Crowds gathered in the Haile Plantation Village Center on Friday as business owners there opened their doors for the annual Light the Village event.
Children, college students and parents were among those in attendance. They enjoyed train rides; in-costume characters, such as Elsa and the Minions; live music; vendors; and horse-drawn carriage rides.
“I love working at Patticakes because of the community that is created over something as simple as a cup of coffee or a cupcake,” barista Morgan Ginn said of the business at Haile Plantation. “Working during Light the Village is a great time to see all of our regular customers, and new faces come together at the same time and celebrate the season. The line is always out the door, but spirits are high.”
Patticakes customers Naomi Barb (right) and Sarah Lapp talk after buying drinks Friday at Haile Plantation Village Center’s Light the Village event. (Madison Imschweiler/WUFT News)
Sarah Austin plays guitar and sings Christmas music with the River Cross Church band at the Haile’s Plantation Hall. (Madison Imschweiler/WUFT News)
Two girls look into a Christmas display at Brightway Insurance in the Haile Village Center. Haile residents Mike and Annelle Rigsby created the animatronic window scape using 60 servomotors and hundreds of parts from a 3D printer. (Madison Imschweiler/WUFT News)
Richard Cates drives families on a train called the God Bless America Express, which he has been operating for seven years. (Madison Imschweiler/WUFT News)
A Christmas tree lights up the center of Haile Plantation. (Madison Imschweiler/WUFT News)
Lights are strung on the columns on the outside of tPlantation Hall. (Madison Imschweiler/WUFT News)
Patticakes barista Morgan Ginn smiles while making coffee for a customer Friday. (Madison Imschweiler/WUFT News)
A cast of 150 undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Florida Opera Theatre, UF School of Theatre + Dance, the Capella Nova Chorus of Gainesville and UF Symphony Orchestra will perform the opera "Carmen" Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Maestro Tiffany Lu will lead the 70-piece orchestra.
WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville
