Raw States
Downtown Festival & Art Show
Gainesville, FL · Arts & Culture
- When
- November 14–15, 2026
- Where
- Bo Diddley Community Plaza, 111 E University Ave · Gainesville · FL
- Cost
- Not confirmed
- Status
- Confirmed from the organizer's published schedule
A juried fine art show ranked among the top in the country, with 200-plus artists competing for over $17,000 in prize money and four stages of live music. It routinely draws upward of 40,000 people to downtown Gainesville and is the city's largest annual arts event.
The history within reach
- The Festsame spot
A three-day punk, indie and hardcore festival spread across 13-plus downtown Gainesville venues, now in its 24th year and one of the longest-running independent music festivals in the country.
- Downtown Festival & Art Showsame spot
A juried fine art show ranked among the top in the country, with 200-plus artists competing for over $17,000 in prize money and four stages of live music.
- Don't tase me, bro1.1 mi
On September 17, 2007, at a Constitution Day forum with John Kerry, a fourth-year student named Andrew Meyer was allowed a question after the session closed, asked about Skull and Bones, was pulled from the microphone, and was held down by six university police officers and drive-stunned with a taser while shouting the line the clip is known for.
A University of Florida kidney specialist named Robert Cade mixed water, salt, sugar and lemon juice in 1965 to answer a football coach's question about why his players never needed to urinate.
In August 1990 Danny Rolling murdered five students in Gainesville over four days: Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Christa Hoyt, Manuel Taboada and Tracy Paules.