Otgv spring2014

INTERVIEW: TOM PARSONS

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Fine Art & Fresh Air Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival

Celebrate 50 Years of Creativity The Cedar Key Arts Festival

KIWANIS INTERNATIONAL CAN YOU DIG IT? TRIP TO SEA TURTLES DOUBLE DUTY Annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser for Children in Need

Event Marks its Eighth Year

Travel to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center

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CONTENTS SPRING 2014 • VOL. 05 ISSUE 01 >> MIXED MEDIA

ART for all…

A Brand New Little Art Gallery with a Whole Lot of Gumption WRITTEN BY SHAYNA POSSES PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM MORRISEY

A

t Gallery Protocol, Chase Westfall is home. On Jan. 16, opening night for the gallery’s third show in as many months, the 33-year-old is constantly on the move, patting local punk rockers on the back, discussing art over beers in the corner, dancing

arm in arm with old friends. Making a beeline for an artist across the room, he notices a 20-something holding a plate with one of the giant dill plants that was intended as garnish for the vegetable tray. He picks it up and laughs, “Dill? That’s cool, man.”

It’s this anything-goes vibe that Westfall, Protocol’s director, hopes will set the gallery apart from other venues in town. When he started the gallery in August with Nick Moskowitz, a local entrepreneur, the two noticed a gap in the Gainesville art community between art institutions like the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art and more grass roots, “down and dirty” efforts like the experimental Display gallery downtown. This has a lot to do with why Gainesville is not yet on the map as a contemporary art city, Westfall said.

“I think if we can just connect the dots, we can get close to a critical mass of a thriving arts community,” Westfall said. “And we’ve been pretty successful at getting the full spectrum here. We

Need Caption. 25 words.

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>> DISCIPLINE

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Gallery Protocol There’s a new contemporary art gallery in town! Founded in 2013, Gallery Protocol is one prong of a larger undertaking (Protocol Project) in support of contemporary visual arts and artists in North Florida and beyond. Read all about Nick Moskowitz and Chase Westfall’s artistic endeavors.

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Kids Kicking Cancer WRITTEN BY CRYSTAL HENRY ayla’s school was offering karate classes, and she was anxiously looking forward to stepping out on the mats in a crisp white gi and a yellow belt. Instead, she found herself stepping into a hospital bed with a cancer diagnosis. The hospital gown was a far cry from the karate uniform of her 11-year-old dreams.

Then one day Kayla looked up from her hospital bed to see a man in a white gi standing in her doorway.

“Karate,” Kayla exclaimed leaping up in her bed.

Andrew Hix, the head instructor of Kids Kicking Cancer of Gainesville, had heard about Kayla and came to see if she would like to join his Heroes Circle. Her exuberance was a pleasant surprise for Hix. He wasn’t used to such an energetic greeting and, as her smile

beamed across her entire face, he answered her, “Yes.” He was here for karate.

“Please can I go to karate class?” Kayla asked her mother, Sharon. Sharon told Hix about her missing karate at school and agreed to let her join the Heroes Circle.

Hix told Kayla all about the fun she would have in class and the martial arts secrets he would share with her. But he also told Kayla that she’d be teaching and inspiring others, and she sat captivated. Then he told her about the uniform.

She bolted up in bed. “I get a uniform?” she said.

“When?”

He explained that after two classes she’d get the uniform, and in time she could earn the yellow belt.

Kayla went to her first two classes and got her

PHOTO BY XX

Caption Need 30 Words

96 | Spring 2014

By Crystal Henry

Take the Power Back

Packing a Punch and the Power of Positive Thinking

K

By Shayna Posses

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Spring 2014 | 97

Children don’t have much control over their lives to begin with. So the ones who are faced with a lifethreatening disease often feel scared and powerless. But one program is helping kids in local hospitals gain inner strength and take back control through martial arts. And they’re kicking those helpless feelings to the curb.

>> INTERVIEW

Tom Parsons

148 X MAN

Moto X Man

Gainesville resident Tom Parsons is a professional motocross athlete who recently took home the title of Biggest Whip at the 2013 Monster Energy Cup held in Las Vegas. When he isn’t training at his compound in Citra, Florida he can be seen at least four days out of the week at his residence here in Gainesville. Even though he is currently training and competing in California, he managed to fit this phone interview into his busy schedule. And from the looks of it, it’s pretty clear that this underdog is coming out on top.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND INTERVIEW BY ERICKA WINTERROWD

How would you describe yourself?

When did you start riding?

HOMETOWN: TRABUCO CANYON, CALIFORNIA

TP: Very mellow. I’m a pretty slowmoving person until I’m on a dirt bike and then it’s completely different. I like to tell people that I am just saving everything for when I ride a dirt bike — I save the speediness and craziness for when it really counts.

PROFESSION: MOTOCROSS ATHLETE

Where do you consider home?

TP: I started riding dirt bike when I was 12; it was pretty much right after I moved to Florida. I watched a couple local races here, and then decided I was going to do it. Growing up, I always had a four-wheeler and a skateboard, but it wasn’t until I moved to Florida and started riding dirt bike that I began to train and compete.

AGE: 32

TIME IN GAINESVILLE: LONG ENOUGH THAT IT FEELS LIKE HOME

TP: Florida is home.

What is your connection with Gainesville?

TP: Gainesville is kind of the city I grew up in because in Citra there isn’t a whole lot there, so you have to drive to either Gainesville or Ocala to do anything.

Pretty much from the time I was in high school I’d come up to Gainesville either to skate or BMX, or just hang out.

When did you become a professional?

TP: I turned pro racing in 2003. When I was in the intermediate training group — it would have been around age 18 or 19 — I thought to myself, ‘maybe I can actually do something with this.’ At that point in time I started working towards becoming a professional; but before that, you are just trying to do your best

148 | Spring 2014

12 | Spring 2014

By Ericka Winterrowd

MOTO

www.VisitOurTowns.com

Spring 2014 | 149

It seems that we have a celebrity athlete among us here in Gainesville.

After winning the Dirt Shark Biggest Whip Contest at the 2013 Monster Energy Cup, Tom Parsons has the world of motocross talking. Get to know Tom, an underdog who is whipping his way to the top.

