Amazing night great people. In my humble opinion I do believe that this was one of the best…read moreevents ever. Jax Chamber of commerce you ROCKED this event. Over 700 people breaking bread together in the middle of downtown Jax on a beautiful night. Thank you to all the businesses who donated the food,drinks and desserts.

I've seen this event for years, but always after it was over. First time I had a friend give me the…read moreheads up for tickets- shout out to the fabulous Debbie F! John and I snagged tickets, as did numerous other and we had a lovely evening downtown. Parking was free at the Vystar Garage, we walked the couple blocks down to the event. Right along the water front- the table stretched under the on ramp for the Main street Bridge. We were greeted and snagged beverages, found seats and waited for the intro, prayer and food. Conversations were about what our city could benefit from! I said a designated arts district to help bring our art community together better and be a destination for locals and vacationers. I was stunned by another suggestion- to have community pools. It didn't even dawn on me that there aren't community pools in Jax. I took swimming lessons at my childhood community pool where I grew up. You would think in a state that had so much water access would also have places for kids to learn water safety. Great idea. We also suggested a suggestion box for the next event! lol. Keep those community ideas rolling! This year the table was in zones- depending on what zone you sat in got you a specific dinner. We ended up seated in the Bono's section. Salad was already on the tables to pass around. Dinner rolls came next. Pulled pork, mac n cheese and green beans were passed out along with bbq sauces. We dug in and enjoyed excellent company, cool temps and good food. The desserts started rolling by- cookies, dessert bars and truffles (my fav). Debbie explained that usually there was more food- and that when we learned that they did zones. Guess I might have to ask questions before sitting next time! lol. I heard some got curry chicken and others got chicken parmesan. YUM! I will definitely be on the lookout for next year and I figure it will be a little easier now that I know where I am going & what to expect!

We had a fun time here a couple of days before Christmas. We saw the ads for the Santa Pop Up night…read morehere and wanted to experience it. The place was packed when we got there but we had reservations and were seated right away. The place was decorated top notch for the holidays. Even an electric Santa greeted us at the entrance! The ambiance was warm holiday spirit with high energy! Great music! Laughter and happiness. My kind of place. There was a special Santa Pop Up menu with drinks and eats specially created for the evening event. I ordered the Sipping Santa and my daughter ordered the Secret Santa drink. Both were delicious. We also ordered a couple of the special appetizers: Teriyaki Pineapple Meatballs and the Cream Cheese Wontons with Sauce. Ohhh so good! For those who look for IG photo opps, there was a special room for that. Red Gill had rented blown up Christmas characters for their customers to do photo opps with. Great idea and we did it! Loved it! Parking is in their free parking lot right next to the building. We look forward to going back on our next trip!

Oh what a night! Girl Power is real Power. RedGill Bistro knows how to throw a party. It was a…read morenight of laughter, love, delicious food, amazing vendors, great music and amazing staff.

Great day to come to the Riverside Arts market as another element is added, Filipino! Every…read moreimaginable Filipino food, plus dozens of other bakery and food truck vendors (see pics). Local artists and craftsmen plus singing, dancing, local businesses. Come check it out under the bridge. This is the best day of the year to visit Riverside!

Florida is not known for Filipinos, but thanks to the military, 20% of Floridian Filipinos live in…read moreJacksonville. (In fact, back in 96, half of the graduating class of my high school were all Filipinos!) Three years ago, the local pinoys and pinays finally got together and decided to start a festival. It's your basic cultural festival. Picture the World of Nations, but just featuring one nation. But Filipino Pride Day is FREE to attend. You got the dancers, the singers, the artwork, the vendors selling food and beer and cold treats to tone down the heat. This yearly festival is held at the Landing and is mostly outside, although a few booths and exhibits are inside the building. Last year, I watched local talent Asia Cruise perform. I hear they are going to have some guests from the Filipino Channel this year. (By the way the festival is October 1 this year if you want to check it out!) I think it's been a long time coming. Tampa has already surpassed Jacksonville in recognition with their Philippine Performing Arts Company folk dance troupe and their Bayanihan Arts and Events Center. I hear there were plans for a local Filipino community center, but construction has been halted. At least there are the yearly festival and the many Filipino restaurants around town to enjoy for now.

