If you’re downtown any time between Friday and Sunday, you’ll probably notice an influx of 15-passenger vans, Paul Bunyan beards, bicycle traffic and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans on the side of the road.
Don’t be alarmed. It’s just the Fest.
Back in 2002, No Idea Records, a local punk label, organized the first Fest, a music festival held at several of Gainesville’s downtown bars, music venues and restaurants. Since the first Fest, the event has expanded from six venues to 12, and from two days to three days.
This year’s fest is expected to bring in about 4,000 people, according to Cam Taylor, a representative of No Idea Records. Even from the beginning, the Fest has been more than just bands playing. People from all across the country roll in to town to get befuddled with friends in one of America’s punk meccas.
To put it in a Fest veteran’s words, it’s simple: “Booze. Hotel parties. House parties. Street parties — and watching bands, I guess,” said Cory Manning, The Riot Before bassist, who will be playing the Fest for the fourth time this year. Taylor’s first Fest was Fest 5 in 2006.
“I was 19 years old and drank a whole lot,” he said. “I didn’t think I would get away with it. It was awesome.”
