The 2021 Polar Express theme is Believe – Experience – Dream: 5:30 - 8p.m. Wednesday Dec. 29h and Thursday, Dec. 30th, Dudley Farms State Park, 18730 W. Newberry Road, Newberry. (386-365-2137 or 352-262-5068) State Park entrance fees are $5 per carload. Donations are encouraged to defray costs and support this all-volunteer effort. Dudley Farms will be closed during the event.
GNV Punk with DJ Roxx XXAVAGE: 8 p.m. Friday, High Dive, 210 Sw 2nd Ave. Suite A. (352-872-5949, highdivegville@gmail.com)New Year;s Eve edition with Live ball drop and free champagne at midnight. T8 ADV, $10 DOS.
Metal New Years! Shadow the Earth, Amusia, Mandala, Sky, Ken: 8 p.m. Jan. 1, High Dive. Tickets $8 ADV, $10 DOS (352-872-5949, highdivegville@gmail.com)
Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center celebrates Umoja- Unity: 5 p.m. Dec. 26, Cotton Club, 837 SE 7th Ave. To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. Games, crafts, entertainment, singing, prizes.
Celebrate Kwanzaa: 3-5 p.m. Dec. 29, Shady Grove Primitive Baptist Church, 804 SW 5th St. City Commissioner and City Manager discuss the principles of Kwanzaa.
Ujima – Collective Work and Responsibility: 7-9 p.m. Dec. 28, Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church, 701 SE 43rd St. (352-485-2079) In person and virtually. Discussion on Sankofa, financial wellness, education and health, housing and social issues.
The Rev. Ron Rawls: 5 p.m. Jan. 1, Greater Bethel AME Church, 701 SE 43rd St. A conversation of faith and community.
Principle Ujamaa: 6 p.m. Dec. 30, via ZOOM (nathanrossinc@gmail.com) Cooperative Economics Discussion.
KWANZAA Restoring our Families and Neighborhoods: 5:30 -7:30 p.m. Dec. 30, 2106 NE 8th Ave. (352-216-6619, contact@chanaejackson.com) Music, games, freebies, food.
Gainesville Umoja Conference: 6:30–8:30 p.m. Dec. 29, GTEC Building, 2153 SE Hawthorne Road # 101 From Confusion to Clarity. What’s the Answer to Gun Violence? Village Talk!
A Virtual Kwanzaa Celebration: 3 p.m. Dec. 29, Via ZOOM from Tanzania, Africa with NKwanda Jah, makare dancers, music, guests. ZOOM link (https://ufl.zoom.us/j/6419544692.
Gainesville Modern Quilters: Now through Jan. 30, Hotel Indigo, Celebration Pointe, 4949 Celebration Pointe Ave. More than 20 quilts created by the members of the guild will be on display. Attendees will have the option to purchase some of the quilts. Gainesville Modern Quilters is the local chapter of the international Modern Quilt Guild. The group meets monthly to learn new skills, plan projects and events.
Between Heaven & Earth, The Paintings of Alyne Harris: Now through Jan. 15, 2022; part of the City of Gainesville’s Of This Place permanent art collection. This exhibit is a community cultural asset and features 200 paintings by Gainesville native Alyne Harris, who paints to express both her lived experiences and her profound spiritual life. Harris' work draws heavily from African-American traditions including jumping the broom in her wedding scenes. Her paintings call on viewers to travel the paths of their own recollections, an exchange that becomes part of the work itself. Her work reminds the viewer that revisiting the past can connect us with the present and the future.
GFAA GALLERY: Perfect for holiday gifts there are smaller original artworks for sale in the gift shop . Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Friday 1 - 6 pm and Saturday 11 am - 4 pm. 1314 S. Main Street.
37th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Fame Gala: 5:30 p.m. reception, dinner 6:30 p.m. Jan 9, Gateway Grand Hotel 4200 NW 97th Blvd. (Rodney J. Long @ 352-376-2442) Tickets, $100 each, must be purchased in advance. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
Oscar Wilde’s 'The Importance of Being Earnest': 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, Jan 28 - Feb. 20, directed by Andrea Young. (carolyne@acrosstown.org, 352-275-7790).
Hamlet in 75: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7-8, Backyard Stage, St. Augustine Amphitheatre. Apex Theatre Studio’s Bard Bus presents a retelling of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy set in the backwoods of Northeast Florida. Tickets $23 The St. Augustine Amphitheatre Box Office.i
Venardos Circus Returns: Now through Jan. 2, The St. Augustine Amphitheatre. A Broadway-style animal-free circus. $17 - $47, The St. Augustine Amphitheatre Box Office.
