Beautiful artwork on the side of auto building just under I95…read more You can't actually get close to it as the area is fenced off so you have to put your camera right up to the fence to get a clear photo. The opposite side of the building also has artwork painted on it. Downtown Jacksonville is doing a lot with their art scene and their theme is "Renewed".

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.

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!

I love Five Points. I love to park and check out different businesses in the area. Most of them…read moreopen at 10am or 11am. The dispensaries opens at 9 am, not sure what time the coffee shop opens. One reason for minus one star is sadly the homeless people that live and sleep in the area. Second reason is the Landlords raising the rent so high, they've lost about the 1/4 of tenants. How sad and tragic. The biggest loss is Bogers Shoes and Mixed Fillings Pie Shop. Pros:cars let pedestrians cross at the crosswalk. Great stores on the strip. Cons:Homelessness and Landlord disputes with former tenants. Parking can be difficult. Recommend:yes

Five Points is a cool collection of restaurants, bars, and shops and a popular spot to gather for…read morethose in the Jacksonville, Florida area. The name comes from it is where five roads intersect. It is a hip enclave that draws an eclectic collection of people. It is a great destination if you are in the Jacksonville, Florida area. I love these cool enclaves that give a city a personality. We need these neighborhoods where people can gather and just chill and meld together to be what is beyond a bunch of people, they become a community. Five Points is a cool enclave and I would definitely recommend heading here.

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.

Middleburg is way out from the big city of Jax. But, not too far. If you live in town and come this…read moreway a lot, it's best to buy the Sun Pass. There are a lot of options for dining. They also have a lot of shopping strip malls and a new Hospital close by. The traffic on certain main or well traveled roads can be very hectic, during rush hour. But, basically this is a very nice town to live in.

I always have a good time when I come to Rain Dogs and this time was no exception. Great drinks…read moreand conversation with great friends! After putting in so much work for Moonbeam Bash, it was so nice to be able to come here, sit for a spell (alright, it was much longer than a spell), relax, and have a ton of laughs. I personally just stuck with soda because I had way too much vodka from Tito's at MBB, but hubby enjoy a couple of nice beers from Intuition. It was so great to finally get the chance to meet Steve E. from Yelp Tampa at MBB, and I'm so glad he decided to join us here after the after party. He's such an amazing Yelper and tons of fun to be around! Mark wasn't even kidding when he said we may have just sat there all night talking because we totally closed the place down. Even after they had turned off the music and started cleaning up, we were all still talking away at one of the tables outside. A big thanks to Rain Dogs for participating as one of the vendors at MBB and for putting up with all of us rowdy Yelpers after the big shindig! Until next time, Yeeps.... SYOY! =)

After an amazing second year of the Moonbeam Bash, all of us, who volunteered and worked the event,…read moreneeded a place to go and wind down. We ended up at Raindogs, which worked perfectly as it was a Monday and a slow one, at that. We all got a round of beers and just sat chatting the rest of the night away. I like Raindogs because it's a bar for everyone. You will see people from all walks of life come walking through the doors. I think we brought some spice to the bar on this night, as this year's Moonbeam Bash was based around cosplay, so we had folks in and out of costume. No one seemed to bat an eye, though, and it's something that I'm starting to really love about our big, little city. I was in a stout mood, for beer, that night, which Raindogs doesn't carry much. However, I was in luck and the bartender suggested an awesome one from Great Divide Brewing Company out of Denver called Yeti. For those guys who need a hand putting a little hair on their chest, this would be a stout to drink to help with that. We have an awesome group of Yelpers, and I love get togethers like this because we can focus more on getting to know each other. Since the start of the year, we've been having some fun after parties, and we need to continue on this trend.