PHOTO BY ERICKA WINTERROWD

ON THE COVER

52 >> FEATURES 38

Fine Art & Fresh Air Santa Fe College’s Spring Arts Festival is a Welcome Sign of the Changing Season

COLUMNISTS

BY ANDREW V. PESTANO

44

One Child at a Time Kiwanis International’s Commitment to Change the World Starts at Home

BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES

52

Branch Out Opening Our Eyes to the World Above Us

BY ERICKA WINTERROWD

62

Double Duty Landscaping with Dinner in Mind

BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES

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Exploring the wonder of the treetops, Danny Lyons gives a thumbs-up as he climbs Charlotte the live oak. Lions offers a service that helps climbers reconnect with nature — and even rescues cats stranded high in trees.

34 Crystal Henry NAKED SALSA 70 Albert Isaac DIFFERENT NOTE 118 Brian “Krash” Kruger GATE CRASHING 154 Terri Schlichenmeyer READING CORNER 164 Ericka Winterrowd ADVENTURES IN APPETITE

Startup Quest Turning Today’s Unemployed into Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs

INFORMATION

BY CRYSTAL HENRY

22 Charity of the Month Winners 122 Taste of the Town 128 Community Calendar 168 Advertiser Index

Gator Innovator The UF Office of Technology is a Treasure Trove of Exciting New Advancements

BY CRYSTAL HENRY

The articles printed in Our Town Magazine™ do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Tower Publications, Inc. or their editorial staff. Our Town Magazine endeavors to accept reliable advertising; however, we can not be held responsible by the public for advertising claims. Our Town Magazine reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any advertisement. All rights reserved. © 2013 Tower Publications, Inc.

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Published quarterly by Tower Publications, Inc. www.towerpublications.com

PUBLISHER Charlie Delatorre charlie@towerpublications.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Albert Isaac editor@towerpublications.com fax: 1-800-967-7382 OFFICE MANAGER Bonita Delatorre bonita@towerpublications.com ART DIRECTOR Hank McAfee hank@towerpublications.com GRAPHIC DESIGN Neil McKinney neil@towerpublications.com

114 PHOTO BY KRISTEN GRACE

Matthew Smith, a senior lecturer at the University of Florida, demonstrates volcanic eruptions outside the Florida Museum of Natural History at last year’s Can You Dig It event.

>> FEATURES 88

Dancing Through the Decades The American Red Cross of North Central Florida’s Upcoming Gala

BY STYLIANA RESVANIS

114

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Crystal Henry Ilana Lifshitz Andrew V. Pestano Shayna Posses Styliana Resvanis Darla Kinney Scoles Ericka Winterrowd INTERNS Shayna Posses Ericka Winterrowd ADVERTISING SALES Nancy Short 352-372-3245 nancy@towerpublications.com

Can You Dig It? Event Marks its Eighth Year at Florida Museum of Natural History

BY ILANA LIFSHITZ

104 A Trip to Sea Turtles Meet an Endangered Species at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Helen Mincey 352-416-0209 helen@towerpublications.com Jenni Bennett 352-416-0210 jenni@towerpublications.com Pam Sapp 352-416-0213 pam@towerpublications.com

BY ERICKA WINTERROWD

142 Celebrating 50 Years of Creativity

Annie Waite 352-416-0204 annie@towerpublications.com

The Cedar Key Arts Festival

BY SHAYNA POSSES

156 Circle of Influence Women’s Giving Circle Increases Philanthropic Impact

BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES

14 | Spring 2014

ADVERTISING OFFICE 4400 NW 36th Avenue Gainesville, FL 32606 352-372-5468 352-373-9178 fax

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SPECIAL >> THE WORLD’S A STAGE

The Observership The lights dim and the curtain rises. This is where the theater experience begins for most patrons of the Hippodrome Theatre. But for those looking to delve deeper into the world of the theater, the Hippodrome offers the Play Observership.

The program takes patrons inside the theater to witness the conception and birth of a theatrical production. This spring, participants will have the chance to get inside Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

“It’s really an opportunity to provide our theater-going patrons with an experience they’d never get,” said Tammy Dygert, dramaturg for the Hippodrome Theatre. The program will take participants “from the page to the stage.”

The program began in the 2006 season with Alice in Wonderland. It was designed to let audiences see a production come to life. It’s a way to make a very private process very public, and it educates theatergoers about the intense work that goes into each production. Dygert said

16 | Spring 2014

A Behind The Curtain Peek Inside The Hippodrome Theatre

many people don’t realize that the theater employs full-time designers and directors. The costumes aren’t store-bought or ordered online.

The designer creates each costume from scratch and the set designers work diligently in the scene shop on site to produce the intricate sets for each production.

“Every person who has attended always says something along the lines of, ‘I had no idea,’” Dygert said.

The Observership consists of a total of five sessions beginning March 14 plus a preview performance at the end. Dygert said they typically cap the program off at about 20 participants, but they have made exceptions and hosted as many as 70. They encourage people of all ages to participate, but she advises people to look at the times and dates for each session. Their union contracts dictate regulations for how long and when they can rehearse, so rehearsals typically end by 6 p.m. The schedule tends to attract people who don’t have

traditional work commitments during the week. They usually get a good senior crowd as well as college students and sometimes a high school student or two.

“Everyone can learn something from it,” Dygert said.

Since The Tempest was one of Shakespeare’s later plays, Dygert said it is set to be a whimsical production. There is a lot of magic mixed with reality, so watching it come to life will be an exciting experience.

“You won’t find a better bang for your buck,” Dygert said.

Registration is $75, but participants can get a $10 discount if they register before March 1. Registration includes a ticket to the preview performance, and since theater tickets range from $15 to $35 Dygert said the program is a real bargain.

The Observership puts participants right in the middle of the action making it a unique community education experience. § For more information visit thehipp.org or call the box office at 352-375-4477.

MESSAGE >> FROM THE EDITOR

What a crazy season it has been.

Hot. Cold.

Freezing one weekend, sweltering the next.

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Come to think of it, that’s normal for Florida.

Thankfully, that is all behind us (or soon will be) as we welcome spring and bid adieu to winter. I’m happy to see it go. I’m looking forward to riding my bicycle, planting a garden and indulging in my latest obsession: motorcycling.

