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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ People yearning for a taste of N’awlins music need wait no longer than this weekend. On July10 and 11, North Florida will be treated to a taste of New Orleans unique musical style as the High Springs Lions Club hosts a two-day concert featuring some of the top session musicians from Louisiana.

Nicknamed the “Big Easy” and “The Crescent City,” New Orleans is known for its round-the-clock nightlife, vibrant live-music scene that mixes musical genres of Funk, Jazz, Blues, Rock & Soul as well as its spicy, singular cuisine reflecting its history as a melting pot of French, African and American cultures.

This show, called the FloraNola Festival, was the brainchild of national touring and High Springs native Jesse Smith who has gathered a few of his favorite musicians to bring the finest musical GUMBO around.

Like everywhere else, live performances disappeared this past year due to COVID-19 restrictions and entertainers were suddenly out of work.

“We've been locked down so long, we’re ready to explode,” Smith said. “This was an opportunity to get back on the road and introduce my hometown to some of the unique New Orleans style played by some of my favorite New Orleans musicians.”

Many of the musicians joining him onstage originally met at Florida State University while seeking various music degrees. After performing, recording and creating for several years, Smith and bassist Ron Williams moved to New Orleans to improve their skills in the Crescent City. “This was the beginning of a beautiful time of our lives, and a journey that took us around the world performing the traditions of New Orleans R&B, Funk, Blues and Jazz” Smith said.

Over the next few years, another musician from Florida State University joined them in New Orleans as multi-instrumentalist Joe Goldberg on saxophone, flute, and keys began touring with them. “This is where we all found our voices, where we found our gigs to pay the rent, and the jumping point of which led to our travels,” Smith said. While on tour in Savannah, they were introduced to Kenny Murphy who played bass, guitar and vocals and he joined the band on tour.

“One thing that New Orleans is known for is their special breed of drummers/percussionists,” said Smith. “The heartbeat of the city dances to a special kind of rhythm, one that is not easily mastered and comes from generations of passed down lineage. Luckily the first couch I had to crash on during my first visit to the city was none other than New Orleans native Nick Solnick, a world class drummer in his own right who completed our band.”

“Fast forward a few years and we've all spend thousands of hours together on the road, on the stage, in the studio, at the back yard barbecue, on the side of the road, at a hang around the holidays and everywhere else you can wind up with a few of your best friends,” said Smith. “We've become our own large family and that's what this FloraNola Festival is all about.”

While the concert is free, it is not just about the musicians performing some great music. The event is also about raising money for the Lions Clubs mission to benefit local charitable needs in the surrounding communities. An effect of the COVID pandemic was the cancellation of charitable events, which limited the ability of many organizations to raise funds. “We are doing this to help get the charitable causes back on track,” Smith said. “The concert is free, but we are asking people to make donations to help others.”

The Lions Club will also be selling food and drinks to raise money. Due to this, they ask that while people are welcome to bring chairs, they leave all food and drinks at home and enjoy the affordable food and drinks offered by the club. The concert will begin on Saturday, July 10 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. with the gates opening at 4 p.m. and continue on Sunday, July 11 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. with the gates opening at 12 noon. The High Springs Lions Club is located at 26900 U.S. Highway 27, High Springs. Additional information can be found by calling 386-454-4521.

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ALACHUA ‒ The skies around Alachua were once again bursting with flashes of dazzling lights as the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration returned Sunday evening to a crowd estimated at some 17,000 spectators.

For 20 years the City of Alachua has hosted an annual July 4^th celebration billed as the “Largest Small Town Fireworks Display in America.” The event is so popular that it attracts thousands each year, oftentimes doubling the size of the town’s nearly 10,000 population.

Historically, the event lasts all day, featuring food vendors, children’s activities, games and several bands through the course of the day and evening. The crowd grows throughout the day culminating with the highest numbers for the fireworks show, which rivaled the size and expense of larger metropolitan areas.

