The Northeast Historic District of Downtown Gainesville hosted the Santa Fe Spring Arts Festival on Sunday, April 3.
Although the usually two-day event was cut down to only Sunday after storms all day on Saturday, the 47th annual festival went on. Artists from all over the country came together to display and sell all kinds of art such as sculptures, paintings, pottery and textiles.
Attendees browsed and purchased art, and kids created their own art, climbed a rock climb wall and played on inflatables. Two stages, which had live music and ballet theatre, were set up downtown where families sat together to enjoy the performances. Various food tents gave people a chance to sample the local grub.
The artists and activities of the festival change every year. Santa Fe has been the primary sponsor of the event since its first year, and the Santa Fe College and Santa Fe College Foundation organized the entire event.
Seniors of the Gainesville Ballet Theatre perform on the Bo Diddley Stage downtown. (photo by Caroline Strogis)
Paintings of the Sister City Exchange Program are displayed to show the work of different
countries. The sister cities include cities located in Palestine, Russia, Poland, Nicaragua and
Israel. (photo by Caroline Strogis)
Donald McDowell sits in front of his tent at the festival. McDowell’s pieces are not only
crafted of steel but often have hidden messages or puns, such as his ‘Rolling Stones’ guitar
made of stones and set on wheels. (Photo by Caroline Strogis)
Shuchang Kang, a University of Florida student and yoga teacher, and Jillian Goldstein practice acroyoga on the lawn of Bo Diddley stage downtown. (Photo by Caroline Strogis)
Artist Laird combines photography and graphic design with his Series of Cphace photos
that depict nature through an infrared camera. (Photo by Caroline Strogis)
Gainesville resident Juleeus Graham slides down the inflatable tower provided for the
festival’s young visitors. (Photo by Caroline Strogis)
Buddy enjoys a nice day strolling through downtown. Art festival guests often bring their
four-legged best friends along for the ride. (Photo by Caroline Strogis)
University of Florida student, Martha Felts volunteers in the O2B Kids section where kids
can color and get their faces painted. (Photo by Caroline Strogis)
Royale Hopkins reaches the top of the rock climb wall as local Boy Scouts coach her to the finish. (Photo by Caroline Strogis)
Every year, the Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival attracts more than 100,000 guests. (Photo by Christy Pina)
Kim LeCouteur and Amber Waters performed at the Garden Stage Sunday afternoon. The two make up a folk/Americana band called Damaged Daughters. They’ve been performing in and around North Central Florida since 2011. (Photo by Christy Pina)
Blake West, 21, sits on a sidewalk on Northeast First Street playing his guitar. West has been playing the guitar for six or seven years, and was surprised to see how many tips he had gotten in just an hour. (Photo by Christy Pina)
Bill Dirienzo, of Fort Pierce, looks through his displayed work at the festival on Sunday. Dirienzo is an island photographer, musician and frame-maker. He has been shooting island photography in the Caribbean and the Keys mainly for about 10 years. (Photo by Christy Pina)
A group of Krishna members parade down Northeast First Street playing music during the festival on Sunday. (Photo by Christy Pina)
Bonnie Bernau, of Gainesville, poses for a picture with a cardboard cutout of Violet Crawley, played by Maggie Smith, from Downton Abbey. (Photo by Christy Pina)
Gerry Shaw, CSO and Founder of EnCor Biotechnology Inc. poses with his photos, most of which are taken with a microscope of human cells. (Photo by Christy Pina)
Ana Varela, a UF grad, displays her ceramics at the festival on Sunday. Varela has her own ceramics studio in Micanopy, where she aims to design pieces that bridge art and function. (Photo by Christy Pina)
The Priest Theatre was slated to be demolished in 2022. But the treasured building still stands today. The family who owns it would like to sell it and hopes it can remain a theater or other entertainment venue.
WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