Yes, after a many year hiatus (I won’t say how many), I’m back in the saddle. I have just taken my motorcycle-training course so that I may once again legally ride. I even have some motorcycles. I’m driving my wife, the Voice of Reason, insane with it all.

Speaking of motorcycles, in this issue we offer you an interview with a motorcycle champion who has recently brought home some high honors. When I putt around on my dirt bike I drive about 15 mph and avoid the jumps; Tom Parsons speeds up a ramp, flies through the air, turns his motorcycle sideways and lands some 75-odd feet down the road. On his wheels.

Spring also brings to my mind art festivals. To that end, we have stories that include a new art gallery in Gainesville, the Santa Fe Spring Arts Festival, and the 50th Anniversary of Art in Cedar Key (should I ride my motorcycle?).

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STAFF >> CONTRIBUTORS Ericka Winterrowd

Ilana Lifshitz

is a graduate student in multimedia journalism at UF, where she also received her BFA in theatre performance.

She enjoys gardening, collecting gnomes, and fawning over a Malti-Pom named Doodle.

is a senior journalism major at UF. She aspires to work for a food or travel magazine after graduation. In her free time, she enjoys watching Law and Order: SVU marathons, catching up with friends and trying out new recipes.

emwinter@ufl.edu

isarahlif@ufl.edu

Brian “Krash” Kruger

Darla Kinney Scoles

is writer, musician and a graduate of the UF College of Law. He has played in some 17 or so local bands, playing most every Gainesville venue friendly to original music (and some not so friendly).

remembers taking a high school journalism class and falling in love with the process. Oodles of years, one husband, three daughters and multitudinous stories later, she’s still in love with it all.

That, and dark chocolate.

bkrashpad@yahoo.com

darlakinneyscoles@gmail.com

Andrew Valentine Pestano

Crystal Henry

is usually daydreaming.

He is a journalism graduate of the University of Florida who enjoys laughter, playing piano and fighting crime (in his head).

is a freelance writer and columnist born and raised in West Texas. She received her B.S. in Journalism in 2006 from the University of Florida. She is in love with the Florida landscape.

avpestano@gmail.com

ces03k@gmail.com

Styliana Resvanis

Shayna Posses

received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from UF. She enjoys freelance writing, singing and testing new recipes in her spare time. A lover of all things cultural, she dreams of learning new languages and traveling the world.

is a UF journalism senior.

She chose journalism for the commas and stayed for the stories. Her life is made possible by coffee, cardigans and the thought of the cats she’ll adopt upon graduation. saposses@gmail.com

sresvanis@gmail.com

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CHARITY OF THE MONTH

Alpha Phi Omega NOVEMBER 2013 WINNER – 3,255 VOTES

El Trapiche sits in the heart of Central America — a Nicaraguan village of less than 200 people.

Basic needs are barely met. amilies have to travel to nearby villages to collect an entire week’s worth of clean water at one time. There is no school to speak of in El Trapiche, although dedicated community members will sometimes create makeshift classrooms inside homes. And Nicaragua in general ranks as the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

But change is coming.

With the help of international aid and the dedication of locals, challenges are being overcome.

Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity at the University of Florida, has spent this fall raising money for the village. It has won SunState Federal Credit Union’s November Charity of the Month Contest with 3,255 votes on Facebook.

Including the $1,000 prize, they have raised $3,800 so far.

Alpha Phi Omega works in partnership with a separate international development program, Free the Children, whose goal is to improve access to education, water, food, healthcare, and sustainable income in impoverished areas.

Sammy Felman is Alpha Phi Omega’s philanthropy co-chair alongside Alicia Leva at the fraternity. Through Free the Children’s “Adopt a Village” program, they chose El Trapiche as their service project for this semester. Felman was familiar with the area, having taken a two-week trip to Nicaragua last summer.

Alpha Phi Omega’s donation has helped build new classrooms and a water reservoir that gives direct access to all the homes in the village. Families no longer have to walk to outside villages weekly.

Free the Children has also built sidewalks that give better access to the new classrooms, helping to avoid the dense mud during the rainy season, and planted gardens and trees to prevent erosion of the new buildings.

F

22 | Spring 2014 2014

The classroom’s new mural, painted in the colors of the Nicaraguan flag, brings brightness and hope.

Ultimately, Free the Children states on its website, the program is about freeing children from poverty, from exploitation, and “from the notion that they are powerless to effect change.”

In spring semester, Felman said Alpha Phi Omega will continue its work with Free the Children in El Trapiche. Felman and Leva both plan to make trips to Nicaragua, Felman said, hopefully to see the progress they have helped create.

Felman recalled from her previous trip to Nicaragua, where she worked to build a school on an island off the coast, how grateful the locals were.

“All the kids wanted was to learn so badly and to be in school,” she said. “It was incredible to see how much they appreciated it.” s Learn more at www.facebook.com/ufalphaphiomega.

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CHARITY OF THE MONTH

Beauty’s Haven Equine Rescue DECEMBER 2013 WINNER – 2,950 VOTES

When Theresa Batchelor received a call about a young Arabian mare that had been seized by the county due to neglect, she knew the mare, now named Beauty, was not the only one in need of rescuing. fter a surgery to remove a tumor that was growing inside Batchelor’s spinal cord, she received the news that the extraction caused permanent nerve damage. She was left quadriplegic and was told she would never walk again.

Through physical therapy, tenacity and faith, she did regain use of her limbs. However, Batchelor has no feeling or proprioception below her neck — she has no idea where her arms and legs are unless she is looking at them. She is what is known as an incomplete quadriplegic. She was advised to give up many of her favorite activities, including horseback riding.

Enter Beauty. The mare had been traumatized by prior abuse, and to say she did not like people would be an understatement. Gaining her trust seemed impossible, but Batchelor has experience with overcoming impossible situations.

She had a plan. She would spend each day with Beauty, teaching her voice commands. Over the course of a few months, Beauty finally began to heal. She seems to sense that Batchelor is different. This has only helped strengthen their bond, which developed into a beautiful and trusting relationship, one that led Batchelor to be able to horseback ride again.