But last year, everything changed due to COVID-19. All mass events were canceled or restricted in size and people stayed home to avoid spreading or catching the virus. The City of Alachua canceled the enormously popular event due to concerns for everyone's safety.

This year, the City of Alachua vowed to bring the tradition back. But due to the time it takes to organize the event, with planning starting six months out, and no guarantees about what the situation would be in July, the City opted to stay true to the “Largest Small Town Fireworks Display in America” and focus on the fireworks. Also different this year was the location of the event, as the show was moved from the Hal Brady Recreation Complex where it has been held in previous years to the adjacent Legacy Park and amphitheater.

The day was wet as rain and thunderstorms rolled in throughout the afternoon leaving the Legacy Park field soaked and muddy. But by evening, the skies began to clear, and if there had been any doubts about whether people would show up, those doubts were quickly dispelled by the sheer size of the crowd. After a year of quarantine, social distancing and lack of activities, thousands came out to celebrate the holiday and fireworks. Many brought chairs to avoid the wet ground while others simply stood throughout the show.

The larger than anticipated crowd did cause issues with parking as the ongoing rain left much of the parking area too wet and muddy to use. The reduced parking area at Legacy Park was filled and closed by 7:30 p.m. with traffic backed up on Peggy Road for more than a mile. Police directed people to the Alachua Main Street area, which also quickly filled, leaving many to walk a mile to the park.

The evening’s entertainment consisted of one band, reduced from the multi-band format in the past. Crooked Council performed an energetic set to get the crowd up from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. As they ended their set, the sky exploded in a barrage of multi-colored fireworks and the show began.

For the next half hour, a continuous display of fireworks lit the night sky over Legacy Park as thousands celebrated the Fourth of July. The celebration looked different this year, but one thing is certain, Alachua’s Largest Small Town Fireworks Display was back.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The City of High Springs may be purchasing the Santa Fe Canoe Outpost. At the June 24 City Commission meeting, Recreation Director Damon Messina provided updated information regarding the possible purchase of the property.

“What is for sale is the business, land, building and assets,” Messina said. The land is 2.5 acres and includes a two-story building with one bathroom inside and two more attached to the outside of the building. Purchase by High Springs would serve to preserve and protect the area’s natural resources. “Should the owners sell the property to someone else, even if they promise to maintain it as it is, it’s possible they could sell to another entity which doesn’t have to abide by the same directive,” Messina said.

The business has been open for more than 30 years and has operated at a profit. Messina pointed out that the land has gone up in value 20 – 25 percent in recent years and there is a high demand for this type of recreation.

If the City doesn’t want to manage the Outpost, Messina suggested that a request for proposals (RFP) be issued for an outside agency to manage the facility. The property has been appraised at $600,000, said Messina. If the Commission chooses to purchase the Outpost, the City will be able to continue to offer watercraft rentals, camping and shuttle service.

Messina said partial funding would be possible through Wild Spaces Public Places funds. A private donor through Alachua County Trust has also offered to provide $175,000 toward the purchase.

Costs involved would include flood insurance, which is estimated at $2,000 annually. Insurance for the vehicles, dock and pathway will cost approximately $2,750.

Upgrades to the facility are estimated at $150,000. Those costs include replacing the boardwalk and adding secure railings, replacement of the dock, remodel the bathrooms to make all replacement and renovations A.D.A. compliant, plus improve signage on the U.S. Highway 441 entrance.

Messina listed some of the goals of obtaining this property which included providing educational services to the community, partnering with local schools and organizations to offer programs and events, continuing as care takers of the river and natural surroundings, continued protection of an environmental asset and extending its economic force in the community bringing thousands of visitors to the area. Messina also sai the City would be seeking state and federal grant and program opportunities.

Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT) Executive Director Tom Kay was on hand to talk about possible funding options through grants and other programs. He will assist the City in obtaining funding from Florida Communities Trust Parks and Open Space Program. This program is a state acquisition program that provides Florida Forever funds to local governments and environmental non-profit organizations for purchase and upgrades of greenways that further outdoor recreation and natural resources.

