News Room

The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department (PRCA) is pleased to announce that Andrew R. Mickle, Sr. Pool will open Friday, May 24 at 3 p.m. with an exciting new feature - a Kersplash® pool climbing wall! The pool climbing wall brings together two great sports, swimming and climbing.

In observance of Memorial Day, city offices will be closed Monday, May 27. RTS offices will also be closed and there will be no bus service. ADA paratransit service will not be running on this date, except for dialysis appointments. Residential curbside collection of garbage, recycling and yard trash will not be picked up Monday and be delayed one day for the entire week.

The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department will host a Memorial Day ceremony Monday, May 27 at 2 p.m. at the Historic Evergreen Cemetery gravesite of Cpl. Milton Lewis. The event is sponsored by the Milton Lewis Young Marines of Gainesville, who will dedicate a new marker for the gravesite of Cpl. Lewis.

We are seeking eligible nonprofit organizations to receive grants in support of activities that serve a public purpose and improve the quality of life for Gainesville residents. The purpose of the Community Grant Program is to provide small grants (up to $3,000) to nonprofit organizations that support the City of Gainesville’s goals to provide services to needy individuals and families. Applications are currently available. All interested applicants may pick up an application, request that one be mailed to them or download one online. Applications may be picked up at the city's Housing & Community Development Division, which is located in Thomas Center "B" (306 NE Sixth Ave., room 245). All applications must be received by 5 p.m. Thursday, June 6, 2013.

The Thomas Center Galleries announces the BLUES PIONEERS and their Progeny exhibition in the Mezzanine Gallery Thursday, May 30 through Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013. The opening reception is Thursday, May 30 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the historic Thomas Center, and is accompanied by a performance from locally-based blues star Willie Green at 7:30 p.m. The opening reception and performance are free and open to the public.

The Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency, together with the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce, is hosting Alan Webber, co-founder of Fast Company, who is the featured speaker at “What’s the Gainesville Equation: (Change + Leadership = ?).” Space is limited. RSVP to info@gainesvillecra.com by Friday, May 24.

Score more fun and fitness with Pop Warner Football or Cheerleading! The City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department provides a great opportunity to be active and learn with Pop Warner sports. We teach our youth that character counts! We teach fairness, caring, citizenship, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness, while focusing on academic achievement. Participants (age 5-15) in football compete against peers of similar age and size. Pop Warner is the only youth football program that sets and enforces a strict age and weight matrix to help reduce the chance of injury. Pop Warner programs have no tryouts or cutting of players from team rosters.

The May edition of the City Manager's electronic newsletter, Municipal Minutes, is now available. This monthly e-newsletter provides information about upcoming activities, projects and meetings in the City of Gainesville.

The "City Manager’s Biweekly Report to the City Commission" provides information about significant upcoming activities, projects, and meetings in the City of Gainesville over the course of the next two to three weeks. In addition to brief descriptions on each of the upcoming activities, you can click on hyperlinks for more information regarding the presented topic.

The String Kings will perform at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza at 8 p.m. Friday, May 31 as part of the “Free Fridays” Concert Series. The String Kings perform a home-grown style of music that has entertained Gainesville and surrounding area crowds for many years. Rick Hutton, Danny Brasher, Jerry Troncale and Bob Kelly are known for covering a wide range of songs from the ‘60s to modern day, oftentimes adding their own unique style.

The Thomas Center Galleries announces the opening of ARTIFACTS EXQUISITE & EXTRAORDINARY from the Theatre of Memory Collection on Friday, June 28 and running through Saturday, Sept. 28. Curated by Bill Hutchinson, this exhibition is inspired by the centuries-old “Cabinet of Curiosities” tradition of eclectic, encyclopedic personal collections that inspire learning and deep thought. It features a diverse range of objects including ancient Chinese jade, pre-Columbian textiles, medieval sheet music, 17th-19th century letters, natural history specimens and meteorites from space.

The 2012 Citizen's Report is now available. If you would like to request a hard copy of the report, please email gainesvillepio@cityofgainesville.org. If you would like to view the report online, please