Because of this experience, Batchelor was inspired

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to start a nonprofit organization in 2006 called Beauty’s Haven Farm and Equine Recue. The purpose is to help as many equine friends as possible when they are in need. The charity networks with other rescue organizations and individuals, and works to educate others about horse slaughter in an effort to make it illegal — not just in the United States, but also in Canada, Mexico and other countries.

Horses that arrive at the rescue come from auctions and kill buyers. Some are surrendered by owners who can no longer care for them, and some are seized by authorities. The organization tries to help horses that are desperately in need of a safe place to go. Once a horse is at the rescue, then comes the costs of rehabilitation, training, proper feed and care. Expenses include initial care, grain, feed and other necessities, which are costly. Some horses with special needs will live out their days there.

Jeanne Bartsch is on the board of directors for the rescue, and said this organization is unique because Batchelor takes in horses that other rescues might not because of the cost required to rehabilitate them.

“If they need acupuncture, they get it. If they need massage therapy, they get it,” Bartsch said. “She never gives up on them.” s

TO NOMINATE A CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE OR TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE NOMINEES, VISIT:

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SunState Federal Credit Union has been serving its members for more than 55 years. Visit us today to see the difference it makes to do your banking at the place where Richard works.

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CHARITY OF THE MONTH

Gentle Carousel Therapy Horses JANUARY 2014 WINNER – 2,664 VOTES

Magic the miniature horse has done it again. agic is part of a larger organization, Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses, which has again won $1,000 in the January SunState Federal Credit Union’s Charity of the Month contest. Gentle Carousel consists of a team of 27 miniature horses — all therapy animals that visit hospitals, hospices, assisted living programs and disaster relief areas.

The registered nonprofit was founded by Debbie Garcia-Bengochea and her husband Jorge. It began about a decade ago when the couple purchased their first two miniature horses for their North Florida ranch.

The horses would graze in a pasture in front of their bed-bound neighbor’s window. With curiosity piqued, the neighbor one day asked them to bring the miniature horses closer so he could have a better look.

Immediately, the neighbor was thrilled.

He was so excited to see the tiny horses that he got out of bed to pet and play with them. It was then that Debbie and Jorge realized the emotional power these pint-sized animals could have.

Since then, the couple has bought and bred an entire team of horses and traveled the world bringing comfort and happiness wherever they go.

The team has found international success.

Magic was named one of Time Magazine’s 10 most heroic animals, and on the Reader’s Digest list of Hometown Heroes, Magic was the only animal that

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made the cut. The AARP also named Magic the most heroic pet in America.

The Carousel therapy horses are now Breyer Model horses, becoming a part of the classic toy legacy. And some of the horses are now working outside of Athens, Greece, in orphanages, hospitals, schools and programs for the elderly.

But even though it has found success worldwide, the North Florida organization remains involved at home.

Outside of visiting those in need, Gentle Carousel runs an award-winning literacy program called Reading is Magic. The miniature horses visit local libraries, schools and at-risk youth programs to bring stories to life and inspire young readers.

Whether visiting young children touched with illness or communities faced with disaster, Gentle Carousel’s miniature horses bring larger-than-life joy to everyone they meet.

For 2014, charities will only be eligible for the $1,000 prize once a calendar year. However, these charities are still welcome to enter every month and will be eligible for the random $500 prize. Remember every vote a charity gets counts as an entry into the random drawing for the monthly $500 donation. s Learn more at www.facebook.com/TherapyHorses.

TO NOMINATE A CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE OR TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE NOMINEES, VISIT:

www.facebook.com/SunStateFCU and click on “Charity of the Month”.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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>> MIXED MEDIA

ART for all…

A Brand New Little Art Gallery with a Whole Lot of Gumption WRITTEN BY SHAYNA POSSES PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM MORRISEY

t Gallery Protocol, Chase Westfall is home. On Jan. 16, opening night for the gallery’s third show in as many months, the 33-year-old is constantly on the move, patting local punk rockers on the back, discussing art over beers in the corner, dancing arm in arm with old friends. Making a beeline for an artist across the room, he notices a 20-something holding a plate with one of the giant dill plants that was intended as garnish for the vegetable tray. He picks it up and laughs, “Dill? That’s cool, man.”

It’s this anything-goes vibe that Westfall, Protocol’s director, hopes will set the gallery apart from other venues in town. When he started the gallery in August with Nick Moskowitz, a local entrepreneur, the two noticed a gap in the Gainesville art community between art institutions like the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art and more grass roots, “down and dirty” efforts like the experimental Display gallery downtown. This has a lot to do with why Gainesville is not yet on the map as a contemporary art city, Westfall said.

“I think if we can just connect the dots, we can get close to a critical mass of a thriving arts community,” Westfall said. “And we’ve been pretty successful at getting the full spectrum here. We

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Gallery Protocol Director Chase Westfall stands with his right-hand man, gallery employee Steven Speir, in front of a piece from “A Horse Walks Into A Painting.”

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have the dean of the University of Florida’s School of Art and Art History and half the members of the punk bands in town here.”

Moskowitz originally bought the space as a new home for the online T-shirt business he started a decade ago, called Thread Pit. The property had a history. At one point, it was a mechanic’s shop. For a while,

“AT THE DOOR” BY DAVID HUMPHREY.

it was home to the Humane Society. But as Thread Pit gained popularity, the company outgrew the collection of buildings at 2029 NW Sixth St. Moskowitz moved his company to a former Lowe’s location on Waldo Road.

He was left with an empty property and an inclination that he could do something good for the community.

A South Florida boy from Jupiter, a town a couple hours north of Miami, Moskowitz moved to Gainesville to study engineering at UF and never left.

It’s not a common story.

“I know a lot of creative, talented people who left

30 | Spring 2014

Gainesville after reaching a plateau,” he said. “The core reason I started Protocol is ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’ I wanted to create a foundation for a lasting arts culture in Gainesville.”

That’s where Westfall came in. He comes from a family of North Florida transplants who moved to the area from the Northeast when he was 11. Westfall’s sister works with Moskowitz and suggested him for the project. There was no real plan, just a few buildings and good intentions.

Westfall was nearing the end of a two-year studio-art teaching position at East Tennessee State University and jumped at the chance to bring his wife and five young children to Gainesville.

