Arts and Entertainment

For nearly five years, two statues have greeted visitors outside of an old art gallery along State Road 26 in Melrose. The sculptures depicting the likenesses of John Belushi and Dan Akyroyd’s characters Jake and Elwood from the 1980 film The Blues Brothers have become a local landmark, but now the one of the sculptures is missing.

Raiford is Union Juvenile Residential Facility currently holding 24 young men from ages 13 to 18. For the next few months a team of theater and education workers from Gainesville will make weekly visits to the detention center to help rehabilitate these young men.

A proposed ordinance came before the Gainesville City Commission on Thursday that would eliminate the limit on permits for entertainment for small businesses that might be causing loud noise until two in the morning.

Gainesville residents take to the streets to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and speak out for equality on Monday.

Voices Rising will have a free holiday concert, at First United Methodist Church on Northeast First Street in Gainesville, 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.

A Jacksonville-area woman is helping families cope with loss by making teddy bears made out of clothing of loved ones killed due to violent crime. 

The festivities included tours of the band hall and the rest of the 1.6-acre property, as well as speeches by elected officials involved with the renovation process, members of the board of directors and individuals with personal connections to the building's past.