Friends, families and fashionistas alike gathered at Depot Park on Saturday and Sunday for the 38th Annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire.
For the second year in a row, the fair was held in downtown Gainesville, a temporary solution as organizers continue their search for a larger venue.
The fair has struggled to find a place to permanently call home since the Alachua County Fairgrounds moved to a smaller location in Newberry. After a brief stint at a location on Archer Road, the fair’s organizers decided on Depot Park as a temporary location in 2024. The city stuck with the venue for this year's fair as well after failing to find a larger venue in Gainesville.
Lili Tzou, the assistant director of the fair, said the city has searched for a bigger space.
“The goal has always been to move to a bigger, permanent venue.” she said. “We have been looking for a permanent site for quite a while now.”
“It’s just really difficult to find the amount and type of land that we need in Gainesville.” Tzou said.
Since moving to Depot Park, the fair hasn’t been able to last for its typical three-weekend duration. Because it’s a public park, it can’t be fenced off for three weekends to host the fair, Tzou said.
“We also aren’t able to sell tickets because of this, which funds the fair itself,” she added.
Many attendees enjoyed the fact that the experience was free.
“I like that it’s free now, because it didn’t use to be,” said University of Florida senior Yael Hamaoui, who has attended the fair since it was on Archer Road.
The downtown location is also more convenient for UF students.
“I think here [Depot Park] is better,” UF senior Noah Wachsman said. “We don’t have to drive.”
The fair also offered many places to park for those who opted to drive. The Hoggetowne Medieval Faire website featured a map of parking locations, which included free, paid and ADA parking.
For those who parked at the garages downtown, EZ Event Rides had shuttles going between the garages and Depot Park.
Tzou said this year's event nearly doubled the number of merchants from last year.
“We had about 90 this year,” she said. This is up from the 57 vendors the event featured last year.
Hamaoui enjoyed her experience more at Hoggetowne Downtown this year than last year.
“I feel like last time it was kind of last minute,” she said. “This time was definitely better than last year.”
UF freshman Grace Tucceri also had a positive experience for her first time at the fair.
“The venue was easy to navigate and just the right size,” she said. “I liked how the food was all in one area and the entertainment was spread out throughout the park.”
There was no shortage of entertainment at the fair, either. Lily LaBelle and Amanda Renaud make up the Topsy Turvy Show, an acrobatic duo who entertained the crowds at the fair over the weekend.
Another entertainer, James Songster, featured Hamaoui in one of his shows.
“I’ve never been picked for a show before, so that was actually really cool,” she said. The show featured a mailbox where a bunny appeared with Songster’s magic.
Despite the online criticism about last year's Hoggetowne Downtown, this year's responses have been more supportive of Depot Park.
Organizers are still working to get the event out of Depot Park and into a venue where they can host the event for three weekends. The Hoggetowne Medieval Faire website mentions that its staff have reviewed over 40 potential locations and are continuing their search for a venue that can accommodate the size and needs of the event.
