Part of the University of Florida in Gainesville, this venue presents varied forms of performances…read more With about 1700 seats they offer a variety of shows. I purchased tickets for I thought a children's play but it happened to be a local dance school recital. The website did not have a good description. It was not what we expected and left halfway through the show. The theater is very nice but just made a mistake picking the wrong show. Parking is free on the weekends in the garage across the street.

Fun Fact: I graduated from high school right here, at The Phillips Center! I also remember…read moreattending many Nutcrackers, plays, and other field trips here while in grade school! It's definitely (or used to be) an Alachua County public schools field trip staple! While it's a place of nostalgia and great memories, it's also a favorite venue. Upon returning for a graduation, it all came rushing back. Seating is comfy, it's quiet spacious, and there's not a bad view in the building. Great theatre in good ol' Gainesville!

I would say having this event at Depot Park is definitely an improvement. Although the event space…read moreis a bit more condensed, it's a much nicer space. The food vendor lines are incredibly long so don't come hungry. However, they do have some really good options. If you hit the dominos pizza line just right, you'll get a freshly delivered pizza with a low wait time. The bathroom lines were just as crazy. They do have porta potties that are much faster but if you want a real bathroom, you will need to wait. The shows seemed to be more entertaining than in previous years. All in all, it was a good time. Go into it expecting it to be packed with people and having to wait in lines but you will enjoy yourself. Depot Park is so much better of a venue than previous years and it was free...you can't really beat that.

So we missed a year of the fair because of the pandemic, but it has returned for 2022! With the…read morereturn comes a new location as well, as Alachua County has sold off the old fairgrounds by the airport. The new location off of Archer road near Haile Plantation has some things to be desired, but for a temporary location it wasn't so bad... at least, the fairgrounds themselves weren't that bad. The layout of the fair at the new location is different from the old two-lane model that was used at the airport. Now it is more of a quadrangle approach, with one quad assigned to vendors where you can buy all kinds of really expensive things that are half the price on the Internet, one quad assigned to food, one to the jousting field, and the final one assigned to the living chessboard and SCA fields. This actually presents a problem, because the location is the site of the old YMCA baseball fields, and the fences for the fields are still in place, creating barriers for a number of the areas and preventing the flow of people from one area to another. In addition, no longer is there a draw of people past some of the areas that they would normally have been drawn past in order to get to the jousting fields, which means that the SCA and living chess area had a lower flow of patrons, which is too bad because the living chessboard had its best year ever. Parking was also an issue, as the dirt road leading to the parking was rutted and kind of scary, particularly for those with lowered vehicles. Hopefully your suspensions are in good working order! Traffic to the fair is also an issue, with the line of traffic backing up along Archer Road all the way to the Interstate at a couple points during the day. As it is near Haile Plantation, a number of newer housing developments are in the area as well, and the added traffic was not a welcome thing to people living in the area, as could be witnessed by some signs along the road as you worked your way to the parking lot. It would be very surprising to see the medieval fair occur again at this location. As for the fair itself, it is about the same. Most of the same performers and vendors were there, and the horses did their thing by charging back and forth across the jousting field. Good times for those that want to see a good show and buy some expensive trinkets.

This is such a great option if you're looking for a space to host an event/gathering/reception in…read moreGainesville. We had food catered from The Top right next door, which you can never go wrong with as they have such a great selection from meatballs, the corn nuggets (the best!!!), hummus, and more! There is ample space both standing room, and seating, as well as a stage! An open bar is also available for events.

I don't know much about Gainesville and what's there other than when I visit a couple friends there…read moreI go and do whatever they suggest. I was in town recently for a friend's birthday and she rented out The Wooly for her party. The space is really neat and can be divided up easily like my friend did. The front leads into a reception area, and she used a chunk of it to get a photo booth for the night. Go a little further and there's a small bar on the left, some seating on the back wall, and on the right an entire dance floor (or space to set up seating) and slightly raised stage. She hired a DJ and had some catered hors d'oeuvres on tables between the bar and dance floor. The folks at the bar were nice and it wasn't stupidly expensive if you wanted to get a mixed drink. The venue had some really nice textures and lighting (separate from my friend's over the top decor) that made it feel more upscale in a college town. I have no idea what it cost her or how easy it was to coordinate with the venue, but as a guest I had a great time! The only downside is you'll likely have to circle around a couple times for street parking if you don't want to pay for the garages nearby.

Awesome old school arcade. Super advanced pinball machines. Huge variety. Great price $25 entrance…read moreand all the games are free play. There are a couple scary 2 player games. Many classics like Centipede, pac-man, Mario, skeeball, basket ball. Can't wait to bring our grown kids next time they are in town. They have a big variety of drinks including beer and wine soft drinks. You can leave and come back if you want. There isn't a lot of parking but owner said the building across 8th Ave is theirs and there are many spaces there.

