The tour offers visitors a way to discover what life was like in 1870 on a single family farm in north central Florida while enjoying the lush grounds and the farm structures. The cell phone tour explains the sugar cane and syrup process, as well as describing uses for each of the buildings and animals found at the farm. 

The Living History Farm is located at Morningside Nature Center, Gainesville’s premier nature park. Visitors can also enjoy Morningside’s more than six miles of trails that wind through sandhill, flatwoods and cypress domes. Morningside also boasts a spectacular wildflower display and a chance to see diverse  wildlife.

The website www.gainesvillecelltours.com provides a menu of cell phone tour options in Gainesville/Alachua County including: Historic Gainesville, the town of Evinston, Dudley Farm Historic State Park, O‘Leno State Park and Paynes Prairie State Preserve. The website also has a video overview of the cell phone tour program, a downloadable guide and a podcast for each of the tours.

The cell phone tour program is coordinated by the City of Gainesville, Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and is funded through Alachua County Tourism Tax dollars. More information about Gainesville’s cell phone tours is available at www.gainesvillecelltours.com.

Gainesville is located in North Central Florida between two of Florida’s main thoroughfares, Interstate 75 and US Highway 441, is equidistant from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean just two hours north of Orlando and 1-1/2 hours southwest of Jacksonville.

VisitGainesville is kicking-off a weeklong series of events celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) May 8-16, 2010.  The week started with the 18^th Annual Bed-making Contest Monday, May 10 at the Paramount Plaza Hotel at 2900 SW 13^th Street at 9 a.m.  Twenty-two housekeeping staff members from 11 hotel properties from throughout Alachua County competed for prize money (and bragging rights) in various skill categories including overall neatness, mitered corners and speed.  Judges include Paula DeLaney, Alachua County Commissioner, Lori Pennington-Gray, Ph.D chair of the Alachua County Tourist Development Council and Rick Drummond, assistant county manager for Alachua County.

                “The bed-making event has become a National Travel & Tourism Week tradition here and a fun way for us to tell our tourism industry success story in Alachua County,” said Roland Loog, executive director of VisitGainesville.  “With an estimated eight million visitors annually in our county, the power of tourism as a generator of revenue and as employer for Alachua County is truly becoming a force to be reckoned with,” said Loog.   For additional information, the media may contact:  Marcheta Cole Keefer, VisitGainesville, at 352/374-5260 or by e-mail at:  mkeefer@visitgainesville.com

Gainesville/Alachua County Celebrates National Travel and Tourism Week 2010

Offering Free Admission at Area Attractions

            Gainesville, FL –(May 5, 2010) -- In celebration of the 27^th annual National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) May 8-16, several popular attractions in Alachua County are offering complimentary or reduced admission and offers, announced Roland Loog, executive director of VisitGainesville. “National Tourism week is the perfect time for us to showcase many of our incredible attractions and a great way to say thank you to the visitors as well as residents of Alachua County,” said Loog.

            The NTTW attractions program kicks-off with a complimentary tour with the purchase of a regular-priced adult tour of historic Haile Homestead at Kanapaha Plantation on Sunday, May 9 (Mother’s Day).  The tours, available Sunday 12-4 p.m., are usually $5 per adult.

On Monday, May 10 at the Florida Museum of Natural History, is offering a complimentary admission with the purchase of a regular-priced adult combination admission to the CSI: Crime Scene Insects as well as the Butterfly Rainforest. The Museum is located in the Cultural Plaza at the University of Florida. Their telephone number is:  352-846-2000. *(This special offer cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.)*

Poe Springs is offering $5 off canoe or kayak rentals on Wednesday, May 12.

Poe Springs, Alachua County’s largest spring, is a second-magnitude spring, which pumps approximately 45 million gallons of cool, refreshing water daily. The park features fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, and picnicking, and there are volleyball courts and large fields for other recreational activities. Hours are 9 a.m. - sunset all year except New Year’s Eve and Day. Admission: $5 per adult; free for children 4 years and under. Located about three miles west of High Springs on County Road 340. From High Springs go north on US 27-41 to Poe Springs Road. Go west 2.5 miles to park. Poe Springs is 27 miles northwest from Gainesville.  Their main phone number is: 386-454-1992.

Ordinarily closed on Thursdays, Kanapaha Botanical Gardens is opening and offering a complimentary admission for every paid adult admission on Thursday, May 13.  Kanapaha is a 62-acre facility developed and operated by the North Florida Botanical Society, a non-profit educational organization.  Kanapaha is comprised of 14 major collections visually accessible from a 1 ½ mile paved walkway. These include the state's largest public display of bamboos and the largest herb garden in the Southeast.  Located at 4700 S.W. 58th Drive, the admission fee is usually $6 for adults and $3 for children ages 6-13.  For additional information, call 352-372-4981.

            On Friday, May 14 “Let’s Go Downtown “Free Fridays” Plaza Series presents Hudost, an alternative/folk rock at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza located in Downtown Gainesville.  The “Free Fridays“series season kicks off May 7 with free concerts in the plaza each week through October 15. For the events schedule and additional information, phone:   352-334-ARTS or  http://www.gvlculturalaffairs.org/website/programs_events/plaza_series/plaza.html

            Also during National Travel and Tourism Week, VisitGainesville is hosting the 18^th annual Bed-making Contest on Monday, May 10 at the Paramount Plaza Hotel (from 9 a.m.-noon) as well as the Annual National Travel and Tourism Luncheon Wednesday, May 12 at the Historic Thomas Center.  The winners of the bed-making contest as well as the winners of the VisitGainesville Customer Service Awards will be announced at this luncheon on Wednesday.

            National Travel and Tourism Week is an annual event sponsored by the Travel Industry Association and commemorated by states, cities and organizations across the nation. The goal of NTW is to highlight the powerful economic, social and cultural impacts of travel through events and celebrations recognize the incredible job travel as a major U.S. industry that is vital to the economic stability, security and perception of the United States.

            VisitGainesville is the official tourism sales and marketing organization for Gainesville and Alachua County.  The Alachua County Hospitality Council is a non-profit member-based organization comprised of local and regional sales and marketing professionals in the hospitality industry.  For additional information about Gainesville and National Travel and Tourism Week activities in Alachua County, visit the VisitGainesville website at: www.visitgainesville.com.

            For additional information, media contact Marcheta Cole Keefer at VisitGainesville at 352/374-5260 or by e-mail at: mkeefer@visitgainesville.com

Gainesville, FL – (April 27, 2010) --  VisitGainesville is kicking-off a weeklong series of events celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) May 8-16, 2010.  The week starts with the 18^th Annual Bed-making Contest Monday, May 10 at the Paramount Plaza Hotel located at 2900 SW 13^th Street from 9 a.m.- noon.

Approximately a dozen hotel properties from throughout Alachua County will enter representatives from their housekeeping staff to compete for prize money in various skill categories including overall neatness, mitered corners and speed.  Judges include Paula DeLaney, Alachua County Commissioner, Lori Pennington-Gray, Ph.D chair of the Alachua County Tourist Development Council and Rick Drummond, Assistant County Manager for Alachua County.

            “The bed-making event has become a National Travel & Tourism Week tradition here and a fun way for us to tell our tourism industry success story in Alachua County,” said Roland Loog, executive director of VisitGainesville.  “With an estimated eight million visitors annually in our county, the power of tourism as a generator of revenue and as employer for Alachua County is truly becoming a force to be reckoned with,” said Loog. 

Other events during National Travel & Tourism Week include: a Tourism Week Proclamation Reading at the Alachua County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, May 11 at 9 a.m.; the announcement of the winners of the Alachua County Customer Service Awards on Wednesday, May 12 at the VisitGainesville’s NTTW annual luncheon at the historic Thomas Center from noon – 1:30 p.m.

