Theresa Sumrall, 38, has spent almost 15 years working with Gainesville’s cat colonies — treating more than 200 homeless cats across the city through veterinary care, end-of-life care and occasional rehoming. Now, she’s turned to the community to ask for donations supporting her cause.
José Valentino Ruiz, a 35-year-old UF School of Music assistant professor of music business and entrepreneurship, is nominated for two awards in the 23rd annual Latin Grammy Awards: Best Christian Album in a Spanish Language for “Viviré” and Best Latin Children’s Album for “A La Fiesta de la Música Vamos Todos.”
The 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.
As 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 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 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.
FEST, 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 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.
Julie 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.
Between 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.
Thousands 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.
About 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.
Beatty 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.”
Dance 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 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 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.
Heather Halak, 28, is the sole staff member at Third House Books, which held its grand reopening Saturday. The bookstore closed in March 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, just three months after relocating to 400 NW 10th Ave. About 20 people filtered in and out of the store Saturday afternoon.
In Gainesville, where about 12% of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, Hispanic Heritage Month is focused on embracing the rich Hispanic and Latinx culture within the community. But among the celebrations, there’s also reflection upon the history of colonialism in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and Latin America.
The TikTok account, @liquorstore352, is the product of two Gator Beverage workers: Andrew Pentland and Dylan Phelps, who started the account together in January. In the 10 months since its debut, the account has accumulated about 371,500 followers and 19.7 million likes on its videos — most of which feature short, comedic sketches on the owners’ daily interactions, as well as how-to tips on buying and drinking alcohol.
Gainesville’s local music scene is filled with UF students and alum who are juggling a full course load, work and aspiring music careers. Aside from balancing different responsibilities, college musicians also grapple with the business aspect of their craft — creating digital advertisements, promoting social media content, finding venues for performances and handling music production. Essentially, they become their own manager, publicist and producer.
Solutions by The State News
