THE AVENUE
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.
The Avenue
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ART AND THEATER
Art fest encourages sex positivity, eliminating stigma among youth
By Lauren Brensel | Dec. 5Paintings, 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.
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LIFESTYLE
Gainesville celebrates 41st Annual Downtown Festival & Art Show
By Halima Attah | Nov. 21Located on the streets surrounding Bo Diddley Plaza, this year’s festival ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
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Gainesville residents, professors spotlight Alachua County’s Indigenous history
By Naomi Volcy | Nov. 21In 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.
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LIFESTYLE
Rosewood descendant ‘Miss Lizzie’ shares her story with next generation
By Averi Kremposky | Nov. 21The 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.
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NIGHTLIFE
Cocktail bar Madrina’s closes after 6 years
By Lauren Brensel | Nov. 14It’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.
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LIFESTYLE
Gainesville cat lover raises thousands for strays
By Luna Boales | Nov. 14Theresa 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.
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MUSIC
Fiesta de la música: UF faculty, students nominated for Latin Grammy Awards
By Ashleigh Lucas | Nov. 14José 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.”
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MUSIC
The BASH music festival spotlights Gainesville’s diversity through art, music
By Isabella Marzban | Nov. 8The 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.
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Planting roots: how the Gainesville Giving Garden fits in with local farm culture
By Lauren Brensel | Nov. 7As 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.
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ART AND THEATER
Art from The Arc: Disabled Alachua artists will sell jewelry, paintings at expo
By Lauren Brensel | Nov. 4The 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.
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ART AND THEATER
Hippodrome Theatre to unveil 3 plays at New Works Festival
By Averi Kremposky | Nov. 3The 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.
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MUSIC
Gainesville FEST musical festival celebrates 20th anniversary
By Naomi Volcy | Oct. 31FEST, 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.
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LIFESTYLE
‘The town that time forgot’: 47th Annual Micanopy Fall Festival returns
By Isabella Marzban and Luna Boales | Oct. 30The 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.
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LIFESTYLE
Dr. Anthony Fauci look-alikes take over downtown Gainesville
By Jiselle Lee | Oct. 27Julie 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.
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MUSIC
Gainesville celebrates rock ‘n’ roll legend Tom Petty despite last year’s controversy
By Isabella Marzban | Oct. 24Between 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.
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LIFESTYLE
Gainesville Pride Festival returns for the first time since 2019
By Heather Bushman and Veronica Nocera | Oct. 24Thousands 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.
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ART AND THEATER
#UNLITTER bottle cap mural unveiling highlights need for recycling efforts
By Luna Boales | Oct. 21About 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.
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Matheson History Museum hosts author Bob Beatty’s Allman Brothers Band book talk
By Ben Crosbie | Oct. 20Beatty 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.”
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ART AND THEATER
‘Dracula’ ballet adaptation encourages blood donations
By Naomi Volcy | Oct. 20Dance 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.
