wan·der·lust / Strong longing for or impulse toward wandering
Greater Gainesville sets the entertainment bar pretty high. Its evening skies blush a deep blue, but the streets positively glow with a big, bright volume of things to do.
Scope out some of Greater Gainesville’s best year-round activities right here.
Fun facts:
- 62-acre gardens
- Florida’s largest bamboo and herb gardens
Kanapaha Botanical Gardens may be one of the only places in the world where a human being can sit atop an enormous water lily — without sinking. Named for nearby Lake Kanapaha, the gardens are a 62-acre marvel of nature.
Officially Florida’s biggest bamboo garden and its biggest herb garden, this stunning floral utopia is decked out with specially carved walkways, a gift shop, fish-feeding spots and more diverse plant life than visitors can shake a vine at. Kanapaha’s events are not to be missed, either. The Moonlight Walk is a luminous occasion that works just as well for families as it does for dates.
Fun facts:
- Opened in 1969
- Home to Gainesville’s annual Gatornationals drag races
A fast track to high-octane entertainment, the Gainesville Raceway is home to the Gatornationals, in which drivers with reptilian reflexes drag race at incredible speeds down the track. This is the place where drivers first managed to hit those unthinkable numbers of 260, 270 and 300 mph during Top Fuel runs.
The impressive stadium features a television compound, skyboxes and an impressive control tower complete with a sizable media center. The Gainesville Raceway is also home to an exciting series of motorcycle drag races and car shows, and the entertainment goes year-round.
Fun facts:
- The only art-house cinema in Gainesville
- Stages productions for 60,000 people annually
- 276 seats in the performing arts venue
- 76-seat cinema theater
This refined theater is the proud host of esteemed plays and avant-garde films. The Hippodrome’s mission states that it is an “artistic space committed to excellence.” It carries out this mission in a beautifully restored setting that Florida raised $2 million to arrange.
As readers might expect from such a sum, the Hippodrome is indeed a grand setting, with both a performing arts theater, a cinema, an art gallery and a bar.
The cinema alone boasts 20,000 patrons and 700 screenings per year, making the Hippodrome a one-stop culture shop for anyone looking to engage with performance at a level deeper than a bucket of popcorn — not that there is anything wrong with that.
Fun facts:
- Formerly known as Floyd’s Diner
- So much more than just a diner — features mini golf and a soft-serve ice cream station
The Pink Flamingo Diner combines flavor and fun in a way that pays proper tribute to the famous bird: flashy menu entries, an outdoor stage for live music, a drive-through coffee shop and even a miniature golf course. Classic mid 20th-century tunes reverberate between the tables, conjuring everything from Elvis to Pink Floyd.
This joint is a pretty big deal in High Springs, although locals may recall it as an inconspicuous little food station called Floyd’s Diner. When it was revamped, the new owners wanted to keep a fraction of the old character alive. The famous Floyd’s flamingo sign became a big part of the new diner’s spirit.
Fun facts:
- Home to two extremely rare, high-tech mechanical visual projectors
- Planetarium shows include galaxy-spanning tours and microscopic adventures inside the human body
For most locals, the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium is the closest they will ever get to launching into outer space. Given the tip-top quality of the KSP, this is one heck of a silver medal. The KSP’s optical-mechanical projector, Chronos, makes science look like magic in a 60-seat room under a 34-foot Spitz projection dome.
Sitting in the midst of the Chronos apparatus, viewers are rapidly transported to “any place on Earth, or in time give or take 10,000 years” at the push of a few buttons. In all the world, there are only 17 of these slick devices.
The KSP’s other projector — yes, they have two — the ISS 1C-3K, immerses viewers in a carnival of unforgettable moving imagery, including the surfaces of other planets. Alternatively, the ISS might allow patrons a glimpse of the human body from the inside, at a microscopic level.
Fun facts:
- Named by early settlers for the winter-morning steam emanating from the chimney opening
- Fossils discovered in the cave have been relocated to UF’s Museum of Natural History
“Devil’s Den Scuba” may sound like a seedy way to get saturated, but the actual experience is embellished by some pretty heavenly scenery. This is an underground hollow of shapely stone, purged of its ancient fossils and serene with the aquatic bloom of crystalline water that demands to be plunged into.
The spring itself, Devil’s Den, is advertised — accurately — as a “world-class tourist attraction.” The literally immersive experience of plunging into these temperate waters is nothing short of otherworldly. For the yet bolder divers, Devil’s Den also offers night dives.
Centrally located among a surprising number of nearby springs, this scuba spot is just a single stop on the list of anyone who lives by that old scuba mantra, dive or die.