He’s not your typical artist, though you would guess otherwise from his incensescented office, overflowing with books on everything from contemporary art to music and dotted with random good luck charms he received as a welcoming gift — a Chinese black cat, jade, crystals and a tall, green candle labeled “Alleged money drawing candle.”

One of five children, Westfall took what he calls “the Florida circuit” of undergraduate colleges, unsure of what he wanted to do. It wasn’t until he spent a few years as a missionary in Costa Rica that he had his epiphany.

“I wasn’t doing art, but I had this feeling that when I got back, art was what I should be doing,” he said. “I was in the zone spiritually, so any impulse I had at the time I felt like was a good one.”

He came back to the U.S. and got his bachelor’s in painting at UF. On the side, he did any sort of work in the art world he could get, everything from curating to writing to helping hang work in galleries.

His master’s from the University of Georgia is also in painting, but the chance to make use of his broad range of experiences in the art world brought him home.

“I knew this position would challenge me on all levels — not just studio, but curatorial and

Daniel Skelley’s graffiti-inspired installation takes over The Fermenter, Protocol’s studio space reserved for local artists. Skelley enjoys the freedom at Protocol. Pretty much the only rule is “don’t burn the house down,” he said.

administration,” he said. “It was a one in a million shot, to be able to do this in a town where I have family and friends and history.”

The men dove right into Westfall’s proposal, creating a gallery space with a residency component. The main building serves as the gallery, with the bulk of the art displayed in a large concrete-walled room that once housed cars in need of a tune-up.

On the other side of the building is a reception space, behind which a cozy living space appears out of nowhere, complete with a lounge area and kitchenette. The live/work studio area is the foundation for Protocol’s artist-in-residence program, giving out-oftown artists the opportunity to set up shop while they’re in the area. Phoenix artist Colin Chillag left the space in January after a month-long residency during which he prepared for an upcoming exhibition.

Across a small courtyard sits a building

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The residency program offers space to both local artists with a rowdy aesthetic and visiting UF faculty members.

David Sistrand, of Archer, said the results are “kind of spontaneous. It’s fantastic.”

called The Fermenter. There, local artists who are selected through an application process are given studio space and left to their own devices.

“We give them a key, and let them do whatever they want,” Westfall said. “The only thing we require is when we have openings, they open the space to the public, so they can catch a glimpse of something in the raw.”

The result is an eclectic, collaborative space that cultivates what Westfall calls a “rowdy aesthetic.” It’s peppered with pieces of the artistic process: Sunshine Wheat Beer cans, a dusty Persian rug, half-finished artworks and a forgotten pair of aviator sunglasses. The building currently houses four artists, ranging from visiting UF faculty member Lisa Iglesias, who creates otherworldly collages with images of mountains and outer space, and local artist Daniel Skelley, whose graffiti-inspired installations spill off the canvas onto television sets and motorcycles.

To David Humphrey, a New York-based artist, the outcomes are fascinating. One of Westfall’s former professors at UGA, Humphrey came down for the opening of his show “A Horse Walks Into a Painting” at Protocol in January.

He stood in the far corner of the gallery, next to his large, colorful painting of a woman sculpting. A

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cacophony of dots and lines and smudges of color burst from behind her head. At first, it seems like chaos, until you take a few steps to the side and realize the shapes form a self-portrait of Humphrey.

Watching locals move amidst the playful acrylic-oncanvas works, Humphrey mused about Gainesville’s alternative art culture.

“I really believe in the grass roots feature of art’s potential to connect,” he said. “The art world has become so rarefied and money-obsessed, but Gainesville cultivates an independent scene.”

And Westfall and Moskowitz are ready to make their mark. Their next show, an exhibition of avant-garde and underground comic books called “Non Sequitur: Abstraction in Contemporary Sequential Art,” is scheduled for late February, with an opening reception to be held Feb. 28 from 7 to 10 p.m.

By bringing in well-known art figures such as Humphrey and comic book artists Raymond Pettibon and Gary Panter, Westfall and Moskowitz hope to get the attention they need to make Gallery Protocol a North Florida staple.

“We live here. We want the arts to flourish,” Moskowitz said. “This is something to add to Gainesville.” s Gallery Protocol is located at 2029 NW 6th Street in Gainesville.

Visit galleryprotocol.com for more information.

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COLUMN >> CRYSTAL HENRY

Naked Salsa Mama’s Hot Date hen I got married I figured I was done with the dating scene. We settled in nicely with couple friends, and once we decided to have kids I knew my dating days were over. But about six months after my darling Sunny was born I found myself getting ready for a date. My first playdate.

In the early days after her birth I wasn’t ready to meet anyone. I was still getting used to my new motherly status. The childfree days of staying out late or sleeping in past — well sleeping at all — those days were over. And slowly the divide between me and my childless friends started to widen. It’s not that I didn’t love them anymore, but they weren’t in a place in their lives where barf on their shirt was a sign of affection, and they just didn’t share my concern about the quantity or consistency of my offspring’s bowel movements.

The first few months of motherhood were a little lonely. But it gave me time to grieve for the childfree life I left behind. I didn’t expect to mourn it so much, and although that sweet little cherub did capture my heart I still longed for the days of eating lunch when I felt like it and going to the bathroom by myself. Yes, a person was quite literally attached to me most of the day, but I couldn’t help feeling a little stranded on this baby island.

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Then, about six months after my sweet one was born, I started to shower and put on real pants. I was ready to get out there again and make some new friends. Someone I could talk to about my sudden irrational obsession with hand sanitizer or share my deepest confessions about who I was secretly sharing my bed with.

In college, making friends came easy. Between work and school I had all sorts of social avenues to sift through. But now that I was out of the working world and only going to Target a few times a week, it was a little tougher to meet new people.

I ventured into the mama dating world gently by asking the interwebs for help. I found a few local moms groups online and started Internet dating them.

I would check out their Meetup.com profiles to weed out the weirdos and find some thread of similarities that I might bond with. Instead of looking for someone with blue eyes and a strong chin, I found myself getting excited over our kids sharing a birth month or the vegan mom I could swap dairy-free recipes with.