The 27th Annual National Travel and Tourism Week is an annual event sponsored by Travel Industry Association and commemorated by states, cities and organizations across the nation. The goal of NTW is to highlight the powerful economic, social and cultural impacts of travel through events and celebrations recognize the incredible job travel as a major U.S. industry that is vital to the economic stability, security and perception of the United States and that

VisitGainesville is the official tourism sales and marketing organization for Gainesville and Alachua County.  For additional information, the VisitGainesville website at: www.visitgainesville.com .

For additional information about National Tourism Week or tourism in Alachua County/Gainesville, contact Marcheta Cole Keefer, tourism marketing manager for VisitGainesville at 352-374-5260 or e-mail at:  mkeefer@visitgainesville.com 

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Gainesville, FL – (April 27, 2010) --VisitGainesville ( the Gainesville/Alachua County Visitors and Convention Bureau) announced that it is offering a new grant program for meeting  planners who want to carbon offset the conferences they conduct in Alachua County.

The new grant, VisitGainesville Great Green Grant, offers planners up to $500 in carbon offsets in either of two categories –  reforestation  or low-income housing “weatherization,” also known as energy efficiency retrofitting– in Alachua County.

VisitGainesville initiated a pilot program with the assistance and participation of Elena Sachs, meeting planner for the 2010 Southeast Partners in Flight meeting at the University of Florida Hilton Conference in Gainesville, FL from March 9 – 11.   Prior to the conference, Sachs surveyed the approximately 70 conference delegates asking them the number of days each attended the meeting, their mode of transportation, number of hotel nights booked and the distance from Gainesville each delegate traveled.   This data was then given to Gainesville-based environmental nonprofit Earth Givers Inc. who calculated that the conference produced approximately 14.5 tons of carbon.

 “During the pilot process,  we were certainly impressed with initial results, but also recognized  and are therefore  tweaking and streamlining the data collecting process during delegate registration, making it easier for the meeting planner and enable the carbon offset calculation process to get started sooner,” said Nancy Fischer, CMP, director of sales for VisitGainesville. “The sooner the calculations are tabulated, the sooner the meeting planner can report the results to the conference attendees.”

“Including this environmentally conscious component to our conference certainly made an important and positive impact in the minds of delegates,” said Sachs.  The Partners in Flight opted for the reforestation offset option. “To know that we are now the proud ‘donors’ of 20 newly planted indigenous trees and increasing the tree canopy in this area was an incredible and pleasant addition to our conference,” said Sachs.   

“We purposefully made this grant easy to qualify for and available year round, which we believe will encourage planners to apply for it,” explained Fischer.  “After successfully kicking-off the Florida Green Lodging Conference here in Gainesville in fall 2008, we were anxious to follow up with another green meeting initiative. We believe this green grant does that.   It is philosophically aligned with Gainesville’s green meeting mission and even though we’re certainly proud to be one of the pioneers of conference carbon offset efforts, we hope that we aren’t for long and that other CVB’s hop onboard soon,” added Fischer. 

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Fischer explained that the two carbon offset choices were selected for two primary reasons.  “First, we believe that locally generated, locally applied is key; and these options provide a high ‘green’ return with a relatively small investment,” said Fischer.  According to Jacob Cravey, co-founder of Earth Givers Inc., on average, you can expect a $30 return in energy reduction for every dollar invested in energy efficiency projects and 1 to 1 ratio of trees to the ton of carbon sequestered.    

For additional information  or to apply for the Green Grant or  VisitGainesville’s  two other conference grants offered each Spring and Fall contact Nancy Fischer, VisitGainesville’s  director of sales by e-mail at:  nfischer@visitgainesville.com or by phone:  352/374-5260.

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  College students aren’t the only ones who come to Gainesville to expand their minds.   Magazines from AARP to Black Enterprise have recognized the area as a prime place to retire, but visitors can benefit from the same plethora of options, from outdoor adventures to visual and performing arts.

  Gainesville’s status as a top town for baby boomers starts with the youthful, urbane vibe of the University of Florida, but that’s only the preface to the story. Crack the cover of this classic vacation destination, and you’ll find an action-packed introduction to what can happen when arts, culture and intellect combine in a stunning natural environment.

 Choose your own adventure

 Paddling the crystal-clear springs that surround Gainesville, you’re truly are surrounded by nature: Fish and otters gliding below your kayak, majestic cypress trees alongside you, snow-white egrets soaring above. North Florida lays claim to the highest number of first-magnitude springs in the world: big bubblers that pump millions of gallons of pure spring water each day. Adventures at the springs range from hiking through longleaf pine forests to snorkeling, kayaking, swimming, even cave diving.

While Ichetucknee Springs State Park is the best known of North Florida’s springs, Manatee Springs and Fanning Springs State Parks also offer crystal blue springs for swimming and boating, as well as hiking trails. On the Santa Fe River, explore O’Leno State Park’s historic Civilian Conservation Corps buildings. (www.floridastateparks.org) Or, opt for a guided tour of the Suwannee River, including a float over the wreck of an 1880s paddleboat. (www.suwanneerivertours.com)

  The blooming fields and forests of Kanapaha Botanical Gardens (www.kanapaha.org) offer an idyllic way to spend the afternoon, while nearby Chapman’s Pond is an Audubon-recognized hot spot for birding. . (www.floridabirdingtrail.com)  

  At Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, where American lotus blossoms burst forth across the 22,000-acre savannah each May and marsh marigolds dot the landscape each October. (www.floridastateparks.org/paynesprairie) For a guided tour, join a park ranger for one of the park’s Gentle Walk and Talk outings, which cover the flora, fauna and thousands of years of history of this unique natural treasure.

 Guided wildflower tours are also given on weekends at the city’s flagship nature park, Morningside Nature Center, where colorful blooms dot a landscape of longleaf pine. www.cityofgainesville.org/tabid/182/Default.aspx#Morningside)

 Wildflowers are also a draw in nearby Evinston, where landscape painters flock to capture the fields of pink and purple phlox and bright yellow coreopsis. While you’re there, don’t miss the Wood & Swink General Store and Post Office, an authentic country store built in 1880. (www.floridaseden.org)

 For scenery, you can’t beat the rolling pastures of Mill Creek Farm, a retirement home for horses. Admission to the farm is just two carrots, but with residents as congenial as these – former police, therapy and racehorses – you’ll want several pounds to share. (www.millcreekfarm.org)

Arts alive

 From Broadway musicals to avante garde dance to major musical acts, each season at the 1,700-seat Phillips Center for the Performing Arts brings a world of creativity to Gainesville. (www.performingarts.ufl.edu) The Phillips Center stage is also home to the state touring company Dance Alive National Ballet, which features dancers from around the world in original and classic ballets. (www.dancealive.org)

  Visual arts flourish here as well, with touring exhibits that draw centerpiece reviews in The New York Times, along with plein air paint-outs that celebrate the beauty of the storied landscape. Leading the charge is the Harn Museum of Art, which recently added a café and contemporary art wing. Known for its exquisite collections of Asian and African art, the Harn also boasts sculpture and water gardens, a sizable photography collection, and even a Monet. (www.harn.ufl.edu)

 Art aficionados won’t want to miss the monthly downtown Art Walk, in which 12 studios and galleries give visitors a chance to meet local artists, from landscape painters to printmakers and photographers: a perfect date-night excursion.