As part of his presentation, Kay pointed out that the City only needs to put $150,000 down on the property. He also said their organization has had some success with grants that would be available to the City should the Commission decide to make the commitment.

City Manager Ashley Stathatos pointed out there would be income from rentals plus the opportunity for grants once the City obtains the property. Commissioner Scott Jamison pointed out that a splash park or one of the other items on the City’s initial agenda for Wild Spaces funding can be done later.

“Overall,” said Messina, “this acquisition might provide added opportunities for a Rails to Trails future purchase. One of the rail lines ends next to the U.S. 27 bridge which would provide additional riverside access.”

Current owner Jim Wood also addressed the Commission and said he would like to sell the property to the City to protect the land and all they have put into this area. He also stated that he would continue to run the business until the City prepares an RFP and obtains someone else to run the facility.

Stathatos said that if the City signs a contract in July, it might be possible to close by October. The Commission took no action but will continue to review information about the potential purchase of the property

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ALACHUA ‒ On Saturday morning June 26, Alachua joined the ranks of Gainesville and Newberry in holding a remembrance event. Held at Mebane Middle School in a drizzling rain, over 100 people attended the event to memorialize lynching victims, especially the eight known victims in Alachua-Newnansville, as well as Reverend A.S.J Allen who was shot to death in 1904.

The Civil War officially ended slavery, but much of the racial tension and animosity from the war and its after-effects on the South still festered. There was no equality between white southerners and former black slaves and equal treatment under the law did not yet exist. More than 4,400 African Americans were lynched across 20 states between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and 1950. Florida had 350 lynchings, making it fifth in the nation. Alachua County had 19 documented lynchings making it the second highest in the state.

The "Soil Collection Ceremony for Alachua/Newnansville" was coordinated by the Alachua-Newnansville Subcommittee of the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project, which worked in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative of Montgomery, Alabama.

The subcommittee was formed under the leadership of Alachua Vice Mayor Shirley Green Brown with the purpose of educating the community about past racial discrimination and memorializing those who suffered repression and violence in the Jim Crow era, while also reconciling to bring the community together.

Brown opened the ceremony with poems and song lyrics. “I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom,” she recited from a civil rights-era song. Alachua First Baptist Reverend Doug Felton gave an Invocation followed by a scripture reading by Reverend Debra Frazier Sermons.

Nii Sowa-La led a spiritual tribute Libation ceremony honoring the traditions of their ancestors, where a drink is poured into the ground to honor the dead. He slowly emptied two bottles onto the grass while leading a rhythmic chant as the audience clapped to a beat. “We are calling for forgiveness,” he repeated.

Several prominent officials spoke including Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper, Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr. and Alachua County Commissioner Charles Chestnut, who said the goal of the event was to bring light to the truth and begin to reconcile the tragic historical events.

“We are here to bring the community together and have a real conversation about the history of lynching here in Alachua County,” he said.

Keiana West of the Equal Justice Initiative spoke about the history of lynchings and long-term consequences in the South. “Slavery did not end in 1865, it simply evolved,” she said. “We can’t get to the reconciliation work without the truth telling work, the history needs to be told.”

Volunteers lit nine candles in recognition of the lynching victims: Cooley Johnson, George Bibbon, Willey Bradley, Caesar Sullivan, Harry Hurl and his 15-year-old son, Harold, William Rawls and murder victim A.S.J. Allen.

While each is identified as a victim, little is known about the circumstances or locations of their lynchings. Rawls was accused of murdering a white merchant in 1895. While Rawls awaited a trial, a white mob stormed the jail, dragging him out and hanging him. No one was ever charged for the lynching.

Rev. A.S.J Allen was a well-respected black minister. On April 2, 1904 he got into an argument with his white neighbor about placement of a fence and the neighbor shot Allen dead. The courts exonerated the neighbor and charges were never filed. However, Allen’s regional and national stature led to numerous black communities going into mourning and 800 people attended his funeral.

