Artists, vendors and dancing green elves filled Gainesville's downtown streets Saturday and Sunday.
With a few thousand more than last year's 100,000 attendees, the 27th annual Downtown Festival & Art Show provided art enthusiasts with a wide selection of paintings, crafts and photography.
Event coordinator Linda Piper said many artists and vendors sold out of products before the festival ended.
The festival's 250 artists competed for $14,000 in prizes, funded by artist registration fees.
Bill and Jon Slade of Jacksonville won the $2,000 best-in-show award for their solid-glass sculptures.
The two artists, who are father and son, have participated in the festival for almost 25 years, but it was their first time winning the award.
Jason Anderson, a ceramics artist from Birmingham, Ala., said shows like the Gainesville festival are nice because of the college-town atmosphere, but competition among artists is intense.
"I've been competing with some of these guys for years," Anderson said. "We're like a group of gypsies traveling the country together."
