Jazz Band, Street Fair Draw Crowd To Downtown Gainesville For Frank Conference

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The temperature slowly dips into the 50s as people begin to filter into the frank street fair. The fair was held on Feb. 26, as part of the frank conference at Bo Diddley Plaza from 6-10 p.m.

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The Preservation Jazz Band takes the stage at the Frank Street Fair Thursday evening on February 26, 2015. The band is from New Orleans, Louisiana.

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A table displays music available to be purchased from the Preservation Jazz Band. The band has been around since the 1960s.

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The Preservation Jazz Band plays their music with multiple instruments. The crowd roared after each ending note.

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Charlie Gabriel, a clarinet player for the Preservation Jazz Band, sings into a microphone Thursday evening. The band played old classics like “You are my sunshine”.

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Onna Meyer balances three hula hoops at the frank street fair downtown Thursday Feb. 26. Meyer said she came to hoop along with the music.

New Orleans visited Gainesville Thursday evening.

Part of the frank 2015 conference, which annually gathers speakers from the communication fields and puts on various events for the community, the downtown street fair featured local food trucks and live performances from Flat Land and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The street fair was free and open to the public to bring lawn chairs and enjoy the cool weather. This came after a day of speaking with authors, journalists and filmmakers, among other special guests.

Kerry Leslie flew from San Francisco, California, to attend the public communications interest conference. Leslie said she liked the idea of the street fair.

"It’s an opportunity to network and continue conversations started at the conference," Leslie said.

At about 8 p.m., the Preservation Jazz Band took the stage. Soon, couples were dancing on the sidewalks. At one point, the band led the crowd in an a cappella version of "You Are My Sunshine."

Originally from New Orleans, the band plays regularly at its home venue, Preservation Hall.

Gia Monteleone, the tour coordinator for the Preservation Jazz Band, said the band does a variety of shows.

"We do a lot of festivals, and this kind of feels like a festival," she said.