent zero waste ordinance.
THE AVENUE
Matheson History Museum hosts author Bob Beatty’s Allman Brothers Band book talk
By Ben Crosbie | Oct. 20Beatty gave his presentation Wednesday night at the Matheson History Museum to a crowd of about 40 people. During the talk, he discussed the writing process for his new book, which was published this month and is titled “Play All Night!: Duane Allman and the Journey to Fillmore East.”
THE AVENUE
|
ART AND THEATER
‘Dracula’ ballet adaptation encourages blood donations
By Naomi Volcy | Oct. 20Dance Alive National Ballet is ready to welcome the Halloween season with its adaptive performance of Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.” Dracula will hit the stage Saturday at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
THE AVENUE
|
LIFESTYLE
Halloween psychology experiment Gainesville Fear Garden studies fright, fun despite challenges
By Lauren Brensel | Oct. 17The Gainesville Fear Garden is a sensory deprivation Halloween experience set inside a tent at 220 NW Eighth Ave. The attraction opened Oct. 6 and runs until Halloween night.
THE AVENUE
|
ART AND THEATER
Political comedy ‘Running Mates’ to debut at the Hippodrome weeks before midterm elections
By Valentina Sandoval | Oct. 14The production will run through the end of the month, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 30, at The Hippodrome Theatre. The play makes light of American political polarization.