 For professional theater, head to the elegant turn-of-the-century Federal Building for a mainstage show in the Hippodrome Theatre, which draws professional actors from around the region. At the Hipp Cinema, visitors can catch groundbreaking independent and international films.  (www.thehipp.org)  

 On campus, the lively arts scene presents a full slate of entertainment opportunities, from opera to a capella. In the historic University Auditorium, student groups from flute ensembles to string quartets perform, often for free. (www.arts.ufl.edu/events.asp)

And at the university’s Pugh Hall, a free speaker series organized by former Florida governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham brings eminent lecturers from former Secretary of State Madeline Albright to historian and author David McCullough.

   In Gainesville’s downtown nightlife district, evenings find a crowd amassed at the Bo Diddley Downtown Community Plaza for the “Let’s Go Downtown” entertainment series. From May through October, free Friday evening shows feature a wide variety of performers under the stars. (www.gvlculturalaffairs.org)  And at Savannah Grande, a downtown reception hall, the Gainesville Friends of Jazz and Blues concert series draws acts from Branford Marsalis to Manfredo Fest. (www.gnvfriendsofjazz.org)

  A look back in time

  From the gracious Victorian inns of downtown Gainesville to the stately Herlong Mansion in Micanopy, Alachua County’s historic inns are the perfect home base for exploring the area’s heritage. (www.visitgainesville.com/lodging) With 5,000 hotel rooms to choose from, Gainesville has a match for any taste and budget, including seven bed and breakfast inns, four of them lovingly restored homes in Gainesville’s downtown historic district. Tour the area with your own personal guide – right on your cell phone. Destinations on the customizable cell-phone tour include the inns as well as the historic Thomas Center, a gracious 1920s hotel that now serves as Gainesville’s art and culture headquarters. (www.gainesvillecelltours.com)

  After a sumptuous breakfast at your inn, head to Micanopy’s quaint downtown for a day of antiquing in Florida’s oldest inland settlement, or test out a rocking chair at Mosswood Farm Store, where the handmade, vintage and recycled wares reflect simpler times with a modern twist. (www.mosswoodfarmstore.com)

  Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park sheds light on the history of North Florida, with Native American artifacts, wild horses descended from those brought by Spanish explorers, and displays that recall the days when the prairie, once a vast lake, was plied by steamboats before it abruptly emptied in 1891. (www.floridastateparks.org/paynesprairie)

 While history buffs often wish walls could talk, the walls at the Historic Haile Homestead actually do. The Haile family, cotton farmers in the 1850s whose descendents still live in the area, had the odd habit of scribbling notes on the plaster walls: everything from recipes to guest lists to notes on the weather. The gracious two-story plantation home is furnished with much of the original furniture built by the family’s slaves, whose history is also interpreted in the home. (www.hailehomestead.org)

 Ready to head back to present day? After a full day of exploring, your choice of dining options awaits. Gainesville’s college town pedigree and diverse population means unparalleled options for a mid-sized city: You’ll find authentic ethnic cuisines from around the world, steaks raised right on the University of Florida campus, Asian fusion and creative continental cuisine, to name just a few.

 Whether your ideal vacation is snorkeling the springs, soaking up the arts, or both, Gainesville’s mix of history, nature and culture puts adventure within your reach.

March 30, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gainesville, FL -- Jazz up this spring with activities around Gainesville and Alachua County. Listen to bands play while browsing an arts festival, watch the Gators compete to become national gymnastics champions, and enjoy the newest exhibits at the Harn Museum of Art and the Florida Museum of Natural History.  For a complete listing or for additional information, visit our website at www.visitgainesville.com and click on Events or contact Marcheta Cole Keefer, media and tourism marketing manager at the Gainesville/Alachua County VCB at 352/374-5260.  Here’s a sampling of the events and highlights:

April 10 and 11—41^st Annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival—The festival takes place April 10 and 11 on historic NE 1st Street and the lawn of the Thomas Center in downtown Gainesville. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, rain or shine. New to this year’s event is The Santa Fe Jazz Big Band, Santa Fe Jazz Combo, Santa Fe Rhythm & Blues Band, The Tazers, 6th Street Rhythm & Blues Review and GrüvTherapy who will perform in a free jazz and blues festival on the Thomas Center lawn 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on April 10. For more information call 352-395-5355 or e-mail kathryn.lehman@sfcollege.edu.

April 17—Spring Native Plant Sale—The Morningside Nature Center will host its annual Spring Native Plant Sale.  On Saturday, April 17 the sale is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The center will only accept cash and checks. Proceeds from the sale benefit environmental and cultural history programs offered by the City of Gainesville’s Nature Operations Division. Morningside Nature Center is located at 3540 E University Ave. For more information, call the center at 352-334-3326 or visit the Web site www.natureoperations.org

April 22-24—2010 NCAA Gymnastics Championship—For the first time since 1997, the University of Florida will host the 2010 National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championship at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. On Thursday, April 22, two rounds of semifinals will be held. One round lasts from 1-4 p.m., and from 2-7 p.m. On Friday, April 23 the Super Six Team Finals will begin at 6 p.m. On Saturday, April 24 the Individual Event Finals will start at 6 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase through GatorZone.com or by calling 800-34-GATOR. Tickets for children and seniors are $30 and adults are $45 to $55. Participating gymnasts will be available to sign autographs Saturday, April 24 from 4-5:30 p.m. at the University of Florida's Stephen C. O'Connell Center between Gates 1 and 2. Fans may enter through these gates for the autograph session. UF is ranked fourth in the nation as of March 8. For more information, contact David Lucier at 352-392-5500 or dlucier@ufl.edu.

April 24—Farm and Forest Festival—The Morningside Nature Center will host the Farm and Forest Festival on Saturday, April 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guests will enjoy life in North Central Florida during the mid to late 1800s by listening to an old-time string band, taking a ride in a horse-drawn wagon and watching costumed demonstrators weave baskets. Admission to the festival is $5 for adults, $3 for children ages three to twelve and free for children under three years old. Morningside Nature Center is located at 3540 E. University Ave. For more information, call the Center at 352-334-3326 or visit the Web site www.natureoperations.org.

April 24—Rose Show—Kanapaha Botanical Gardens will host a Rose Show on Saturday,   April 24. This show celebrates the splendor and distinctive fragrance of roses. There will be judged exhibits of award winning roses. For more information, contact John Tucker at 352-591-2145.

May 8—26^th Annual Windsor Zucchini Festival Arts and Crafts Show—Come see if you can carve the kookiest courgette at this year’s Windsor Zucchini Festival on Saturday, May 8, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event is located seven miles east of Gainesville on County Road 234 between State Road 20 (Hawthorne Road) and State Road 26 (Orange Heights Road). Activities at the Windsor Zucchini Festival will include: Zucchinithon Fun Run, Duke of Zuke and Zuqueenie Pageant, Cook-a-Zuke contest, Zucchini Carving and more. A live band will provide music and entertainment. Tease your taste buds with treats like fried zucchini and zucchini icecream. For more information, call 352-378-8671 or e-mail Windsor@afn.org.  

Florida Museum of Natural History—A patchwork pattern of Florida’s nature is available to view at the Florida Museum on Natural History. Its newest temporary exhibit, “Quilting Natural Florida II,” is open through April 25. Starting Saturday, April 24, the Florida Museum of Natural History will open a new exhibit, Life on the Edge: The Story of Florida’s Nature Coast. Eric Zamora uses the visual power of photography in this exhibit to share the story of Florida's Nature Coast with the goal of helping mold a sustainable future for the region, which is experiencing rapidly increasing development. The exhibit closes on Aug. 8. For more information, visit www.flmnh.ufl.edu.

Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art—On March 16, the museum opened an exhibit by Bea Nettles called Life’s Lessons, A Mother’s Journal. This visually poetic study of her daughter, Rachel, and son, Gavin, follows them through their first ten years of life in black and white photography. The exhibit closes on Sept. 26. For more information, visit www.harn.ufl.edu.

Gainesville is conveniently and centrally located less than two hours from Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville and is the halfway point between Atlanta and Miami. For additional information, contact Marcheta Cole Keefer, tourism/media marketing manager at the Gainesville VCB at 352-374-5260 or toll-free at 866-778-5002 or visit us on our website at: www.visitgainesville.com.

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“Savoring our local produce is a natural extension of how we share and celebrate our

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For additional information, visit our website at www.visitgainesville.com or phone

• Hidden Gainesville Treasures – Geocaching is a relatively new, fun, and funky

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delectable dishes are always on the menu at Gainesville charming B&B’s.

• Gainesville, Culturally-attuned & Lovin’ it – Although well-known for it’s

larger one in early November. Smithsonian.com listed Gainesville among its list

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billing for the best antiquing by a reader’s poll conducted by Florida Monthly.

• Gainesville Historically, Speaking -- in this fast-moving, ever-changing and hightech

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enthusiast, bikers, hikers and paddlers. “Top 50 Best places to live and play” --

• Gainesville on A Shoestring, but with Well-heeled Vacation Appeal -- being a

Gainesville – A Natural Destination for LGBT Vacation Getaways

            Tucked into the stunning natural environment of North Florida, the college town of Gainesville is an urban oasis where LGBT vacationers will find a warm welcome. This diverse, open-minded community of artists and academicians offers big-city amenities, from professional theater to creative cuisine, in an area of unparalleled natural beauty. From fine art to outdoor adventures to LGBT-friendly inns, shops and restaurants, Gainesville wraps all of its charms in a free-spirited, live-and-let-live atmosphere charged by the vitality of 50,000 students at the University of Florida, the state’s largest university.  

Cultured days

The three facets of Gainesville’s Cultural Plaza encompass the best of art, science and entertainment, with the 1,700-seat Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Florida Museum of Natural History, and the Harn Museum of Art, one of the largest campus art museums in the country. With a new contemporary wing, extensive Asian and African collections, a café and a sculpture garden, the sophisticated and spacious museum is the ideal place to spend an afternoon. Take a guided tour for an inside look at the collections and touring exhibits before lunch in the sleek Camellia Court Café overlooking the Plaza’s water and butterfly gardens. www.harn.ufl.edu

Next door, the Florida Museum of Natural History brings Florida’s people, past and places come to life through exhibits that include Native American culture, Florida fossils, a northwest Floridacave and a look beneath the surface of an estuary.

The museum also hosts traveling exhibits from the Field Museum, Harvard Museum of Natural History and more, but its flagship attraction is the Butterfly Rainforest, where visitors can walk through a tropical forest among hundreds of free-flying butterflies. www.flmnh.ufl.edu

Delve deeper into the University of Florida campus, and hidden among the ivy-covered Collegiate Gothic halls are four galleries showcasing cutting-edge work from students, faculty and world artists at the Grinter Gallery, University Gallery, Focus Gallery and The Gallery in the Reitz Union. www.arts.ufl.edu/galleries.asp

Street festivals are always in season in Gainesville, anchored by autumn’s Downtown Festival and Art Show, with a concurrent jazz and blues festival, and the Santa Fe College’s Spring Arts festival. In late spring, the Fifth Avenue Arts Festival celebrates African-American history and art in Gainesville, while on the Gulf coast, Cedar Key’s sleepy fishing village transforms into a bustling arts and crafts marketplace for April’s Old Florida Celebration of the Arts.

Each of the tiny towns surrounding Gainesville has its own charm, but Micanopy, one of the oldest inland settlements in Florida, is the area’s antiquing capital, with a quaint downtown lined with shops, cafes and the historic Herlong Mansion Bed and Breakfast. www.herlong.com

While the area offers 5,000 hotel rooms to choose from, the Herlong and downtown Gainesville’s four charming historic inns all welcome LGBT travelers to their lovingly restored, well-appointed rooms.  www.visitgainesville.com/lodging             

Outdoor attractions

 Whether you prefer exploring by bike, kayak or hiking trail, Gainesville has an outdoor adventure waiting for you. North Central Florida’s breathtaking springs – fonts of fresh water that bubbles out of the earth at a rate of millions of gallons a day -- are the most plentiful first-magnitude springs in the world. With a yearround temperature of 72 degrees, the crystal blue water and abundant wildlife make these rivers and their headsprings a delight to explore. Explore Ichetucknee Springs State Park by kayak or canoe, with a mask and snorkel or, in the summer, from an inner tube on its 3.5-mile tubing run. www.floridastateparks.org/ichetuckneesprings

            Saltwater paddlers can head to Cedar Key, on the Gulf of Mexico west of Gainesville, for a trip to Atsena Otie, where they can explore the ruins of the settlement wiped out by a hurricane in 1896. After paddling, a Gulf sunset and fresh seafood await at one of Cedar Key’s waterfront restaurants.   Another lush oasis is Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, the second-largest garden in the country, with 62 acres of splendor that includes the largest public collection of bamboo in the state and the country’s largest herb garden. www.kanapaha.org The wide savannah of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, where bison and wild horses roam, is another of the area’s natural treasures, www.floridastateparks.org/paynesprairie while at O’Leno State Park in High Springs, hikers can cross a suspension bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, admiring the view of the Santa Fe River. www.floridastateparks.org/oleno

            For walking, cycling or skating, the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail winds 16 miles through Paynes Prairie State Park to the neighboring city of Hawthorne. Just outside of downtown Gainesville, two connecting paths – the Depot Avenue Trail and the Waldo Road Greenway – offer a traffic-free ride near the city’s cultural and entertainment offerings. www.floridagreenwaysandtrails.com

For an off-road trek, head to San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park in Alachua, www.floridastateparks.org/sanfelascohammock which offers 2,000 acres of trails for beginner, intermediate and experienced riders. While you’re in Alachua, don’t miss Mill Creek Farm, the retirement home for horses, where each Saturday, vacationers can visit with the horses for the admission price of two carrots. www.millcreekfarm.org

 Can’t fathom coming to Florida without hitting the beach? Not to worry: The Atlantic Coast’s powdery white-sand beaches are just 90 minutes away.

Delicious date nights

After a full day of sightseeing, downtown restaurants beckon. Start your evening with a stroll through Gainesville’s historic district, starting with the 1920s glamour of the Thomas Center, once a posh hotel favored by Robert Frost. (A cell-phone guided tour of the Thomas Center and the surrounding area is available at www.gainesvillecelltours.com. After you’ve admired the Victorian homes and gardens, choose from a variety of first-class dining options downtown: Tapas at Emiliano’s Café; Asian fusion at Liquid Ginger or Dragonfly Sushi and Sake Company; freshest local offerings at Paramount Grill and Ti Amo or steaks at Mark’s Prime, to name a few.

      Willing to venture further afield? Don’t miss the eclectic blend of live music, local art and scratch-made pizza at Satchel’s, where the adjacent art gallery/curiosity shop/live music venue Lightnin’ Salvage draws just as many customers as Satchel’s legendary pizza.  (www.satchelspizza.com) 

     Art aficionados won’t want to miss the monthly downtown Art Walk, in which 12 studios and galleries give visitors a chance to meet local artists, from landscape painters to printmakers and photographers. Or browse the eclectic offerings at Wild Iris bookstore, a GLBT-oriented, locally owned bookseller and café.

