For everyone who has been taking advantage of the music events in Florida this month: congratulations, you are only about halfway through the most adventurous month of the year. Just this past weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend Aura Music Festival in the beautiful landscapes of Forever Florida down in the St. Cloud area. After only three years, this one-of-a-kind music and arts festival has a wide variety of goods to offer attendees.
Judging from my own personal experience at the event this past weekend, Aura is bound to continue to grow as more people catch word of it. Missed out on the fun? No worries, there’s always next year to look forward to. But Aura is over, so I am going to tailor this week’s Sound Drip to something a little different, yet still musically oriented!
If you haven’t already heard the hype, Gainesville Activities is bringing you the inaugural Gainesville Community Fest this Saturday. The outlet is comprised of an online community group who strives to provide members of our town with news surrounding local showcase events and activities.
Official Gainesville Community Fest promotional poster
Held in the Alachua County Fairgrounds, the festival grounds will be open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and will feature a wide array of activities like elephant rides, archery, a children fun zone, a wild animal showcase, a farmers market, about 150 local food and art vendors and much more.
“We hope to connect the community with local businesses and organizations,” notes Festival Director Jordyn Reese. Their mission is to get people to buy local, play local and stay local by bringing all aspects of the Gainesville community together in one venue. In doing so, they hope to build bridges between residents and festival participants for the first time on such a massive scale. Additionally, Reese adds that Gainesville Community Fest is not just for local family residents. The event will also include activities, like adult fun zones (including bounce houses!) and rock climbing that appeal to the students in town. Nobody gets left out this weekend!
Now let’s go back to the main reason why I brought up this event. There has to be some sort of musical treat involved. On top of everything I already mentioned, Gainesville Community Fest will also be exhibiting free, live music (with paid entrance of course) all day long. Starting shortly after doors open, the list of local bands and musicians will span all the way until closing. The list of acts, with scheduled times, are as follows:
10:45-11:15 a.m. Kathleen Taylor
11:30-12:00 p.m. Fetishh
12:15-12:45 p.m. Bang Bang Boom
1:00 - 1:30 p.m. The Twylight Zone
1:45 - 2:30 pm J2K
2:45 - 3:30 pm Janna Pelle & The Half-Steps
3:45 - 4:45 pm The Hush
5:00 - 6:00 pm Micah Shalom & The Babylonians
(*LINEUP IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*)
“Rules” by Janna Pelle & The Half-Steps
Official video for J2K’s single “Spaghetti and Meatballs”
If all that isn’t enough music for you, you can take a quick break after the festival is over and head on down to FORUM (formerly The Florida Theater) for the official Gainesville Community Fest After Party. Brought to you by The Dynasty Group and Anatomy Productions, the late-night dance extravaganza will present to you some of the hottest, up-and-coming electronic DJs in Florida: Adrian Villaverde and Crespo. Best part? They are going to battle each other; a sweet, new phenomenon that most DJs are starting to involve themselves in.
Official promotional flyer for the Gainesville Community Fest After Party at FORUM
All in all, this is going to be yet another amazing weekend for music here in Gainesville. I will be there taking photographs of both the festival and the after party at FORUM, so I hope to see everyone there! Some attractions will require a small price to participate, and proceeds from that charge will go directly to Kids Kicking Cancer to help bring relief to children in pain. Check below for more event details, or go online at www.gainesvillecommunityfest.com. For further inquiries or questions about how to get involved, contact Jordyn Reese at jordyn@gainesvilleactivities.com.
Location: Alachua County Fairgrounds
Date: March 17, 2012
Time: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Entrance Fees
Ages 13 and up: $5.00 advance, $7.50 at gate
Students (ID Required): $5.00 advance, $6.00 at gate
Children ages 5 to 12: $3.00 advance, $5.50 at gate
Children under 5: FREE!
Estimated Attendance: 5,000+ Attendees, 150+ Vendors
Friendly reminder: Gainesville Community Fest takes place on St. Patrick’s Day, so don’t forget to wear green.
Posts in Sound Drip appear on Wednesdays. Follow @bionicbeatlab on Twitter.
