Gator Stompin' is one of the great traditions of Gainesville. When you buy your ticket, you get a…read moret shirt that is your free admission into several bars in Gainesville as well as some tokens for food and drinks. I had 10 tokens when I went and that was more than enough to get all the food and drinks I wanted. Basically you barhop among the bars of midtown and downtown with thousands of your closest friends and Gator fans! Also, there is traditionally a kickoff concert/event in Bo Diddley Plaza with food trucks and drinks available. I've never heard anyone say a negative word about Gator Stompin' (and I've been when it was pouring rain)! Do yourself a favor and check out what it's all about!

Atlas Obscura needs to know about this most excellent place in Gainesville, Florida! Equal parts…read moremuseum, theatre, and local music venue, Theatre of Memory is an absolute must if you are looking for something fun to do (and a little bit different!) in Gainesville. Bill, the docent/curator/museum director, greeted us as we arrived and the tour began almost immediately. He exuded theatricality and really brought the place alive. From the wheel room, to the Beatles exhibit, through the platform shoe and tea collections, Bill had fun stories to tell about everything. We thoroughly enjoyed our late afternoon tour and returned later that evening for a music performance put on by an incredibly talented musician from Maine who played piano music and told stories inspired by nature and place to a sold out audience. This is a really cool place full of food for the thought. We have not stopped talking about things we saw or heard during our visit. A visit to Theatre of Memory is definitely recommended during your visit to the Gainesville area.

I LOVE THIS PLACE! This is a place I go for inspo and refreshment. I mention it in my little…read morepodcast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q-7dXGM1wc https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AVDzYG9l9OUJzVAxF1e0t?si=1m6pyudZTC6FPpriw7ojwA

Wilmot botanical garden is named for Royal James Roy Wilmot who in 1940 was a horticulturist with…read morethe agricultural experiment Station at the University of Florida . Wilmot was an authority on camellias and classier 3,000 known varieties . This is a nice little park to walk around in front of the hospital with plenty of benches to sit and chill with the plants . Parking is not free

Wilmot Botanical Gardens is located in the heart of the University of Florida's College of Medicine…read moreand is named for Royal James "Roy" Wilmot. Wilmot was a horticulturist with the University of Florida's Agricultural Experiment Station during the 1940's. Wilmot was an authority on camellias (he was a "flower child" before the term was embraced by a generation in the 1960's) and classified many of the 3,000 known varieties of the flowering shrub. Wilmot also served on the American Camellia Society, the offices which were once housed on the grounds of the University of Florida. Wilmot passed away in 1950 and Wilmot Botanical Gardens was named in his honor on January 18, 1954. Wilmot Botanical Gardens is a tranquil place and a great place to escape the stress of the hustle and bustle and the grind of modern day life. All in all, this is a great place and one that I would definitely recommend. At one point, Wilmot Botanical Gardens had the largest collection of camellias in the United States of America and the second largest collection of camellias in the world.

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.

Once a month, UF's IFAS opens up their private stocked fishing ponds to public access. For no fee…read more(but do give a donation) they provide the ponds, fishing poles, bait (hotdog or beef liver), and a virtual guarantee to catch brim, catfish, or bass. If you have a kid that wants to catch fish and catch them often, this is a fun place to spend an hour or two. You are welcome to bring your own fishing gear, but theirs works just fine. I do suggest bringing a chair, as there are not many places to sit.

We arrived at 8:30 a.m. on a Friday, and the track was already abuzz with movement. The skies were…read moreclear, and the sun was shining, but it was only 58°. I recall my uncle mentioning that if it's hot, the car will run slower. We could smell the food the vendors prepared for the day's crowd. Suddenly, the roar of the engines came to life, and the wife heard the announcer say, "Welcome to the Gaternationals; it is a gorgeous day for racing." The drag racers rolled to the staging lanes with their dragsters doing burnouts. They carefully pulled into the pre-stage beams. Finally, there was the first yellow, the second yellow, and the third yellow, and then it was full throttle down the track. We watched reigning Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown produce a 3.685-seconds at 334.24 mph run in his 11K horsepower Matco Tools dragster. Also, Jack Beckman took the top qualifier in a Funny Car with 3.832 seconds at 334.65 mph in his 11K horsepower PEAK Chevy Camaro SS. Most importantly, every ticket is a pit pass for those who have never been to an NRHA event, meaning you can watch the crews prepare and adjust their dragsters. I noticed that we were lucky to sit in the stands without being surrounded by cigarette smokers. We've had a problem with several venues in the past overlooking smokers. The restrooms were well-maintained, the food vendors were ample, and currently, the venue allowed coolers at a max of 14" x 14" x 14". We took our seat cushions, but they can't be bigger than 18" x 10". However, alcohol, dope, and glass containers were not allowed. While we were there enjoying the event, I looked back at 2024 as a very challenging year since I lost my uncle to cancer, and being at an NHRA keeps his memory fresh for us.

My husband and I are from the Midwest and have traveled to nine NHRA tracks across the country…read more Unfortunately, the experience at Gainesville Raceway was the most disappointing of all the events we have attended. From the two hours it took to get into the track to the poor organization around the grandstands, the overall experience was extremely frustrating. While the email notifying attendees that traffic would be heavy was appreciated, it would have been much more helpful to give specific guidance--such as recommending that fans leave two hours before the time they hoped to arrive. There were also challenges with grandstand access. Each time fans went up the steps to their seats, they were required to show their tickets. At the B/C steps, for example, a staff member would not allow a teenager to return to his seat to rejoin his parents and instead made him step aside and call them. A simple hand-stamp system would have made re-entry far easier and avoided these situations. Additionally, during the Sunday finals a storm moved in that was clearly visible on radar. Despite the approaching weather, there was no announcement advising fans to leave the grandstands. Crowds were left sitting through a heavy downpour with significant lightning. From a safety standpoint--especially with so many people in the stands--this felt like very poor planning. NHRA events are always a great time, and we have had wonderful experiences at many other tracks across the country. Unfortunately, this particular venue did not live up to those standards, and based on our experience, we would recommend attending an NHRA event at a different track.

This past Friday night I went to the Newberry Cornfield Maze and had a great time. Before I went I…read moreread of course Yelp Reviews, Google Reviews, and Facebook Reviews and a lot of people said a lot of negative things. I still wanted to go as I have never been out to this farm and wanted to try it out! The night started out with us parking in a big open grass lot. People were parked all over the place, but we found a spot! You go up to pay and the line looked long but really went by pretty fast. It is $15 to get in and that gets you use of the Corn Maze and Haunted House. For an extra $5 you can also do the Hay Ride. We did the Hayride first and it was really fun. The hayride lasts about 8 to 10 minutes and you go back into the forest and some workers jump on the wagon and try to scare people. They have open fires all around the outdoor area and the smell was amazing. Also, just looking up to see the stars was fun as well. One thing I found was a little crazy is there was no age limit for this ride. There were people with kids as young as 1 or 2 on this ride and it was not for little ones. It would be better if they offered 1 or 2 rides a night where it was not scary. Next we walked through the corn maze. The stalks are high and several times it felt like we were the only ones in there. Not sure why people say its a big circle because they have things cut out to make it more of a maze. The haunted house it the last thing we did. This has a long wait. We most likely waited about an hour for a 8 minute walk through. The house was fun though not to scary and they did some cool things. They do touch you in this house which made it fun as well. Overall I really had fun at this! I would highly recommend it!

Warning to anyone interested in working at the NEWBERRY CORN MAZE in the future, my sister, her…read morefriend and I first started working up there doing some work to get the maze ready before it had opened. Brad, the owner would pay us cash and sometimes he would pick and choose how much he was going to pay us, it was never the same going hourly rate. Sometimes we'd get paid $14 an hour or $14.50 an hour it depended on how long we worked and if he wanted to give us the extra $.50 an hour. Anyway, we started working as scare actors up there as soon as it opened on Sept 18, 2026. I was still owed money from doing the manual labor around the maze prior to its opening so I only worked the opening day at the corn maze as an actor. My sister and her friend however, worked up there for a few weeks. I didn't get the money I was owed before opening night until weeks after. My sister and her friend finally ended up quitting. He gave my sisters friend her paycheck and the amount he gave her was wayyyy wrong. She was supposed to have been given like $500 something and he gave her $300 something. And if you don't know, you're responsible for doing the taxes on all money you make up there cause it's a 1099. I think he ended up giving her more money but still it was worth noting. Then they told my sister they lost her sensitive information and that she didn't have a paycheck because of that. Her sensitive information they lost was a COPY OF HER SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND A COPY OF HER ID. Finally, we went to go pick up our money yesterday which I was still owed from well over a month ago, to find out they lost MY sensitive information too and I also did not have a paycheck. Despite working there from 4:40 ish pm til like 11 pm ? So I went to Brad and told him they lost my information too. He looked at me like he didn't care and said that he'd have to fire the girl (which I heard from people who work there every year, he never fires her. He just says that to make it seem like he's doing something about it.) He then tells me that he cannot give me my money since he gave my sister money that day and no longer had any on him. I got upset and told him how long I worked for and his response was that despite telling all of us to clock in at 4-5 pm, we would only ever be paid from 7pm-11pm. I asked why he had us clock in so early and to be there so early then and he said so we could get our makeup done but still that doesn't make any sense so I said that. He got upset and tried to make a point by asking me if I worked at McDonalds and showed up there out of uniform would I clock in. I said if I worked at McDonald's, I'd show up in my uniform if I had to work because I'm not an idiot. Like is this guy for real ? Then he asked if I was already dressed when we got there, to which I said yes. And he just said "yea okay" and rolled his eyes. Not to mention there are plenty of people who show up in full costume and makeup already so his whole "we have you clock in before 7 but don't pay you yet because you have to get ready" thing doesn't really work. This guy is a real peace of work. He also told me I'd have to come back tomorrow (today... which is also closing night) and get my money cause he doesn't have any more to give but he also knows that I live over an hour away and couldn't afford to make another trip out there. I've tried texting him and calling to get him to just mail me my money so I can be done with all of this and he's ignored me. So I'm taking this to social media to warn people about working here. I heard that this seems to be a running theme and has happened plenty of times in previous years. I have no idea how his business is still up and running. He is a SCAMMER. And I would never EVER work up there again nor would I EVER recommend anyone work up there. You won't get paid, if you do make sure you're aware that even though you're clocking in early as hell, you won't be getting paid for that time. And you have to do your own taxes on whatever they give you so they can claim they gave you one amount and give you less than that and you still have to do the taxes on it. And my sensitive information is out there somewhere so I have to hope it doesn't get into the wrong hands.

I've had the pleasure of residing on Tumble Farm since November and I love the farm feel close to…read moretown. You can enjoy the quiet of the farm and when you want to feel the aura of the city it is only 30 minutes away in Gainesville. I enjoy hanging out with the goats, donkey and horses. Maureen and Nick are wonderful hosts.

Had the pleasure of staying here with my family in our RV from Sept 2017 to Jan 2018…read more The owners are lovely people and the property is gorgeous. There's a menagerie of farm animals that my 3 year old loved. The owners even let us grow a vegetable garden while we were there. My in-laws and my parents stayed at the air bnb on separate occasions and both were comfortable. Tumble Farm has a real "Choose-your-own-adventure" vibe. The owners can help accommodate whenever you want to do in the area. From biking to canoing. This is a great place to have a rustic wedding, take a boy scout troop, travel with your horses, whatever event you can think of. Check the air BNB listings (Tofu House and a yellow scamp RV) for reviews from folks who actually stayed rather than one grumpy reviewer who just drove through.