Another great avenue I found was the mommy singles bar, also known as the playground. Moms will casually saunter up with their little ones in tow, and as the children scamper off to the slides the mommies

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mill about the cedar mulch dance floor or take a break at the picnic table wet bar. Some great pickup lines I learned were, “Where did you get that baby carrier?” or “Oh how precious. How old is he?” This line is a great opener because if your kids are close in age and she doesn’t seem like a freak you could be meeting your new best friend. The playground is also a great neutral ground to see how the kids play together. If her kid is constantly shoving your kid’s face in the dirt at the playground you can pretty much write off the friendship. It won’t get any better when you bring your kid to her kid’s home turf.

I started to feel more comfortable in my mommy dating world. And then came my first blind date. My husband played ball with her husband, our girls were born just a few months apart, and the best part was she was super lonely. Jackpot.

I asked her husband for her number one day at softball practice and I can’t say my palms weren’t sweaty as I dialed her number later that evening. I nervously laughed and made a witty off-the-cuff suggestion that we should get together since we popped out our kids at roughly the same time and she agreed.

I spent half an hour picking an outfit for myself. I needed something cute but not too revealing so that I could nurse discreetly if I had to. After all, I was going to her house and I didn’t want to give the wrong impression. I probably spent another half hour picking an outfit for Sunny. I wanted her to look cute, but not like Toddlers and Tiaras cute.

As I lugged my infant seat up to the door and fumbled with my giant diaper bag my heart started to pound. What if I couldn’t think of anything to talk about? What if her kid chewed on my kid’s teething ring? But as the door opened and our eyes met, she smiled, and Sunny ripped a huge fart. She cracked up, ushered me in and I didn’t leave until her husband strolled in the door at 6 p.m.

It had been scary, exciting and downright exhausting to get back out there in the dating world, and I met lots of moms I would be wonderful friends with. But the day of my first blind playdate I knew I’d met The One. s

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>> HELLO SPRING

Fine Art —

a n d

—

Fresh Air Santa Fe College’s Spring Arts Festival is a Welcome Sign of the Changing Season

WRITTEN BY ANDREW V. PESTANO ormant driveways and sleeping streets have resurrected every spring for decades. Life is captured and appreciated through all senses during the Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival in downtown Gainesville, where dogwood trees and azalea flowers paint the canvas that surrounds enchanting homes.

Whether the event draws those seeking to appreciate art and culture or those looking to satisfy a craving for springtime lemonade and funnel cake, the art festival delivers. The 45th Annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival will be held on Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6.

Booths, barbecues, tents and tables will conquer North East First Street and the Thomas Center lawn with art, music and food in the city’s Northeast Historic District, which was first mapped out in 1854 and includes iconic Floridian architecture from the 1880s to the 1950s.

The birth of the festival took place the same year man first landed on the moon. In 1969, Santa Fe faculty and staff noticed the lack of fine arts festivals in the region and worked to bring artistic culture to

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PHOTO COURTESY OF JACKIE SCHINDEHETTE

Schindehette has been an artist for about 30 years and specializes in painting Florida landscapes. Schindehette paints “en plein air,” an expression used to describe painting while outdoors.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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Alachua County. It was one small step into the creation of a tradition.

The inaugural festival hosted about 500 people on the lawn of the Thomas Center.

“That first year, anyone with a table … could sell their work,” Kathryn Lehman, coordinator of the event, said in an email.

The festival established itself as part of Gainesville’s customs. It evolved from hosting a few hundred attendants to more than 100,000 every spring, and as the festival matured, so too has the art.

Paintings, photography, jewelry, sculptures, glass and watercolor artwork are few of the many types of art visitors will find bringing life to the event.

“It’s a chance for people to experience and be inspired by high-quality, fine art pieces and the artists who create them,” Lehman said.

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Artists must apply to join the ranks of one of the best outdoors art festivals in the nation. Artists from all over the United States and the world apply to the juried show.

“In some years, we have had artists apply from as far away as Egypt,” Lehman said.

It took Jackie Schindehette a few years to build up the courage to apply as an artist-participant in the now-distinguished festival.

Schindehette has been an artist for about 30 years, but felt a little intimidated because of the great competition that attends and the prestigious reputation the festival carries in the community of artists nationwide, she said.

She has been accepted into the festival for more than 15 years now. This year, she is the poster artist, an artist chosen each year to create a poster for the show with information advertising the event. The poster artist also has an exhibition of artwork in the President’s

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KATHRYN LEHMAN

Festival visitors browse the wide array of art available. Many of the presenting artists sell originals and prints of their art.

The popular event tends to take over Northeast First Street as residents and tourists enjoy the warm spring temperatures of Gainesville — an average high of 77 degrees.

Many different forms of art appear, including sculpting, fiber and woodwork — almost all of which are available for purchase.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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Hall Gallery at Santa Fe College. The news of this honor came as an exciting surprise, she said.

Music also contributes to the vibrancy the festival brings to the community. Groups such as the Gainesville Community Jazz Band and the Buchholz Allegro Vocal Ensemble have performed over the years.

Each year brings new, diverse sounds to stage such the Jacaré Brazil ensemble, which performs traditional and popular Brazilian music, and last year’s musical headliner Tropix, a Latin band that covers multiple artists including Marc Anthony and Olga Tañon.

The music helps create a lively environment that gives the festival a pleasant charm, Schindehette said.

One of the people who best represent the spirit of the festival is Eleanor Blair. She first participated in 1972 when she exhibited handmade dolls, but back then, the festival was more of a whimsical garage-sale party than the professional event it is today.

Blair has participated every year since and also has a studio in downtown Gainesville. Throughout the years, she has won many awards, including the 2013 Award of Distinction for two-dimensional art.

“The competitive section is difficult to get into, but there is a community section,” Blair said. “I recommend it to young artists because it’s a great opportunity to see how people react and respond to your work.”

Although the festival is a phenomenal place to get recognized, the essence of the festival is not in the competition or awards, she said.

After participating for more than 40 years, Blair said one of the most enjoyable aspects of the event is the weather. She recalls that, incredibly, for all the years she’s attended, there have been only a handful of times when the wind was harsh or the skies dark.

However, rain or shine, the festival continues.

Schindehette has seen generations of family members come back over the years to visit and buy her work, which to her is very special.

