Grove Street Festival to be held on Nov. 29
Press release from Maria Huff Edwards
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Grove Street Neighborhood celebrates the 27th ANNIVERSARY of the GROVE STREET FESTIVAL beginning on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2025, in the COURTYARD of IGNITE LIFE CENTER, located at 404 NW 14th Avenue, and concluding TWO WEEKS LATER with a reading of Jack Kerouac’s TRISTESSA at DREAMERS GARDEN, 920 NW 4th Street, on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2025, 2 – 4:30 P.M.
On December 5th, 1998, the Grove Street Festival was born. Initially considered a shot in the dark, the event earmarked the stabilization of the historic, inner-city Grove Street Neighborhood. This area (bounded to the north by NW 16th Avenue, to the east by North Main Street, to the south by NW 8th Avenue, and to the west by NW 6th Street) encapsulated a 1900s turn-of-the-century charm in need of recognition and preservation.
Today, the festival continues its trajectory of celebrations, thanks to the goodwill of the neighborhood, the perseverance of the festival’s founder, Maria Huff Edwards, the always lively and beautiful presence of Pofahl Studio’s Next Generation (Gainesville’s oldest dance and ballet studio), as well as a long list of performers who contribute to this event annually.
Once again, the festival will spring forth on Saturday, November 29, 2025, at 3 PM, for its 27th anniversary celebration. This year’s program will celebrate Alexander Pushkin’s poems; the West African-inspired percussion and drumming by Wester Joseph, Josh Hoffenburg, and Ed Mendel; singing by Nataliya Lebedeva; dances by Pofahl Studios’ Next Generation; and the bagpipe music of Robin Hendrickson. There will be a Proclamation by Mayor Harvey L. Ward, Jr., read at 3 PM.
This year’s festival is dedicated in honor and recognition of Ellena Nika Carroll, whose wonderful folk-dance contributions to the festival and the Pushkin readings at Dreamers Garden during the past decade have helped to enrich the neighborhood. Nika and her husband, Joseph, are the proud owners of Pirates Grill, which is located across town in Newberry Square. This year’s festival is also dedicated to cellist David Turner and his Dalirusa performers, who have graced the festival with their presence in recent years.
This year’s luminaries, in celebration of the festival of lights around the world, and in remembrance of those friends who have passed away this year — Jeffrey Shapiro, a community activist and musician who often participated in the festivals and Dreamers Garden events; Anne Haisley, who was the owner of the now-gone Books Inc bookstore and Book Lovers Café and a devoted member of the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries Leadership Board; Dr. William Thomas Hawkins, Sr., beloved member of our Gainesville community; and a special group of remembered ones, who, although not local citizens, have impacted our neighborhood in direct and indirect ways: Danielle Berman, Gordon Corbin, Estrellita Toplak-Kipp, and Jackie Cline.
The lighting of the luminaries begins at 5 P.M.
Please, join us for this special grassroots event this year celebrating its 27th reincarnation.
The festival will conclude two weeks later with the reading of Jack Kerouac’s Tristessa at Dreamers Garden on Sunday, December 14, 2025, 2 – 4:30 P.M. The reading will be dedicated in memory of Dr. William Thomas Hawkins, Sr. (1942-2025). The garden is located at 920 N.W. 4th Street, Gainesville, Florida.