Weird Wildlife
Stop by these unusual attractions, each with a unique animal theme
The Devil’s Millhopper — Gainesville
Explore an exotic, boardwalk-laced sinkhole studded with ancient animal bones
Bat Houses — University of Florida Bat Houses and the Lubee Bat Conservancy, Gainesville
At dusk, the skies come alive above the world’s biggest center for live rodents with wings
Some Were Quite Blind — University of Florida Animal Science Building, Gainesville
Enjoy a photo opportunity among these large metal statues representing certain “members” of animal anatomy
Retirement Home for Horses — Mill Creek Farm, Alachua
Bring a couple carrots to this placid ranch, where the hard-working old equine goes to natter
Antique Awareness
These museums and historical sites dust off and bring to life key sites from GG’s exciting history
Florida Museum of Natural History — Gainesville
Travel a few millennia back and wander amid a wild collection of nature’s ancient treasures
Haile Homestead — Gainesville
Tour a restored former plantation-turned-museum and hear the stories of enslaved laborers and freedmen from history
Law School Burial Mound — University of Florida Law Center, Gainesville
1,000 years before the Potano tribe, this mysterious, ancient tomb housed the crumbling dead
Matheson House — Gainesville
Now an interactive museum, this is one of the oldest homes in Gainesville, dating back to 1867
Gainesville’s Most Sensational Annual Events
Florida Bat Festival — Gainesville
Oct. 22, 2022
What is it with Gainesville and bats? The Lubee Bat Conservancy invites fans of these mouse-like mammals to its 18th festival, including, reputedly, the world’s largest bats. Kids can flap around in the play zone while art lovers echo-locate artisans’ booths. A batty beer garden offers unlimited samples.
The FEST — Gainesville
Oct. 28-30, 2022
What better music festival leading up to Halloween than punk rock? Live performers blast downtown venues and city streets with several subgenres of rock music, including punk, metal, indie and alternative.
Alachua Main Street Harvest Festival — Alachua
Nov. 13
The Alachua Business League hosts the 19th annual fall festival with live music, vendors, artists, games and shopping along the historic downtown Main Street.
Downtown Festival and Art Show — Gainesville
Nov. 19-20, 2022
A hugely popular art show with national recognition, this festival showcases not just the visual arts but also performing and culinary arts. Live music, a delicious variety of food and kids’ art activities add to the fun.
BBQ & Bacon Festival — Newberry
Jan. 28-29, 2023
Bring a big appetite to the Alachua County Agriculture and Equestrian Center. Numerous vendors serve up their take on savory meats, and there is also live music, arts & crafts and all kinds of family fun.
Hoggetowne Medieval Festival — Gainesville
January 2023
Roaring fires, malt beer and ripe meat off the bone. The Hoggetowne Medieval Festival is GG’s premier event for lovers of the Middle Ages. Don a tunic and bring a purse laden with shillings.
VegFest — Gainesville
Feb. 12, 2023
This festival in Depot Park celebrates the vegan lifestyle, with cooking demonstrations, scheduled speakers, vendors, animal rescues, 100% vegan foods and family-friendly entertainment in Depot Park.
Gatornationals — Gainesville
March 2023
This drag racing event has been a fan-favorite tradition at Gainesville Raceway since 1970. Spectators might just witness a record-breaking run here, as the track is known for record- and barrier-breaking passes including the first 300-mph Top Fuel pass in 1992.
Kanapaha Botanical Gardens Spring Garden Festival — Gainesville
March 2023
Nothing short of horticultural heaven, this spring celebration draws from the natural splendor of Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, offering more than a hundred booths featuring exotic plant life, arts & crafts and snacks to keep hungry guests satisfied.
Newberry Watermelon Festival — Newberry
May 2023
May marks the 77th instance of Newberry’s once-a-year memorialization of marvelous melons. Visitors can expect bouncy houses, watermelon treats, a parade and a beauty pageant — for humans, not melons.
Alachua Fourth of July — Alachua
July 2023
It is safe to say that Alachua is a very patriotic community. The City’s Fourth of July celebration is known as the largest small-town fireworks show in America. Live music, kids’ activities and the fireworks display draw thousands for family fun each year.
Santa Fe Spring Arts Festival — Gainesville
Date TBD
The historic downtown district in the time of year when azaleas bloom is the perfect backdrop for this annual arts festival, where more than 100,000 attendees come to see beautiful artwork while live music plays.
Westfest Music Festival — Newberry
Date TBD
Lois Forte Park hosts the free annual festival, where families bring lawn chairs and blankets and gather for some country music. The headliner in April 2022 was the country-rock band hailing from Florida, the Tobacco Road Band.
Cinema Verde — Gainesville
Date TBD
This environmental channel and film festival inspires and informs the public of environmental issues through screenings of powerful documentaries and films.
Hogtown Craft Beer Festival — Gainesville
Date TBD
This offer is hard to resist: Drink from 100 craft beer options with all proceeds donated to local charities. The festival, hosted by the Hogtown Brewers Homebrew Club at Heartwood Soundstage, features craft beer from most Florida craft breweries and other regional brewers, plus local food and musicians.
By Drew Mortier