Downtown market series returns to The Streatery beginning Friday
Press release from the City of Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Stepping into spring, vendors return to The Streatery in Downtown Gainesville for the Spring Market Series.
Beginning this Friday, March 6, merchants, music, and art will line SW 1st Avenue downtown from 4-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. The series runs each weekend through April 5, concluding with Big: Culture & Arts Festival, April 10-12, at The Streatery.
Each market weekend will feature 26 merchants showcasing a fresh mix of creativity, culture, and performance. Following the success of the Skill Share sessions during the inaugural winter market series in December, How Bazar –- a creative and cultural hub downtown –- is doubling these free workshops to both Saturdays and Sundays.
The market series is a collaboration of the Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area (GCRA), Creative Cultural Consulting Group, the City of Gainesville, Alachua County, How Bazar, and Big: Culture & Arts Festival.
In August, the Gainesville City Commission officially named the section of SW 1st Avenue, between S. Main Street and SW 2nd Street, The Streatery, and directed City staff to program the space for public use before planned infrastructure improvements and renovations. The upcoming changes will transform the downtown corridor into a walkable thoroughfare better suited for hosting festivals and other events. (After Big: Cultural & Arts Festival, the market series may resume through May 3 if construction for the impending renovations has not begun.)
The GCRA is a 10-year program (2019-2029) administered by the City of Gainesville and funded by the City and County with the goal of enhancing economic development through long-term and place-based projects and programs.
The market series at The Streatery supports the City’s vision for a vibrant, welcoming, and thriving downtown as outlined in the Downtown Gainesville Strategic Plan.
Registration is open online for market vendors at downtownmarketseries.org.
So, for this event will the city magically remove the aggressive homeless that lurk downtown, harassing and disturbing visitors staying in the hotels?