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.
Relationship scandals, murky press tours and masses of online gossip had no effect on director Olivia Wilde’s sophomore feature, “Don’t Worry Darling.” With $35 million in box office totals as of Oct. 1, the psychological thriller sits as the exemplar that all press is indeed good press — and casting Harry Styles as one of the lead protagonists can’t hurt either.
Lyle the Crocodile from the popular children’s book series “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” greeted seven child patients at the UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital alongside Albert the Gator, UF President Kent Fuchs and his wife Linda Fuchs Tuesday morning.
Audiences can expect a live 90-minute performance featuring trained rescues, as well as a musical finale by all-cat band The Rock Cats. The feline group will play five shows at The Hippodrome Theatre between Oct. 7-9, with shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are between $48 and $60 and can be purchased online.
The annual festival hosted by the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida will return Oct. 22 at Bo Diddley Plaza, nearly a month after the center was vandalized. The center has celebrated Pride in Gainesville every year since 2008 aside from the last two years.
Following the release of their previous six-track EP, “Feel Better Soon,” Driveaway is releasing a new single available for streaming and download Friday. The band has strayed from their usual pop genre, instead opting for a more rock ‘n’ roll sound.
Solutions by The State News
