Thousands strolled the streets of downtown Gainesville Saturday and Sunday to peruse and purchase works of art in the 44th annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival.
“The highlights, I find, are just watching the people engage with the artists,” said Kathryn Lehman, event organizer and Santa Fe’s cultural programs coordinator.
Lehman said Sunday she didn’t have exact figures but estimated attendance at roughly 110,000 people—a typical turnout for the festival.
About 200 artists and other vendors from as far as California were set up along Northeast First Street and surrounding roads.
Nitya Goodwin, 57, of Gainesville, admires a painting Sunday at the 44th annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival. Crowds walk along Northeast First Street in downtown Gainesville on Sunday for the 44th annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival. An estimated 110,000 people attended the two-day event.Gytis Garsys (left), a 21-year-old University of Florida student, and Kristen Brooks, 29, of Gainesville, look through Rick Ficker's paintings on Sunday. Ficker, of Merritt Island, was one of about 200 vendors at the festival. Ken Jensen, a potter from St. Augustine, awaits customers Sunday at his booth in downtown Gainesville. “It’s a great show—perfect weather,” he said. Anastasja Fernandez-Smith, 6, hula hoops on Sunday at the 44th annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival. Jonathan Strout (right), a 30-year-old Gainesville resident, and Heather Foss (middle), 30, of Cape Cod, Fla., joke with artist Holly Sue Foss about how they might be distantly related. Foss, of Minneapolis, visited Gainesville this weekend for the festival and to see her nephew. “I like to merge (seeing family) with my art shows,” she said.Rabbi Tony Arroyo plays an accordion Sunday outside Kehilat Kol Simcha as attendees of the 44th annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival walk along Northeast First Street.Members of the Gainesville Ballet Theatre dance Sunday at the 44th annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival in downtown Gainesville. Thirty-five individuals and groups performed for festival goers.Paula Fambroso, a 54-year-old Gainesville resident, admires blown glass Sunday at the arts festival.
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