WHATTA COUNTRY!

                     Fun On The Fourth

  Here we are in Gainesville, a city that celebrates our country's birthday with...nothing.  Yes, the night before there's live music and fireworks on the UF 

campus but on the big day Hogtown is dead.

    I grew up in a small town next to the Miami airport. Miami Springs had a parade and all- day activities at the rec center. In the evening the city sponsored a small firework display.  We felt like we were very much a part of the nation's birthday celebration.

     Gainesville once had these traditions too but their parades and fireworks faded. "WUFT" is the University of Florida's radio/TV station.  With the city, they co-sponsor the July third event. I asked a WUFT spokesperson why they did not have it on the 4th.  She responded,

 WUFT’S "Fanfare and Fireworks" has been an annual event since the 90s. Originally, the City of Gainesville had events on July 4 so WUFT did its "Fanfare" event on the third. We billed it as a kick-off to the Independence Day activities the next day.  When the City stopped their activities years ago but we kept ours. We stayed with July 3 because the City of Alachua has a celebration on the 4^th. Some of the other municipalities do as well.

     This makes little sense to me.  Our City can't celebrate the Fourth on the fourth because the the cities around us do?  

       She wrote back with one more point, that fireworks are cheaper before the Fourth. If that's a good reason, we should be celebrating the New Year the day before New Year's Eve. Maybe Discount Santa should pop down the chimney on December 23d.

       Gainesville is dead on the Fourth of July.  I hope the city (which, again,  co-sponsors the July 3d "Fanfare" event) and UF move it to its proper day in the years to come. 

 

ATRIAS IN ACTION 

        We love our local Beatles cover band, "The Shoddy Beatles" *.  The Atria brothers, Travis and Eric,  play lead and bass guitars for this super-popular group.  Like most artists, they do other things as well. 

 

          Eric Atria is an attorney. He's been working as a public defender for the past twenty years. Eric is now running for judge.  I went to his campaign's kick-off at The Bull last week. He'll make a terrific judge.

          Besides being an extraordinary musician, Travis is a distinguished author and song writer.  He performed his latest album, "Juliet", at

Travis in song

The Lynx last Sunday.  It is a memorable collection of songs inspired by the works of another 

distinguished author, William Shakespeare.  It was a fantastic only-in-Gainesville event.

 

*The Shoddy Beatles sometimes refer to themselves as "The Shitty Beatles" and when they play their own music, "Morning Bell". 

        

  BLACK EYE FOR GAINESVILLE

    Gainesville was on the front page of Sunday's New York Times again ten days ago (the previous time, "gators in our sewers").  The article was about a UF law school student, Preston Damsky, winning an award for his paper supporting white supremacy.  Shame on the Trump-appointed federal judge, John L. Badalamenti, who chose Damsky's essay.  We need publicity like this like a hole in the head.

 

ART WALK 

On the last Friday of every month you can have a fine time going on Gainesville's Art Walk.  Seeing the latest at our downtown art gallerias you'll be amongst happy people and see surprising things. 

   

Last Friday I  started at the A. Quinn Jones Museum on NW 7 Avenue. 

 

 They had a display of  folk art created by local legends, Alyne 

"Chickens" by Alyne Harrris

Harris and sculptor Jesse Aaron.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                          Jesse Aaron's sculptures

   As an added bonus, local artist/art historian Turbado Marabou began a series of lectures on outsider art. 

Artist Turbado Marabou

   It was a terrific presentation that will continue next month.

 

Artist Sylvia McIntyre-Crook greeted visitors at the  Hippodrome Theater Gallery. 

Her current work reveals the beauty hidden in micro-nature. 

 

    I was about to head home when I spied a flyer beckoning me to the Thomas Center. It said there was live music and refreshments waiting at the "Art In Meditation" exhibit in the center's gallery. 

    Meditation usually puts me to sleep but, as I am attracted to music and free food,  I headed to NE Sixth Avenue. Gathered was a large, lively crowd. The Bill Rogers Trio was hot, no one was meditating and the art....interesting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

     Did I mention that this might be the last Fourth of July as we know it?  Things look grim as the Orange King takes over.

    The City of Gainesville may be asleep on Friday but two hundred of us will be protesting the king's rule at our "Kick Out the Clowns Rally".  Here's our flyer,  

  On Thursday and Friday our art team will be decorating the DNA Overpass again on SW 13 St. 

 

 

 

   If you happen to drive by this guy  give him a honk and thumbs up. It'll give him hope.

 

   If you want to celebrate our country's 249th birthday, head to Micanopy for their 11 a.m. parade on Friday. The City of Alachua has one too.

Fireworks on the Fourth?  They'll light up the sky in Keystone Heights, Alachua, Micanopy, Hawthorne, Newberry, Ocala, Williston, Trenton, Waldo and almost every other city but Gainesville. 

                         __________________