The Florida Avenue 2022 year in review
By Alligator Editorial Board | Dec. 30Before 2022 ends, dive into our most powerful, heartfelt and colorful coverage of the year.
Before 2022 ends, dive into our most powerful, heartfelt and colorful coverage of the year.
Paintings, embroideries and stickers were displayed outside The Bull from 2-5 p.m. when five artists showcased their work centered around body positivity, reproductive justice and sex education. The event, deemed the “Sex Positive Art Fest,” was hosted by Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida.
Located on the streets surrounding Bo Diddley Plaza, this year’s festival ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, local residents and academics are making efforts to highlight this rich Indigenous history and encourage education of Indigenous peoples’ contributions to our community.
The publication of Lizzie Jenkins’ book follows statewide debates on book banning, age-appropriate class materials and race-related instruction in classrooms. In April, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law banning educators from teaching critical race theory, an academic concept that addresses systemic racism.
It’s the end of an era, some bar-hoppers say. Madrina’s, a downtown Gainesville cocktail bar, is set to close its doors for financial reasons after six years in business.
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.