Each year, both Schindehette and Blair look forward to seeing what their fellow artists are up to, to catch up with old friends, to meet people and foster new friendships.

“After so many decades, I see all my friends. Every person I ever knew seems to walk by,” Blair said. “It’s great to sit in the sun and enjoy the parade of all the people.”

The energy Santa Fe puts into planning the event, the hard work by artists who travel to showcase their art and the musicians who come out to play every year are what make it a marvelous experience for everyone, Blair said.

For more than 40 years, the Spring Arts Festival has been a significant part of Blair’s life, and she believes it helped shape Gainesville into the city it has become — and for that, she is grateful. s The 45th Annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival will be held Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6 in Gainesville’s downtown historic district. Visit springartsfestival.com for more info.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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>> GLOBAL THINKING, LOCAL ACTION

One Child at a Time Kiwanis International’s Commitment to Change the World Starts at Home WRITTEN BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES s part of a global volunteer organization, Kiwanis International members stage nearly 150,000 service projects, devote more than six million hours to service and raise nearly $100 million every year for communities, families and programs worldwide.

Yet, the overriding theme to all of this effort is focused on one child at a time.

Locally, each Kiwanis member has an individual story, that when added to those of fellow volunteers, tells the collective tale of Kiwanis International changing Gainesville.

A

THOMAS WELLER

PATTI BARTLETT

Though attorney Thomas Weller has no children, he has a soft spot in his heart for little ones just the same.

As president of the University City Kiwanis Club in Gainesville, Weller finds plenty of opportunities to act on his compassion for youngsters. Weller’s introduction to the group came when he moved to the area in 2004 and a friend invited him to a club luncheon.

“I came because I was asked,” Weller said. “I continue to be involved because of the children. The welfare of our community’s small children is important to my wife and me. If you start young seeing to the needs of children, they will be healthy. From that point you look at what else you can do to help them succeed as they grow. Plus, you go, you join the club, and then you end up with new friends.”

The club, a presence in Gainesville since 1955, has many initiatives aimed at bettering the lives of area youth, including reading programs, holiday food baskets, safety presentations, health projects and leadership mentoring.

“I was recruited by a member about 12 years ago,” said Kiwanis Board Director, Patti Bartlett. “I like the service projects, the idea behind Kiwanis itself, and the fact that it is an international organization.”

Currently, Bartlett is helping prepare for the annual pancake breakfast, a major fundraising event cosponsored by both the University City Kiwanis Club and Kiwanis Club of Gainesville. Hosted by Gainesville High School, the $5 breakfast is open to the public with attendance at about 500 hungry people each year.

Through ticket sales and donations, the breakfast raises approximately $10,000 each year to fund service projects. This year’s breakfast takes place Saturday, March 15, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

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JIM YALE Board Director Jim Yale was chosen to explain to new members what Kiwanis is all about on the organization’s website.

Kiwanis’ Annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser LOCATION:

Gainesville High School DATE:

Saturday, March 15 TIME:

7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

PRICE:

$5 all-you-can-eat.

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The six permanent Objects of Kiwanis International Originally approved by Kiwanis club delegates at the 1924 International Convention in Denver, Colorado.

• To give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than to the material values of life • To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships • To promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business, and professional standards • To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive, and serviceable citizenship • To provide, through Kiwanis clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities • To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism, and goodwill

Why Join?

• Change children’s lives it’ll change yours • Improve the community and the world • Build friendships • Enhance leadership skills • Develop business contacts 46 | Spring 2014

“Kiwanis, through club meetings, offers an atmosphere of fun, learning and fellowship,” Yale said. “Our service projects offer opportunity for us to directly impact our community and allow each member to give back to the community for all they have received from it.”

Projects include an annual day of athletic events for the physically challenged, the Citizen of the Month program for fifth graders at Alachua County schools, and a Bringing up the Grades (BUGS) program recognizing and rewarding students who have improved their grades.

SHEILA CRAPO “I was looking for a civic group to join,” said Sheila Crapo, “and was asked by a Kiwanis member to visit a meeting. It was easy for me to do and it’s been fun ever since.”

A Kiwanis member for 13 years, Crapo is now heading the committee planning the February 22 “World’s Greatest Baby Shower” — a major Kiwanis project for the past nine years.

“The goal of the shower,” Crapo said, “is to reach young parents and help them get the information and assistance they need to be successful mothers and fathers and to have healthy, happy children. We help them Kiwanis navigate the avenues available to them and was educate them on how to care for their founded young ones.”

The free event, held from in Detroit, 8:30-1:00 at Lincoln Middle School Michigan on includes workshops and inforJanuary 21, 1915 and mational booths on a variety is now headquartered of parenting topics, as well as in Indianapolis, Indiana lunch, goodie-bags and door prizes — and is also coordiToday there are nated by both the Gainesville 582,272 adult and youth clubs.

members in 80 countries Kiwanis is a Native American word, meaning “Make a noise”

DAN and KAY GREATHOUSE

“Our minister invited my husband and me to go to a Kiwanis meeting,” said Kay Greathouse, “and we liked it.

We knew nothing about Kiwanis The organization’s at the time, but liked the fact that motto is: Serving they helped children. Joining Kiwanis the Children of of Gainesville gave us a new circle of the World friends and we met a new cross-section of the local population. They are a very interesting — even fascinating — group of people.

Eight years later, as co-chairs of the pancake breakfast committee, the Greathouses are excited about the good the fundraiser will do.

“The mission of Kiwanis International is ‘Serving the Children of the World,’” Dan said. “This annual pancake day funds our service projects — aimed at helping children in our community and around the world.”

Both Gainesville Kiwanis clubs meet weekly to hear from guest speakers, share information, happenings, and events. Newcomers and visitors are welcome. s For more information, call 352-377-4000 or visit gainesville.kiwanisone.org.

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>> BIRD’S EYE VIEW

Danny Lyons Opens Our Eyes to the World Above Us STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERICKA WINTERROWD

It wasn’t until I reached for my recorder that I realized how high up I was.

Hands shaking, I tried to gather my thoughts. “Pull yourself together, remember your questions, get the story, and whatever you do… don’t look down.”

