The Avenue

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THE AVENUE  |  MUSIC

Big: Culture & Arts Festival brings creatives across the state to Gainesville 

By Benjamin Miller | Mar. 18

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. 

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

Tom Miller announces retirement from 39-year open mic variety show

By Molly Seghi | Mar. 18

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.” 

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THE AVENUE  |  LIFESTYLE

Jacksonville dice-maker brings handcrafted collections to Gainesville

By Bea Lunardini | Mar. 4

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. 

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

UF Center for Jewish Studies unveils annual film festival

By Molly Seghi | Mar. 4

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.

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THE AVENUE  |  FOOD

Gainesville’s Girl Scout cookie season remains price-stable in climate of rising costs

By Bonny Matejowsky | Mar. 4

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.

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

Gainesville art scene pushes for more outreach to underserved communities

By Nicole Beltran | Feb. 26

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.

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THE AVENUE

UF public relations team celebrates hidden identities with Gainesville’s first Multicultural Day festival

By Henry DeAngelis and Alexandra Burns | Feb. 26

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. 

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

Buchholz High School presents production of ‘The Three Musketeers’

By Bonny Matejowsky | Feb. 26

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.

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THE AVENUE  |  LIFESTYLE

The 2024 leap year reveals local traditions, celebrations and superstitions

By Molly Seghi | Feb. 26

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.

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THE AVENUE  |  FASHION

Circus-themed fashion show for pets unleashes at the How Bazar

By Emilia Cardenas-Perez | Feb. 25

Under the fluorescent lights of Southwest Second Street’s How Bazar, dogs, cats, snakes and birds circled around the venue Friday, adorned in handmade crochet outfits. The proud owners accompanied each pet, stopping to let the crowd that lined the perimeter admire them, an event organizers call ‘Barkin' Market: A Night at the Circus.’ 

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

New York based-comedian, social media sensation sells out seats at High Dive

By Benjamin Miller | Feb. 24

At 8 p.m. Friday night, Lucas Zelnick, a 28-year-old stand-up comedian from New York City, took the stage at the High Dive, aiming to deliver a memorable stand-up routine to a diverse audience.

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

Independent Black talent push creative boundaries in Gainesville’s art scene

By Benjamin Miller | Feb. 19

Gainesville’s local art scene is home to a diverse array of fashion designers, musicians, writers and artists. An important component of its culture is the Black creatives that have paved the way for many following in their tracks. 

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THE AVENUE  |  MUSIC

Gainesville musician finds success, one song a day

By Bonny Matejowsky | Feb. 19

The 33-year-old Gainesville musician has taken up an ambitious challenge: writing, producing and recording one song a day for an entire year. 

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THE AVENUE  |  LIFESTYLE

Pop-up market celebrates local Black businesses, cultural heritage

By Emilia Cardenas-Perez | Feb. 18

Saturday’s Anthropologie Community Pop-up Market in Butler Town Center at 3217 SW 35th Blvd occurred from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., with six vendors in attendance. 

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

Art in Medicine project holds community event at How Bazar

By Bea Lunardini | Feb. 14

Sarah Hinds, the 47-year-old artist-in-residence at UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine, organized a free event for Gainesville residents to make their own mosaic hearts as part of a project to bring a rainbow mosaic mural to the city.

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

Uptown art exhibit set to debut curations of Black culture

By Tanya Fedak | Feb. 12

In partnership with the Moisturizer Gallery, a nonprofit art gallery in Gainesville, the Black Space Art Exhibition will open Feb. 16 at the Thomas Center and will feature printmaking, painting, oils and ceramics created by local and out-of-town Black artists. 

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THE AVENUE  |  HEALTH ENTERPRISE

Local medical providers, residents grapple with health care gaps and food deserts

By Diego Perdomo | Feb. 12

Addressing limited access to health in southeast Gainesville, community members and health care providers across Alachua County see solutions not only in improving access in policy, community engagement and education, but also in expanding food resources to the town.

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THE AVENUE  |  ART AND THEATER

Williston woman aims to revitalize Black representation in art 

By Bea Lunardini | Feb. 12

Solana Williams couldn’t find any art that looked like her on the walls of the museums she explored. Her only course of action was making it. 

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THE AVENUE  |  LIFESTYLE

Pride from past to present to future: Gainesville’s Black LGBTQ+ community

By Molly Seghi and Bonny Matejowsky | Feb. 12

The growing Black Queer community in Gainesville addresses struggles of intersectionality.

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THE AVENUE  |  NIGHTLIFE

Kendall Jenner brings tequila brand to Gainesville bars

By Emilia Cardenas-Perez | Feb. 8

UF students stood on chairs and climbed tables to catch a glimpse of Kendall Jenner as she walked in from the side door at The Social at Midtown. The sound of excited screams and the flash of iPhone cameras filled the room as the model hopped behind the bar to make drinks with her tequila.