Ceremony attendees placed a cup of soil into empty mason jars arranged before the podium. Each jar displayed the name of a victim with two jars for each individual. One jar will be stored at the Equal Justice Initiative Museum in Montgomery, Alabama while the other will stay in Alachua.

Since the exact location of the lynchings is unknown, the soil to fill the jars was collected from three sites in the former town of Newnansville. The Newnansville/Alachua Cemetery was one, the other two were sites in the former township called Black Street Road and Gallows Pond as likely spots.

One by one, a long line of people solemnly put a cup of dirt into each jar until it was filled and sealed. The jars that go to the Equal Justice Initiative Museum will form part of a wall of remembrance made entirely of soil jars from where these victims died or were interred.

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ALACHUA ‒ Hurricane turned Tropical Storm Elsa swept across the peninsular of Florida slamming into the Big Bend area, bringing bouts of wind and waves of downpours to the heartland communities. The Northwest 105^th Avenue bridge crossing Turkey Creek in Alachua was inundated by early afternoon Wednesday. As expected, the tropical storm left many without power and roadways closed due to flooding and downed trees, with the High Springs area experiencing numerous roadway blockages for a variety of reasons including downed trees and localized flooding.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ On a rainy evening on June 24, the Great Outdoors Restaurant literally went to the dogs. The Humane Animal Treatment Charity (HATC) and The High Springs Women’s Club hosted a “Yappy Hour” on the patio of The Great Outdoors Restaurant in High Springs.

A crowd of some 60 people, many with their well-behaved leashed canine companions, attended the fundraiser event despite the rain that had been falling most of the afternoon. The event started at 5 p.m., just about the time the rain stopped, and the crowd slowly filtered in.

The canine friendly event has been popular and well attended in the past. “The rain kept some people from coming, the ones that did were very generous in supporting our efforts to save animals and provide crucially needed funds to support volunteer no-kill rescue facilities,” said Arlene Levine, Vice-President of HATC.

HATC is an all-volunteer non-profit charity. Their mission is to raise funds to aid small all-volunteer humane no-kill animal rescue facilities that save unwanted and abused animals and prepare them for adoption. All net proceeds raised by the charity are given to these rescue groups. No state, federal or local funding is provided as the charity relies solely on the support and financial aid of local organizations and individuals.

While the event's purpose is to raise money from participating humans, much of the focus is on their canine companions. There was a doggy menu, including peanut-based ice cream for the dogs. For the owners, the Great Outdoors had their Thursday special offering of one-half priced bottles of wine. Musical entertainment was offered by the popular duo Gosia and Ali.

Attendees were treated to a silent auction of items spread out over two long tables with various gift packages, including 13 decorated baskets filled with items supplied from local businesses. There were also popular games enjoyed by the crowd such as Ring Toss, Pin the Bone on the Puppy, Trivia Questions and Guess the Number of Biscuits in the Jar. Prizes were awarded for game winners as well as a raffle of prize packages.

Organizations supported by HATC include the Retirement Home for Horses at Mill Creek, K9 Services German Shepherd Rescue, Sunrise Wildlife Rehabilitation, Second Chance Rescue& Rehoming, Helping Hands Pet Rescue and Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary.

While HATC and the Women's Club Sponsored Yappy Hour, the event enjoyed communitywide support. Local businesses and individuals donated baskets and prizes as well as financial aid. Support came from The Great Outdoors, Pink Flamingo, Alachua Animal Hospital, High Springs Playhouse, Bare Essential Massage, Little Cottage Spa, Gene's Gifts, Sam and Becky Tift and other individuals.

“The rain limited the turnout, but the support we got from those that showed was great,” said HATC President Gene Levine. “We made over $4,000 at the event and have a number of donations that are still coming in. It’s great to see the support and know so many care about the welfare of these animals.”

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