Arts and Entertainment

Alan Bushnell, the previous owner of the Hardback Cafe, has decided to reopen the locally famous venue 15 years after its closing. The Hardback brought in both national and local acts and played a big role in Gainesville's music and arts culture in the '90s. Bushnell closed the cafe to attend law school but is now ready to reopen and bring the atmosphere back to Gainesville.

The University of Florida's Dance for Life Program provides dance classes for Parkinson's patients to help them improve their coordination and range of motion. Dance for Life classes are offered through the UF Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration and the UF Center for Arts in Medicine. The classes are facilitated by UF dancer in residence Emily Pozek.

Micanopy resident Helen Suits created her own hand-drawn adult coloring book, which was published on Amazon. She is now working on two new adult color bookings alongside her sister.

University of Florida students dedicate their summers to the highly competitive Drum Corps International instead of working at internships. Though not all these students are music majors, they believe it is just as important to help develop them as people.

Swallowtail Farm held its annual fall festival on November 14. The festival featured workshops, farm tours, a variety of food and beer, live music, demonstrations and kids’ activities.

From Nov. 11 to 14, a total of about 3,000 students from all over Florida gathered at the Santa Fe College campus for the Florida Theatre Conference Festival, an annual event that gives students from all over Florida the opportunity to audition, attend workshops and showcase their work.

From Nov. 9 to Dec. 23, the Gainesville museum will host the "Florida Boys & Girls & Their Toys" exhibit.

November is National Novel Writing Month, an organized challenge to aspiring and experience writers to finish a 50,000-word rough draft before the end of the month. While there are success stories, efforts are being made to emphasize the editing and revision process afterward to include the quality of the works.

Local and international artists work together in November to create murals throughout Gainesville for the 352Walls Project, a part of the Gainesville Urban Art Initiative. The initiative's goals are to make Gainesville a cultural destination in the future, foster economic growth and promote the renewal of urban areas.