      At the Cultural Plaza, the Phillips Center hosts headline acts from dozens of countries, including headliners from David Sedaris to Kiri Te Kanawa, and touring shows from “The Producers” to “Movin’ Out.” The university’s performing-arts program also commissions and premieres new works by artists from the innovative Ahn Trio to multimedia artist Laurie Anderson. (www.performingarts.ufl.edu)

Gainesville’s own Dance Alive National Ballet (www.dancealive.org) brings classical and avant garde dance to the stage, while the ornate, turn-of-the-century Federal Building houses the Hippodrome Theatre, where professional actors and directors mount dramas, musicals and comedies. At the Hipp Cinema, visitors can catch groundbreaking independent and international films.  (www.thehipp.org)

      For a look at the next generation of performers, take in an experimental theater or dance piece at the University of Florida’s Constans Theatre. Or enjoy a performance in the historic University Auditorium, a soaring cathedral-style building where School of Music faculty and students perform, from clarinet ensembles and classical quartets. From opera to improv comedy, student performances keep the campus performing arts scene lively throughout the year. www.arts.ufl.edu/events.asp

     In Gainesville’s downtown nightlife district, evenings find a crowd amassed at the Bo Diddley Downtown Community Plaza for the “Let’s Go Downtown” entertainment series. From May through October, free Friday evening shows feature a wide variety of performers under the stars. www.gvlculturalaffairs.org  And at Savannah Grande, a downtown reception hall, the Gainesville Friends of Jazz and Blues concert series draws acts from around the country. www.gnvfriendsofjazz.org The LGBT club scene centers on University Club, an institution in Gainesville, where the evening may bring drag shows, dancing or a cabaret, always with a great DJ and a friendly crowd. Check out the latest listings of LGBT-oriented events in the Gainesville area at the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida, in Gainesville’s Liberty Center at 3131 NW 13th St., or on the Pride Center’s web site is: www.gainesvillepride.org

 In a town that has repeatedly stood up for the civil rights of its LGBT residents and where openly gay elected officials serve their community with pride, LGBT vacationers will feel welcome to enjoy the many attractions, from arts and culture to natural splendor, in this peaceful, tolerant town.

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Majorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park -- This park preserves the old Cross Creek farm
where Pulitzer-Prize winning author, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, lived and wrote, creating
universal stories from the lives and landscapes of backwoods Florida.  Her works include The
Yearling and Cross Creek.  The park includes a historic farm, barn, tenant house, farmyard,
grove, garden, woods, and trails. The Rawlings house also is a notable example of the Cracker
(descendents of pioneer settlers) style of architecture, derived from a variety of influences to suit
the climate and available technology of the rural South. Guided walks through the Rawlings'
home are offered on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and
1:00, 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 p.m. from October through July The park is open every day from 9am
to 5pm, with guided walks offered. 
http://www.floridastateparks.org/marjoriekinnanrawlings

Announces Spring 2010 Conference Grant & Workshop

 (Gainesville, FL) – Wednesday, February 10, 2010 – VisitGainesville, the official tourism marketing organization for Alachua County, is offering their 2010 Spring Conference Grant Program to qualified meeting planners who conduct their meetings or conferences in Gainesville/Alachua County.  Individual grants cap at $10,000 and are available to corporate, association, or non-profit, public or privately-funded planners.   Up to $75,000 in grant funding is available during the spring cycle.

                To assist meeting and conference planners interested in applying, VisitGainesville is conducting a Spring Conference Grant Workshop Thursday, March 4 at 10 a.m. at the Alachua County’s Community Treasures Conference Room located in the Downtown Administration Building at 12 SE 1st Street.

“The workshop is the perfect forum to learn details about the grant program and to make the application process easier and more accurate.  Though not required to attend, it can be very helpful for a meeting planner to understand the entire grant process,” said Nancy Fischer, CMP, VisitGainesville’s Director of Sales. 

To qualify meeting professionals must complete the grant application which is available on-line at:  www.visitgainesville.com/grants  and satisfy a number of criteria including confirming the number of hotel room nights their conference produced in Gainesville/Alachua County between July 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2013. 

Applications may only be submitted during the official grant cycle which opens Monday, March 1 with the deadline on Thursday, March 30 no later than 4 p.m.  and delivered to the VisitGainesville office located at 30 East University Avenue in Downtown Gainesville.  The VisitGainesville offices are open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.  All qualified applications will be reviewed by the County’s Tourist Development Council (TDC) in April, with funding awards announced at the May TDC meeting.

For additional information, planners may contact Nancy Fischer (e-mail:  nfischer@visitgainesville.com or John Pricher (jop@visitgainesville.com) at the Gainesville VCB at (352) 374-5260 or toll-free at (866)778-5002.         

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Visiting a farmers’ market is a great way to better understand a locality.

“When you go to a farmers’ market, you get a unique experience of that community,” said Sharon Yeago, former manager of the High Springs Farmers Market. “That’s when you really get the flavor of a community.

 “It’s doing what the locals do. If you visit any community, go to its market, where local people are selling their wares,” she said on one busy Thursday afternoon in High Springs. A folk singer with her guitar was creating a cheerful ambience, although barely heard over the chatter of customers and producers. In addition to tables piled with greens, strawberries, broccoli and green beans were bakers of breads, cookies and pies, a candle-maker, an herbalist with organic teas and dried herbs, a woodworker, and a nurseryman with a variety of plants and helpful advice, and more. Visitors may learn something, too.    

They may be surprised to see that blueberries grow in Florida as well as Maine. Or know that oranges come in as many varieties as apples. Tomatoes grow year-round, although in greenhouses during the coldest months.

And, corn is harvested twice a year. Florida’s seasons provide a bounty of food, some unlike most other places, such as okra, white eggplant, red-tinged scallions and every type of greens.
A farmers’ market may be the easiest place to buy beef from grass-food cows or certified milk. Also, you may find food-to-go from pastries to hot dogs to sausage-and pepper sandwiches.

I love museums. Well, most museums.  You know the ones I’m talking about -- the ones that are inviting and immediately immerse you in their awesome exhibits and virtually transport you into each display or diorama.  And as a mom of two energetic elementary school-age critters, exploring really cool museums -- ala Night at the Smithsonian -- that slyly educate while totally entertaining my dynamic duo are true gems! 

Wonderfully and quite fortunately, Gainesville www.visitgainesville has an array of incredible historical, cultural and art museums such as the Florida Museum of History www.flmhn.org and the Harn Museum of Art www.harn.org  to name but a few (and many of them are free!).  But get this tidibit -- there is a strong recent rumble of a new museum joining our impressive line-up!  Gainesville’s giddy stir is about the Cade Museum of Innovation and Invention www.cademuseum.org , which if all goes according to plan, will break ground in downtown Gainesville’s to-be-revitalized Depot Park, in 2010 and open its doors about two years later.

 Even at the artist rendering stage,  it's quite evident that this museum, which  honors the achievements of many inventors as well as the memory of the charismatic Dr. Robert Cade, creator of the wildly successful Gatorade sports drink, promises to be an educational and imagination-embracing mecca for all ages.   Even the museum’s proposed physical structure – two distinct wings symbolizing the right and left hemispheres of the brain -- reinforces the spirit and intricate process of innovation.  How darned cool is that?!  You just gotta love it.

Gift yourself a virtual walk through their website www.cademuseum.org explore all the truly incredible and, to use an over-used term, “out of the box” plans and exhibits.  Talk about awesome.  Talk about immersion.  Talk about imagination and innovation!  Then you just have to be talking about the Cade Museum!  It is a museum to love.      

Now, don't get me wrong, we need and love the rain as it helps our little lawns and gardens grow, but we're at the point where turning on a 60-watt lamp is the closest thing to a break of sunshine in days...Gainesville is afterall in the heart of the "SUNSHINE STATE!!" 