I went here again when I stayed in Gainesville last month. It's still about 25 dollars during the…read moreweekend, which I believe is pretty reasonable for an arcade. They still have their old school games like Terminator 2, Rampage, and Ski Ball. The condition of the machines varies due to a lot of use and wear/tear, but most machines still work. Since almost all games are on free play, you can play as many times as you want, beat the game, and watch the credits roll. There were newer games too and the condition looked good. It got crowded more during the afternoon with kids playing everywhere. The games that cost money were the ticket games and prize games, and the prizes they had looked really nice. The pinball machines are in the expanded area. While I didn't play any of the pinball games, they all looked in great condition and people were having fun. I was very happy they still had Final Furlong 2, and it was a workout rocking the horse in a jockey position. And they still have the mechanical alligator you can ride at the entrance for free. I didn't try the food or drinks, but there are spaces and booths where you can eat. Parking is free, but it can sometimes be hard to find as the lot is a bit small. While I would love to see more newer and better condition games, this is still a great place to spend 25 dollars for a long weekend fun. Overall: B+

So far every show has been great 2 season tickets since 18 especially love the kids plays folks put…read morein a lot of hard work

This is an adorable venue in my opinion. I enjoy being here not just for the purpose in which it…read morewas established but because it's such a dignified space with a lot of character as well.

Among the best in small theaters in Gainesville. This African American run theater presents unusual…read moreplays dealing with contemporary issues or history that shines light on the present. Every play we've seen has been well staged with incredibly fine acting. They're housed in a converted church, and make the most of their small stage and clearly low budget sets. We try not to miss a performance - check it out and I'm pretty sure you'll be a fan too! Pro Tip: Arrive early for the performance. Parking is on-street in a residential neighborhood, so you may have to walk a bit if you don't get there early.

If you know me you're not shocked that: a) I've been to a few festivals and b) I'm a huge fan of…read morelocal craft beer. This was not my first festival, but it was my first chance to go to Hogtown Beer Festival and I can say this one is well worth the price of admission. From planning to pours and plates, this event had a big festival's worth of awesome packed into a quaint, but bustling, space. The Location This year's festival took place in the Tioga Town Center, which provided a number of advantages including ample natural shading from trees, plenty of space for each beer/food tent, and comfy grass to walk on as the time ticks by (any fest-goer knows the woes of walking on hot asphalt for hours). I found the layout to be excellent in concept and decent in execution: 4 main sections where created, each providing numerous different beer/brewery options and a couple of different food choices. If you have a group and split up for any reason, it becomes really easy to find one another this way because you can reference the food options you see and sort it out. For me this location was perfect: so much shade to break the heat and so much room to move around. The other, larger festivals have several perks but comfort is typically not one of them due to overcrowding. If a line started to form at Hogtown's fest it was easy to deal with, but my past experiences generally require you squish against sweaty, suntanned limbs while frying in the sun. The Logistics From proper advertising and social media updates to well-informed staff and even a nifty beer booklet with maps and beer checklists, this crew worked very hard to be organized. Parking could have been a nightmare but they had a charter bus shuttling people from a roomy field for offsite parking (primetime for applying sunscreen too). Stations were positioned in numerous places for washing hands after a quick nibble and water coolers were all over the place to insure people were hydrated. The above said, there were some issues that I might even say are inevitable. To start, the locations of several beer tents were inaccurate on the beer booklet. Not a big deal, but it happened. The water coolers weren't marked or identifiable unless you knew they were there, but I don't recall any announcement about them. Another minor item, though I recommend clear labeling next time. The Libations & Stations There are two ways to win my heart at a festival when it comes to featured brews: go all-in on top-rated, diverse breweries or focus on all-local pours. Hogtown was more the latter, but did lean a little more on the macro-micro breweries than I prefer (think things you find at Publix versus your go-to beer shop). I know that these beers are helpful in transitioning new folk away from watery pilsners but for the price tag, it would be nicer to pull more quality into the mix (in the form of blossoming FLA breweries) than to inject average brands. For what was offered, I probably would only invite Floridians to travel into town for this one but all would get a solid showcase of Central Florida talent. I focused a bunch on getting to know some really great Florida spots like Infinite, Proof, and Coppertail as well as stopping by the Gainesville favorites to see what special goodies they blended up. This year many of the tents came with timed releases of unique/rare items which I love because it helps spread out the fun. One tent even had a few baskets to raffle and yours truly nabbed a growler bundle! As for the food, it was nice to see that largely the food was provided by local bizes as opposed to chains. A recently-closed German sausage hotspot made a guest appearance and generated a healthy buzz, which just goes to show the thoughtfulness of those in charge of the event. Most took cards for pay, and the choices were plenty diverse for any appetite. One vendor was even giving away pork sliders and mac n cheese for FREE! Final Thoughts Having this festival under my belt, I'm likely to go back next year especially if the same people are working on it. There were enough local breweries pouring to keep a vet enthusiastic and also some more common beers for those looking to go quantity over quality, which is fine. A little rough around the edges in some places, but largely an event put together by a group of well-seasoned beer fans. Next year I'd like to see a few more SOFLA beers invited up and I'd have enough to toss up an extra star.

Had a blast at this year's Hogtown Craft Beer Festival. Honestly, one of the better beer festivals…read moreI've been to - and I've been to a lot, including much larger ones like Hunahpu's Day put on by Cigar City Brewing in Tampa. HCBF had a phenomenal selection of beers and the nice option of having some free food (smaller bites) or larger, pay-as-you-go selections from food trucks and local vendors. The organizers did a great job keeping the check-in line moving quickly and putting together the "Passport", but my only criticism would be to wait until a little closer to the event to print the latter next year, as some of the vendors were not listed in the accurate "tent/pod" and some beer selections had been replaced by the breweries. Can't wait to come back next year!