Florida Impressions" exhibition: New exhibit, Harm Museum or Art, 3259 Hull Road Hull Road. https://harn.ufl.edu/linkedfiles/pressrelease-floridaimpressions.pdf permanent exhibition includes more than 50 paintings depicting the state's environment, people and history, and celebrates the transformative gift of 1,200 works of art from Sam and Robbie Vickers; includes works by Martin Johnson Heade, Thomas Moran and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
“Our Changing Climate: Past and Present”: available now is a permanent exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History; the free exhibit uses large-format graphs showing major historic events to present the story of Earth’s changing climate over geologic time. It also highlights how Earth’s climate fluctuates and what global trends are affecting life today. www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/exhibits/our-changing-climate. Through a timeline, visitors can visualize and compare where dinosaurs, megalodon sharks, humans, ancient civilizations and more fit into Earth’s climate history. Originally opened , the exhibit has been relaunched to mark the release of the first part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report, which addresses the most up-to-date climate change science, potential risks and options for the planet’s future.
The Harn Museum: Plural Domains: Selected Works from the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation Collection. The exhibition aims to advance cultural understanding and educational dialogue among Latin American artists and global audiences. Plural Domains will span both venues, with works on view at the Harn Museum of Art from now through April 24, 2022 and the University Galleries from now to Dec. 3, 2021.
Library District monthly reading suggestions: Anyone can subscribe at www.aclib.us/acldreads to receive a monthly email with book suggestions linking directly to the Alachua County Library District’s catalog, where patrons can reserve titles for pick up or check out digital books. Choose from 25-plus categories based on genre, age, or popularity, including general fiction, romance, mystery, teen, and New York Times Best Sellers. ACLD Reads suggests titles in all formats, including print, digital, and audiobooks.
Shadow to Substance: Now through Feb 2022, The Melvin and Lorna Rubin Gallery, The Harn Museum, 3259 Hull Road. The exhibition creates a chronological arc from the past to the present into the future using historical photographs from the Harn and Smathers Library collections and through the lens of Black photographers working today.
Good News Arts: collaborates with local, regional, and national artists to provide creative education opportunities, exhibitions, and cultural programming to the community. Good News Arts serves as a community center, free and accessible to all. Located in High Springs at the First Avenue Center, 23352 W HWY 27, Suite 80.
Kanapaha Botanical Gardens: 9 a.m.- 7 p.m. or dusk today, Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, 4700 SW 58th Drive. Admission, $10 adults, $5 children ages 5-13, free for children under 5 years old accompanied by parents. (kanapaha.org) Dogs on a leash and up to date on vaccines with no history of aggression are allowed in the park. Garden hours: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday - Wednesday, and Friday, closed Thursday. 9 a.m.- 7p.m. or dusk Saturday and Sunday.
Afternoon Adventure Camp: 2 - 5 p.m. Wednesdays at the Cade Museum, 811 S. Main St. This mid-week opportunity will focus on challenges that boost kids' creativity and imagination. Cade Museum educators help children ages 5-11 engage in a broad range of hands-on STEAM experiments and activities. In the Creativity Lab and Fab Lab, children will explore and improve skills in 3D design, coding, robotics, and more. Cade’s educators will be available to help children in kindergarten through 5th-grade address homework challenges. Registration is open. Members receive a discounted rate.
Little Sparks ages 0-5: 12:15 -1 p.m. Saturday, Cade Museum, 811 S. Main St. Children will receive a personal Little Sparks kit with all of their own supplies, plus make and takes that extend the fun and learning at home. Our BRAIN and Sweat Solution exhibits will also be open for Little Sparks noon – 5 p.m.
The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention: Noon - 5 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, general admission. (info@cademuseum.org) Schedule a group tour Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.
Matheson Museum: “When Johnny Came Marching Home: Outdoor exhibition, located on the westside of the main Matheson building behind the set of flags along Sweetwater Branch. (378-2280, mathesonmuseum.org)This sculpture was designed by Ken Mc Gurn and fabricated by Matthew Pollard. The exhibit honors all of those who served. McGurn served in the Army and Army Reserves from 1963- 1979. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1965 and Germany from 198-1970. Current exhibits in person and online include “Trailblazers: 150 Years of Alachua County Women,” celebrating the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the U.S.; McCarthy Moment: The Johns Committee in Florida on display online and in person. Hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 513 E. University Ave.