Some of Gainesville’s most accomplished residents danced, flipped and raised money at a “Dancing With The Stars” competition Sunday.
From the electrifying rhythms to the show-stopping choreography, “On Your Feet!” captivated audiences with an emotional retelling of the stories of Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, Grammy-award winning Latin-American musical artists.
Uplift GNV’s aim is to raise funds for Upbeat’s Musicians Therapy Scholarship, which covers mental health counseling costs for musicians. Recipients of the scholarship can use the funds to cover eight private therapy sessions at Gainesville Community Counseling Center, Klausner said.
Visitors at the ArtWalk venue at 714 S Main St. were greeted with the thick smell of spray paint and bold visuals across the concrete walls surrounding the lot. It featured shapes and colors central to the work of Erbriyon Barrett, a 30-year-old artist better known as ‘Cloud.’
Easter is a holiday known for sweet marshmallow chicks, pastel-woven baskets and, of course, the ever-mysterious Easter Bunny. But the impacts of this floppy-eared icon stretch beyond childhood memories of early morning egg hunts to a much more consequential extent — one that is particularly dangerous for domestic rabbits.
Typically, visitors at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens pay their admission fee and stroll through the Summer House into 68 acres of lush greenery. From March 23 to 24, though, they were greeted by more than 175 vendors from around Florida there for the annual Spring Festival.
Nestled beneath a canopy of trees and twinkling lights, Gainesville residents came together to indulge in a comforting taste of home from cultures around the world. More than 150 Gainesville residents and food enthusiasts gathered at First Magnitude Brewing Company March 23 to celebrate Taste The World International Food Festival.
Some say art imitates life. For other’s it’s vice versa. But “White,” the Hippodrome’s latest production, looks at it both ways. The 2018 play hits the mainstage at 8 p.m. March 29 and runs until April 14.
Saturday morning, the Florida Museum of Natural History opened its new permanent exhibit, Water Shapes Florida. The exhibit is centered on Florida freshwater and its shape on human life over time. The exhibit, with interactive projector screens and physical replicas of underwater wildlife, aims to illustrate the evolution of the state's aquifers, rivers and most famous springs just north of the museum’s location in Gainesville.
On Saturday night, local bands Half Gone, Quail Hollow, Rohna and Madwoman energized a colorful crowd of indie music fans in an exhilarating concert as part of the Indie Nights Florida tour. Indie Night, established in 2021 by Rohna bassist Andres Hernandez, seeks to bring local music together all across Florida.
Generations of book enthusiasts lined up down the block outside Barnes & Noble on Wednesday morning, some jumping for joy in anticipation. As the clock struck 9 a.m. and the ribbon was cut, more than 100 people rushed into the brand-new store and got lost in the rows of crisp, colorful books for sale.
Big: Cultures & Arts Festival is set to take place in an empty lot between Porters Community and South Main Street, breathing life into the venue with Florida’s music, fashion, visual art and film scene. Musical artists based in Gainesville and cities across the state, including Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami, are set to appear in numbers April 13.
Tom Miller, a 58-year-old multidisciplinary performance artist and screenwriter, has graced Gainesville with open mic shows since his humble beginnings as a UF theater student. Decades later, he will step down as the king of entertainment in downtown Gainesville, a place he calls “the known center of the universe.”
The time it takes Schweiner to handcraft his own dice amounts to more than 30 hours every week. Each hour is spent in his workshop, a small room in his Jacksonville home. The room has a workbench and table, a 36-square-foot cork board holding his tools and most importantly, around 450 dice.
The UF Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies, at the Hippodrome State Theatre and Oak Hammock, will present its 13th annual Gainesville Jewish Film Festival throughout March. It will feature 12 film screenings about the Jewish experience and culture around the world.
On a rainy Saturday morning, Girl Scout Troop 2370 stood anxiously under the red awning of Winn-Dixie on Main Street. Though the day was gray and gloomy, 8-year-old Kate Sarnoski couldn’t help but smile a toothy grin while greeting grocery shoppers with a question difficult to resist: “Would you like to buy Girl Scout cookies?” she asks.
Arts and culture are present in Gainesville through museums, exhibits and music venues scattered around the city. Further developments like a cultural arts center in East Gainesville could continue catering to the expansion, providing people with a place to turn to for support. Community members are concerned more outreach needs to be done to fully immerse underserved communities into art outlets. There are opportunities for people to seek support through the arts, but the accessibility can vary.
How Bazar became a hotspot for art and culture Feb. 24 as people joined to honor a combination of various cultures, backgrounds and identities at the Culturs Festival.
The ringing clangs of swashbuckling sword fights resounded loudly in Buchholz High School’s auditorium at a midweek evening rehearsal. In front of a white-columned set piece, two pajama-clad teens duel with careful choreography, jousting silver swords and dodging calculated swings.
Jazzlyn Harrell eagerly punched her number into the keypad in her elementary school lunch line over 20 years ago. More satisfying than the lunch she was served, she savored the ‘Happy birthday’ message that lit up on the screen. Unlike her classmates, she would have to wait another four years to see it again. Harrell, now a 31-year-old Alachua County elementary school counselor, is a ‘leapling,’ a person born Feb. 29. For her, the date brings memories of both small delights and mild frustrations.
Solutions by The State News