But alas if you're already here vacationing in G-ville or planning to some day soon and it still happens to be raining, there is still a boat load (Ark reference intended) of must tour-experiences -- here are just a couple and in no particular order:

The Samuel P. Harn Muesum of Art -- for a mere "suggested donation" this beautiful building houses an incredible array of exhibits from glazed American pottery to rare African beads and is truly perfect for even the most novice or even lukewarm art enthusiast.  www.harn.ufl.edu   And in our book, there are few things are more delightful and cozy on a rainy day as sipping a cup of warm, locally roasted Sweetwater Coffee www.sweetwaterorganiccoffee.com in the Harn's Cameilla Cafe...if you're feeling a little bit nibbly, try ANY of the yummy desserts as they are perfect coffee-drinking companions; if you're flat-out hungry...nosh on their chicken black bean egg rolls....just enough spice to clear the gray skies outside.

The Harn's formidable neighbor, the Florida Museum of Natural History www.flmnh.ufl.edu is also a great rainy day walk-through...and together, the Harn and the FLMNH make for a dynamic cultural duo.  The FLMNH's fascinating four-story, screen enclosed Butterfly Rainforest should ideally wait for sunny day...butterflies and rain simply don't mix! 

For additional rainy day sites to see suggestions, please visit us on our website www.visitgainesville.com  or even better, stop by our recently revamped and all spiffed-up Visitors Center at 30 East University Avenue in the heart of historic downtown Gainesville. 

No disrespect, but after a while, it's just nice and perhaps even a bit reassuring to know that there are vacation destinations like little ole' Gainesville www.visitgainesville.com  that serves up it's own level of world-class samples of arts, culture, gentle hikes on tree-lined river paths, incredible and even "nummy" cuisine at a pace that is deternined by the patron, not the place.  How 'bout those apples?!

Not only do they get gold stars for being good Gainesvilleians they also get big high fives, two snaps and around the world's because each of the beautiful little roasted beauties are organic and  fair-trade certified little beans. Very reponsible, very cool beans.

And while we proudly sip the likes of their stronger offerings Black Dog Espresso -- watch out if you're not accustomed to these richer varieties you may notice that shortly after consumption you're have an overwhelming need to run the stairs at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium a dozen times -- we are particularly partial to the Gator Glory blend. 

We'll let you in on a little secret...the cup featured on one of our brand spanking new billboards is actually filled to brim proudly with none other that Good Morning Gainesville Sweetwater coffee....uh hum.

I just love it when good, no great, things happen to great destinations.  Gainesville's recent "great thing" was being featured in The New York Times March 6 "issue"- "Butterflies Among the Gators in Florida. " This on-line read, found on The NY Times American Journeys site boasts a readership of more than a million folks.  Needless to say we are thrilled almost beyond words. (Wow, sensational, incredible and youzer are definintely some words we're saying often and loudly lately.) 

Accomplished travel writer, Louise Tutelian, beautifully depicted Gainesville beyond its traditional UF Gator titletown moniker painting our little Hoggetown as a vibrant vacation destination where nature and culture really do meet!  Thanks Louise!

Have you read the article or want to read it again?  Here's your link...and your assignment:  please let us know what you think about the article and your top fun things to see and do in Gainesville. 

  http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/travel/escapes/06American.html?8dpc 

This glorious, sunny February day was no exception....except for one huge exception, that is.  I think I mentioned in a previous blog, that Sandhill Cranes -- those big old gray honking beasty birds -- make their annual migration south (and specifically to Paynes Prairie State Park Preserve) around Thanksgiving,  give or take a week.  Best estimates put the average flock population at 2,500.  Well, this season, we are hosting double that!  And what an amazing sight it was indeed as we hiked just beyond the bend and just halfway on our 1.5 mile journey, there they were!  Dancing on their spindly little legs and just a flapping and a fluttering their big old wings...looked like to me they were doing the happy-to-be-back in Gainesville dance!    

Have you ever visited Paynes Prairie or the LaChua Trail?  Have you see the Sandhill Cranes?  Do you know the reason or have an educated guess as to why the increase in the flock this season? 

Well, you just go Gators! As I heard one little Gator fan utter...Oklahoma wasn't just beaten..they were EATEN by the University of Florida Gators! 

Specifically, the Gators chomped the Sooners in the BCS National Title football game last night with the final impressive score 24 to 14.   

Needless to say, Gator fans large and small, young and not as young, are celebrating our third (our third!) national championship football title...you can too...why not join us in G-ville (oh I mean Titletown-Thrice) to enjoy the celebration!

Most of us have heard the term, "if walls could talk,” but did you know that African Beads actually do? 

Well, they do and oh the stories they tell!  Discover for yourself by taking an enjoyable jaunt to the Harn Museum of Art http://www.harn.ufl.edu/ here in Gainesville where they are featuring  "Between The Beads: Reading African Beadwork – it is a fascinating focus on the myriad of ways African Beadwork is a visual communicator conveying important messages about anything from that status of personal relationships, to level of wealth and/or a person's social or political standing.

Even the shape, size and material used to create the bead is pivotal in the message it delivers. 

Although easy to get caught up in the beauty and craftsmanship of the more than 100 bead display, the Between the Beads exhibit is also an excellent vehicle for learning so much more about the history and different cultures of Africa.

The exhibit is at the Harn through the Spring....so plan a trip soon..it's a "don't' miss." (As are most of the exhibits at the Harn quite frankly!)  For specific bead scoop, click here www.harn.ufl.edu/beadwork

The Harn Museum, is one of the southeast’s largest university art museums with more than 7,000 works in its collection and an array of temporary exhibitions. Admission is free. The museum enhances the activities of the University and serves a culturally diverse audience through educational programming.

Okay, I know it’s generally frowned upon to brag…but when you have something to really brag about, I say brag `til the cows come home… in this case, until the Sandhill Cranes come to Paynes Prairie!

So watch-out Elosie..cause I’m a braggin’! Seriously, we are just so excited, proud, not to mention just all a dither, about this year’s VisitGainesville holiday card.  It’s vibrant, snazzy, timeless and truly highlights one our area’s greatest treasures, the 21,000-acre Paynes Prairie State Park www.floridastateparks.org/paynesprairie and the big ole’ honking Sandhill Cranes who migrate from the chilly old Great Lakes region to bask each fall and winter on the cozy and warm savannah of the Prairie.   Smart birds.

A special nod to designer Jim Harrison www.gainesvillefruitco.com who created our holiday greeting masterpiece –and didn’t bat even one eyelash or raise a scowling brow – when we begged him to holiday-size his original work of art just for us!   

So from the cows, the cranes, and the folks at VisitGainesville … Happy Holidays!

I really do ‘attempt’ to put a lot of thought into each gift purchase…and with the holidays fast (!) approaching, I’m pleased to report I actually made a really “snappy” one…  let me give you a little background before I share the success – my mother and stepfather are quite the travelers…they truly have enjoyed their relatively newfound, but duly earned retirement.  Elderhostel, the entire cruise ship industry, and my children have reaped the benefits of their newfound time-to-romp too!

However, like most baby boomers, they are revamping and retooling many of their next adventures to be closer to their Central Florida home. 

So here’s the secret of my shopping success …I discovered a great book “50 Great Walks in Florida” written by Lucy Bebee Tobias  www.lucyworks.com an extremely gifted and award-winning journalist.   The fact that it has a few treks near Gainesville certainly makes this book even more special to me, but truly, each exhaustively researched ‘walk’ is worthy of consideration.  If you have gotten a copy of the book, get one...to get a little preview of Lucy check out her blogs of her other authentic adventures around the Sunshine State at www.visitflorida.com

Have you already read Lucy’s book and have favorite walk?   Any in or near Gainesville?

