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The 2005 Gainesville Art Show
by Larry Camarota

Ahh Saturday, a day to sleep in, ignore your homework, relax, and go downtown for the 24th Annual Downtown Festival and Art show. This year, the Arts Festival was held on the 12th and 13th of November. Music, street performers, carnival games, food, and, of course, art, were all arrayed across the Gainesville downtown area. People from all over Gainesville, and indeed all over the country, came to participate in the festivities.

There was something there for every taste in art. To name a few, there were wood carvings, leather belts, mirror sculptures, clocks, jewelry of all kinds, paintings, and pastels. Landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, furniture, statues of dragons, pictures of lightning, office humor, clocks, glass bubbles, sand bottles, still life, book shelves, you get the idea. Art ranging in size from a pair of earrings to a waterfall. In short, there was everything.

But, the arts festival wasn't just about arts. It was also a festival. There was entertainment of many varieties to be had. For the younger members of the art crowd, there was the imagination station. There, a sidewalk chalk drawing of the Mona Lisa invited participants to draw on the walls, make puppets, watch a circus, or play carnival games. Additionally, many of the Artists could be seen demonstrating some of the more interactive art.

One thing was prevalent throughout the festival: music. Local groups performed in the park and on the south stage, starting and ending with the festival. Away from the main stages, there were a couple art booths offering their musical talent. The ambient music varied from place to place; one minute you would be listening to Karaoke, the next a bluegrass group.

The arts festival was a great success, and was great fun. A day of walking from booth to booth, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of art. Having lunch in the park to the accompaniment of a bluegrass, or a jazz group. And at the end of the day, going home, perhaps carrying a memento of the art show.