I really look forward to this event every year. ... it's just "the best" really! How else can you…read moreget to try so many different specials from some of the best restaurants in jax? AND for only $35!!! And it's not only food, craft beers. . Intuition and bold city were there... desserts. .. cupcakes, peterbrook, Sweet Pete's, biscotti's .... The food was outstanding. .. so much I don't even know where to start. .. look at the pics. .. you get to try so many great dishes. My personal favorite was aqua grill. . Tuna blt? Marinated raw fish with bacon, on a light toasted point? Lol I'm not sure what it was but it tasted delish! ! Hawkers was also on point with the pork belly steamed sandwich. ... it was all good. We left totally stuffed. .... also they give you a goodie bag on your way out with a bottle water. ...can't wait till next year! :)

I first time going to this event was last year and I questioned myself: What da deuce???? How come…read moreyou haven't been attending before? This is awesome! This event is sponsored by Jacksonville Magazine and showcases the winners of the Best of Jacksonville Readers Poll, restaurant-wise. The last few years they've had it at the East Touchdown Club of Everbank Stadium. I've never been to the stadium, not even for Jaguars Game but if I liked football I'd definitely look in to purchasing club seats. Anyway, this year I paid the Early Bird price which was $25. What a deal for the amount of food you get to try. The first floor was mostly Jacksonville Magazine's setup: the photo station, the Shoe Cam, the Kimberly Clarke Salon for the Cover Model contest, the signature board. Riding the escalator up to the 2nd floor is where all the food vendors are and there were about 20+ tables. I had no idea where to start as by this time I was ravenous. Here are some of my favorites: Pinegrove Market and Deli - Cuban Sandwich (never had one before and it was great) Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails - Smoked Trout Spread (fantastic! I was supposed to use the veggies to spoon up the dip but instead I ate them) Ovinte - Lamb Meatballs with Goat Cheese (OMG. The best dish in my opinion) The Pig BBQ - a Rib with a side of Cole Slaw (very good) Hawkers - Pork Belly Bao - (my new Hawker's favorite) I think everyone in our group complained about how full we were but we were very glad we came. On our way out we were kanded a swag bag with Jacksonville Magazines, coupons for discounts and freebies, store flyers, lip balm, air freshener, and a keychain light. Oh what a night. Looking forward to attending this event every year they have it.

The Murray Hill Neighborhood of jacksonville, Florida is an older neighborhood in the Northwest…read moresection of Jacksonville. It has been an established neighborhood for over a hundred years, it began in 1908. This older neighborhood seems to be coming into its own again, which is always good.

Murray Hill neighborhood was established in 1908 and is wedged between hip Riverside and historic…read moreAvondale, it is the main dividing line between the eastern and western halves of the community. A hidden gem, this community has been reinventing itself over the years. Fun speakeasys, brewery, pub, coffee, foodie heaven all rolled into one of the older neighborhoods of Jax. I feel like Dreamette is the cornerstone of this neighborhood- the anchor. Then you add in pizza, tacos, diner food and more! It's definitely worth exploring. The local art vibe is also alive and well~ a breath of fresh air into this oldie but goodie. I have barely scratched the surface here and have been to 7 or 8 different businesses!

The main branch of the Jacksonville Library downtown is a spectacular place. It houses a…read moretremendous collection of rare maps, a treasure trove of Florida history, a good genealogy department, good selection of CDs and DVDs... and a fantastic (and first of its kind in the Southeast) selection of zines. Zines are the record of culture as published through a variety of alternative media sources. Generally zines are small, self published written anthems to a variety of genres, sub cultures and social issues that have lit a fire under independent authors of all backgrounds. Some zines in the collection are thought provoking, some juvenile and some downright weird. However, browsing through the titles really does give you a direct snapshot into the public vernacular on a variety of different times and subjects. Here's a hint: check out some of the zines focused on music to find a great source for undiscovered bands that you'll never hear on popular radio stations. Some of the albums mentioned are available to be checked out in the nearby CD section. You can check out any zine for free with a valid library card. The main branch houses the collection and curators of the JPL Zine Collection, however if you know what you want and getting downtown isn't convenient you can have any selection transferred to the library branch nearest you. In 2011, the JPL Zine Collection hosted a Zine Symposium featuring three local self published authors as well as punk rock icon (and fellow Zine publisher) Kathleen Hanna. Hanna is a women right's advocate who coined the term 'girl power' (before the Spice Girls would regrettably dumb down the message). To say this type of event smashes every pre-conceived notion of what you thought a library is would be a massive understatement.

We were in Jacksonville near the Hart Bridge sightseeing in December 19-22, 2024, when we spotted a…read more life-size bronze couple running by the St. John river. We were surprised to see that they were statues. We had to get out of the car and investigate. We did a little research and found out that the male runner was constructed first in March 2002. He became a big hit and celebration among the runners who participated in the Gate River Run, a popular 15 kilometers race in Jacksonville. He was called the River Runner. Nine years later, a female runner and companion was constructed and placed behind him to continue the celebration and they became the River Runners.

For a long time, it was just the man statue running all by his lonesome. But when I came here in…read moreFebruary, I found his new lady friend. Yes, exercise is much more fun with a friend, even if you are a statue. Lol. It's hard to resist taking a picture doing the same pose with these statues. Haha. If you want to run with the River Runner statues, they're running their marathon forever in front of the Hyatt Hotel downtown.

Lake Shore is an older neighborhood in the northwestern section of Jacksonville, Florida. The…read moreneighborhood is decently maintained and it seemed to be a nice enough place to visit. All in all, I enjoyed my time in this community. I pretty much just stopped here for lunch and then I took a look around.