Well just in time for Halloween….and for this harried Mom of two grade schoolers looking to fill our calendar with fun activities during our llllooonnnnggg four-dayGator Homecoming Weekend…the Lubee Bat Fest comes to the rescue!! 

The Lubee whatee? you ask.    Well, I asked too because actually I’ve never been either.

So based on my in-depth research (okay, I read the www.Lubee.org website…which is really, really interesting) and “interviewed” several of my friends and colleagues who’ve been and they all say –Go!!  Go!!! Go!!  “It’s really cool” was also a consistent comment.

From what I’ve garnered…the kids and I will be overwhelmed by the incredible number of bats as well as the sheer size of the wingspan of the fruit bat guys…with an average five-foot spread, it’s at least the size of a healthy sixth grader or Dr. Ruth standing on her tip-toes. Impressive.

And when not gawking at our new bat buddies, we’re sure to be busy working on craft creations and listening to how important bats truly are to our ecology.  I knew that bats were good for insect and little rodent (eeeekkk!) control, but I really had no recollection that they were excellent pollinators, ala butterflies and bees.  That is really cool.

So This Saturday, Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. our dance card is full with all things bat. Thank you Lubee for helping this mom be a little less batty!
 

Just last week, I stayed at a nice little hotel that was, well, trying to be green.  I know they were trying because when I started my now almost obligatory “sustainable” snooping, I found one compact fluorescent light bulb screwed right next to a conventional “I’ve got an idea” looking one in my bedside lamp.  So some points to management for at least trying.

My in-depth, “Deputy Dog-Got Green?” investigation continued the next day.  I read my little “Save the planet/Save a Towel” door hanger thingee that was so nicely displayed on the big fluffy towels – and did exactly as instructed and hung my little damp towels on the rack so it wouldn’t be laundered in five million gallons of 1,000-degree water.  Alas when I returned to my tidied room at the end of the day, I'd been “gifted” with all new towels!  Fluffy, white, and sanitized.  No points to the management there. 

I guess that’s the point, hotels going green…and for that matter, private citizens and my fellow Americans (sorry, I think channeling Nixon at this point is not exactly appropriate, always, always funny, by not appropriate) thinking about and actually acting in a green or at least greener, is no game. Get off the bench, reduce, recycle and reuse.

A little editorial green note to hoteliers:  if you looking to go green, sign-up today for the Florida Green Lodging Conference – it’s a first-of-it’s-kind…and it’s cool – www.floridagreenlodgingconference.com

Green Squiggle Theory # 1:   Switching to compact fluorescents lights is one of the easiest (and most effective) ways we can go green, save the planet, and save money. Okay and while we’re at it…let’s be honest, we’ve become so educated about these little mercury filled light sources now,  that we can just be big, proud, green experts and fling around the term – CFL’s!) .  Yes, after the initial shock (no pun intended) over the higher cost of the CFL’s, you realize that you haven’t changed that bulb in months, months  I say!  Cool beans.

Let me take an untraditional commercial break here to share some real data and research that underscores how great this little guys really are: 

Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent of the average home’s electric bill. ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs use up to 75 percent less energy (electricity) than incandescent light

bulbs, last up to 10 times longer, cost little up front, and provide a quick return on investment.

If every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, in one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes. That would prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of about 800,000 cars.

Thank you Energy Star people…now to return to our regular programming…

Green Squiggle Theory #2:  I’m surrounded by them. Literally.  I step across the threshold of my office and bam-o, boxes of CFL’s stacked shoulder high.  We, my friends, are in a heated green, CFL-selling frenzy – a competition – between guess who – Tallahassee and Gainesville – apparently we can compete about anything ..everything!

We’re selling them for .50 cents each!  I can even afford them.  And yes, I bought half a dozen…and they are going like hotcakes.  No sooner is the send button hit on the e-mail announcing the sale, than the front (and back) door of our office starts flying open.  It’s really an amazing thing.   We should have a revolving door – I think they’re more green anyway.

The incredibly way the sales are going, I’ll think we’ll win this Gator vs. Seminole competition.  We’ll find out the results at the Gators vs. FSU game on Nov. 29. 

Someone in the office said the whole point of this “event’ is to heighten awareness of saving the planet and neutralizing our carbon footprint.  Good, great and wonderful.  Another colleague suggested probably a more honest assessment…we want to neutralize the Seminoles’ offense!

I say we all win.

I didn’t have to look too far for my food fix in Gainesville.  As a matter of fact, on many a Wednesday afternoon -- I actually peek outside my office window and see the vendors for our Downtown Farmer’s Marketing setting up shop across the street in our Downtown Community Plaza.  It’s a reassuring site really; to me somehow, strangely I admit, the gathering of the farmers and vendors under those little white tents signifies that all is right with the world.  I mean what’s more balanced and true than a simple, yet bountiful spread of just-plucked vegetables and buckets bursting bright with just-picked Florida wildflower bouquets.

A stop at Rosie’s Organics always delivers the most tender (and organic) greens  -- they beg for little more than a light drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of a juicy lemon and just the lightest sprinkle of salt.  This summer we’ve enjoyed a bumper crop of plump blueberries -- the last of the season’s supply of berries is dwindling now, but still just begging for a pie shell or a cobbler to call their own.  And one whiff and better yet, that first luscious nibble of the freshly baked whole grain breads, quickly reminds (and reassures) me that there are indeed folks who understand the difference between golden loaves created with true taste and texture vs. paste and preservatives.

If you visiting Gainesville and just can’t make it to the Wednesday afternoon downtown market,  here are some alternatives to whet your appetite for all things farm fresh from Alachua County – dine at either of Chef Bert Gill’s restaurant’s – Mildred’s or Ti Amo.  High-end but Florida fresh.  And guests overnighting at most Gainesville Bed & Breakfast’s promises a bountiful breakfast featuring local market finds. 

Not to channel Martha Stewart on any level, but Farmer’s Markets are a good thing and a great (and free) way to explore a city and  tell you so much about the destination ; even, pun intended, it’s historic roots.  Some pundits might even argue that the soul of a city can truly be found through it’s soil.  The richer the better I say. 

Oh my goodness..the going green movement in Florida’s tourism industry has gone from zero to zany at breakneck speed.  Hotels large and small still choosing to be naïve and okay, “green” about becoming green is a really big business faux pas.  Yes, visualize Mother Earth giving the big “no-no’ finger wag to hoteliers that are giving her the thumbs down about hopping on the go-green train!

This whole Florida hotels-get-green-now message certainly got a swift boost when the state’s Big Cheese, in this case, Gov. Crist – just in case you were thinking Mickey Mouse – mandating that any employee under his umbrella (cozy) has to stay and conduct meetings, events and/or functions at certified green properties.

The problem, moreover, the challenge in this whole going green movement – especially for hoteliers is – how do they “go green” without breaking the bank.  It is a daunting task for sure.  Even in our personal world and at home, living on the sustainable side, has become much more than just simply switching to squiggly light bulbs and remembering to recycle dog-eared issues of The Gainesville Sun. 

The promising news here though is that there is hope for frustrated hoteliers -- the Florida Green Lodging Conference – the first of it’s kind in the Sunshine State – will take place right here in Gainesville Nov. 10-12.

 There, hoteliers and their engineering folks can rub elbows and ask all the necessary questions with the DEP guys and a whole cast of other really knowledgeable green people (na-nu, na-nu greetings nice, but not necessary).

On a personal/consumer side, we brown thumbs in all-things-eco-friendly -  can read/study and learn from a cool book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Living  -- written by Trish Riley www.trishriley.com –  a nationally recognized author and investigative reporter, who actually, we’re proud to say, is a fellow Gainesville resident – therefore we unabashedly and of course without her permission, but we hope with her blessing…claim her as our as our very own Green Goddess of Gainesville (and beyond…..).

So hoteliers and fellow teetering, quasi-sustainable consumers beware and forewarned … our days are numbered…our list of excuses for being green about going green are pretty close to exhausted… and besides, let’s face it, we’ve actually known for a long while now that you can’t fool with Mother Nature – and get away with it.  She and Karma are just too close of friends.

This might hint of mushy and over-stated, but last week, I was surrounded by journalism greatness. No, I wasn’t on a tour of the Newseum or at a White House press briefing.   I had the honor of co-hosting eight travel and outdoor writers on an Original Florida press familiarization trip through Natural North Florida. 

They were an incredible group.  As a matter of fact, in all the years, (note hand over the mouth so the actual number is muffled and inaudible), I’ve hosted press fams, they were the coolest collection of cats yet.  And let me just say, achieving, let alone maintaining “coolness” all the while canoeing, kayaking, and hiking even in the rising mercury of the Florida in June, is alone, a remarkable feat.

I tip my hat to the writers for numerous reasons.   First, it was abundantly clear that each journalist was true to their editorial mission – seeking, searching, and ultimately retrieving scoop, to ultimately crank-out the best stories for their readers.  Even amid the humidity and haze of this five-day fam, they had focus, sharp focus.  

What also struck me with these fam-goers was their incredible consideration of their fellow journalists. Because honestly, let’s face it, some fam itinerary stops are just more “editorially rich” for some journalists than for others.  (I’m still trying to figure out how Sue, the gutsy outdoor writer from the Miami Herald, is going to incorporate the tour of the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shop into her Ginnie Springs scuba diving feature! Not!) 

Bottom line, their patience with, and respect for, one another were generous gifts to observe.      

As matter of fact, my admiration for this traveling band of award-winning writing and photo-taking gurus went so far that it even crossed my mind that they should actually be our permanent fam participants.   I day-dreamed that we’d simply ask them for their perfect travel dates, present them with yet another cool itinerary in North Natural Florida, pack their bags, pick-em up and hit the trail again! They were just that impressive – individually and collectively.

Sometimes even the cutest stories come in small paragraphs…

Roland, our fearless leader here at VisitGainesville, has an unwritten work mantra that’s something close to “have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously while you doing the serious work of marketing Gainesville.”   So it didn’t surprise me in the least when he recently shared this little story….

One of our prestigious tourism associations recently invited Roland, a 40-year veteran of the hospitality industry, to be a guest speaker at an upcoming national conference.  Gracious hambone that he is, he accepted, jumping and waving his arms vigorously in true Sally Field “they like me, oh, they really like me” fashion. 

Then, in an attempt to personalize his introduction, the association asked him to recall,  that as a young boy, what it was he wanted to be when he grew up.  Without a moments hesitation, he answered, ‘a dinosaur and to be specific, Dino the Sinclair Oil mascot.  And look, it's true, I have become one!"

By the way, Roland, the Florida Museum of Natural History is calling..

Sometimes even the cutest stories come in small paragraphs…

Roland, our fearless leader here at VisitGainesville, has an unwritten work mantra that’s something close to “have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously while you doing the serious work of marketing Gainesville.”   So it didn’t surprise me in the least when he recently shared this little story….

One of our prestigious tourism associations recently invited Roland, a 40-year veteran of the hospitality industry, to be a guest speaker at an upcoming national conference.  Gracious hambone that he is, he accepted, jumping and waving his arms vigorously in true Sally Field “they like me, oh, they really like me” fashion. 

Then, in an attempt to personalize his introduction, the association asked him to recall,  that as a young boy, what it was he wanted to be when he grew up.  Without a moments hesitation, he answered, ‘a dinosaur and to be specific, Dino the Sinclair Oil mascot.  And look, it's true, I have become one!"

By the way, Roland, the Florida Museum of Natural History is calling..

Most who know me are not the least bit surprised, and quite frankly even expect, me to stand on my portable soap box on a fairly regular basis.  Today’s soap box is sponsored by Scott McClellan.   Scott who?  Name sounds familiar, but just not sure how or why? 

Yea, he’s, the former White House spokesman that just wrote the tell-all book (well, what he was told and moreover, not told) while in the “W”(pronouced "dub-yah," of course) administration.  In a nutshell, he says crucial details about numerous issues were withheld from him by the top dogs to cover their proverbial tails on a more than regular basis. That’s my euphemistic, Southern way of saying, he was “done lied to.”

This is the stuff “real” public relations professionals’ nightmares are made of…

And seriously, all politics aside –that’s another blog, another day – this whole recent White House who-ha, is a great, even poignant, reminder to all CEO’s, presidents, executive directors, leaders of corporate and non-profit entities alike – that you should, NO, you must, keep key PR/communication professionals and your spokesperson in the loop on all issues large and seemingly small.

And if that makes you feel a bit squirmy, then I would encourage you to examine that uneasiness and ask yourself does it point to how you manage your organization and it’s issues or do your need to reconsider who you’ve charged with this key and crucial role within your organization.    Gosh, maybe even both!

But when all these questions are asked and answered, just know that the “right” PR professional not only acts as a spokesperson to the outside, but also as a key advisor analyzing all aspects of issues or projects for the inner sanctum. 

But let’s make one thing perfectly clear --ooh, did that sound like Richard Nixon?? shutter, shutter-- even  the most veteran PR pro can’t make a bad executive decision all better…it can only make sure it doesn’t get worse.

Put another way, if you don’t have a PR adviser, get one; if you aren’t including them in key policy decisions or you're not being candid with them, then start; and if you choose to disregard both, then just be forewarned that the great law of PR karma will indeed be invoked, so brace yourself, because as one of my favorite philosopher’s, Lewis Grizzard, used to say…”that dog will bite you!” 

Okay, I’m stepping down from my soap box for today.   Lucky you...And you know, lucky me too.  I do feel cleansed.

My daily morning commute takes me right by Gainesville High School…and a nearby Starbucks.  So it’s really not that unusual (or wondrous for that matter) to see the parade of 1,000-calorie whipped cream laden Frappuccinos and backpacks. 

But on this special day, I actually saw a high schooler holding a coffee cup in one hand and…..a newspaper in the other!  Yep, that’s right, a real, hot-off-the-press, fold-em’ up and tuck it under your arm Tuesday edition of the Gainesville Sun.  Wow.   I know…you’re thinking…huh?  But ask yourself, when was the last time (okay, the first time?) you’ve seen a teenager actually carrying a newspaper…a real daily rag.   Reading a text message on a cell phone doesn’t count.   A textbook is closer, but no cigar.  And certainly while cool and convenient, reading a newspaper online is not even close to the aroma of fresh newspaper ink swirling with that first cup of morning joe…intoxicating.   

To me, seeing this young man carrying the newspaper gave me pause (the red light didn’t hurt the timing either), perhaps even the promise that he was actually going to read it and even, yes even, comprehend current events.  A glimmer of hope that the youth of America cares about the future of our nation, the presidential election and who’ll lead our nation, the prosperity of our Social Security system, stabilizing fuel prices, the sanctity of world peace and eradicating famine in third world countries?   Okay, too far. 

But this site that faded in my rear view mirror, did indeed, give me a glimmer of hope on several levels…so thank you young high school boy! Buy another newspaper anytime and enjoy the read…and before you have to don reading glasses to focus on it!