Interviewing someone on a branch at 65 feet up in a live oak tree was definitely a first, but for Danny Lyons, it was just another day doing what he does best — teaching someone to climb.

52 | Spring 2014

yons, 42, is the founder and owner of Canopy Climbers, an eco-adventure company in Gainesville where people are guided up into towering trees for fun and adventure as well as inspiration. His journey to creating this company began about seven years ago when he read a book called “The Wild Trees” by Richard Preston. The story is about how people fell in love with the Redwoods of California while in search of the biggest trees in the world. Lyons was inspired and has been climbing trees ever since.

He wasn’t a complete newbie to tree climbing, though.

Growing up in New Jersey, he climbed his first tree at the age 5, a 50-foot high sycamore that lived in his own back yard.

“I couldn’t reach the first limbs so I would move the lawn furniture under it, climb on that, then get up into the tree, and I wouldn’t tell my parents I was up there,” Lyons said with a chuckle. A whopping six blocks away, he remembers seeing his school from the top of that Sycamore.

After his family relocated to Gainesville when he was 11 years old, Lyons would eventually graduate from UF with a degree in

L

Danny Lyons limb-walks on Charlotte the live oak at 65 feet in the air. Canopy climbers believe in protecting trees by installing cambium savers for all climbs, as well as walking lightly on limbs to protect the resurrection ferns that grow there.

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Lyons fires the Big Shot, an 8-foot-tall slingshot, to place the throw-line where he eventually installs the climbing line.

Placing his hand on the bark, Lyons gives thanks to Charlotte the live oak for his climbing experience. Climbers sit in a harnessed saddle as they ascend towards the treetops. Gear such as helmets, carabiner clips, and rope are just some of the things that are required for the adventure.

American history. However, his love of nature was always with him and ultimately led him to Atlanta, Ga., where he met Peter Jenkins, who founded recreational tree climbing as an activity.

Jenkins also started Tree Climbers International, which is the first tree climbing school in the world.

Along with two other friends, Lyons took a beginning tree-climbing course and fell in love with it.

“I caught the bug, so to speak,” Lyons said. “And I was pretty sure I was going to keep taking class. I continued to learn over time by climbing with people and taking advanced courses.”

Lyons has taken just about every tree-climbing course one can possibly take. He has spent the last year becoming an instructor, and now teaches the beginning

54 | Spring 2014

tree climber course here in Gainesville.

He said there are many ways to climb, and Canopy Climbers focuses on the doubled rope technique. It is quite literally the rope being doubled over an anchor point, and that anchor point is a branch that is nothing less than 5 to 6 inches in diameter.

When it comes to tree protection, Lyons says the most important part of the climbing system is the cambium saver.

“We install a sleeve that the rope goes through called a cambium saver and we can remotely install that into the anchor point because when we climb, the rope is going to create a flossing motion,” Lyons said. “And that friction with a lot of weight on it, along with the flossing motion, can actually wear onto the bark very quickly.”

In addition to being harnessed during the entire climb, Lyons said the safety factor of climbing is enhanced by the safety knot, which is a slipknot that is tied by the climber as they go up every 5 to 6 feet. This creates several short stopping points in the rope in case of an emergency on the way down.

Lyons said a lot of people think a climb entails only going up a tree and then coming back down, but recreational climbers are highly mobile.

“It may take a little bit of time, but you can move around,” Lyons said. “You can limb walk, you can go up and down, and even traverse from one side of the tree to another side.”

He is also extensively trained to get people of all ages and physical abilities into the trees.

“I have had the privilege of guiding people with physical disabilities into the forest canopy,” Lyons said.

“It is an incredible visual to see a person climbing on rope and their wheelchair is on the ground, at the base of the tree.”

Canopy Climbers offers guided climbs for two to four people, which is a longer, more intensive experience.

The group climbs are usually for 10 people or more and is a “get acquainted” type of climb. He also has tree boat hammocks for people who just want to relax.

“I’ve had some couples come out and have a little date where I set up a tree boat and they have a little picnic in it, and that’s a lot of fun,” Lyons said. “So we can do anything. We are only limited by our own imagination.”

He said the City of Gainesville has been

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Gainesville resident Garland Parker, 32, suspends from 70 feet in the air while climbing at Gum Root Park. Garland said she would recommend this experience to everyone.

open-minded and very interested in increasing the diversity of recreational activities in city parks, and he is very grateful for their cooperation.

“It took me about six months to get the city to agree to create a contract with me to allow Canopy Climbers to hold and provide tree climbing activities in certain parks,” Lyons said.

Canopy Climbers can only climb certain trees in

Introducing

these parks. The trees have been carefully scouted, inspected and permitted by the city arborist, nature operations coordinator, and Lyons himself. He said Canopy Climbers can climb in about six city parks and two or three trees per park, on average.

In conjunction with Canopy Climbers, Lyons also founded Tree Cat Rescue, a service for families whose cat is stuck in a tree. He gives all the credit to Jenkins, who gave him his secrets and shared the techniques for retrieving a cat from a tree.

“I have all the skillset to go climb, and I’ve since learned how to talk with the cats and get them to try to come down,” Lyons said. “I’ll get a call from a distressed cat parent/owner and the family will be upset because the cat has been up in the tree for a couple days, and it

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Lyons when they call about a cat stuck in a tree.

“I firmly believe that pets are family and that’s why I do this. When they get reunited with their cat and the cat is safe on the ground, it’s just like a family member coming back from a dangerous situation,” Lyons said.

“When part of your family is in danger, usually, you are going to do anything that you can to help them. That’s why I started Tree Cat Rescue.”

As an advocate of green spaces, Lyons firmly believes that all humans have a connection between nature and their own health.

“In the past five or 10 years, study after study show that walking through a green space, walking through a forest, or walking through a park in the middle of a city reduces cortisol levels and reduces stress,” Lyons said.

One such space that he frequents is Gum Root Park, where Charlotte the Live Oak lives. Lyons was asked to name her but graciously deferred the honor to his group of 10 climbers.

“If you are the first person to climb a tree, according to recreational tree climbing rules, you have the right to name the tree. The name Charlotte won out, and I think it’s a pretty great name,” Lyons said.

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can’t come down. I will go there and assess the situation and then climb into the tree and retrieve the cat.”

Using a welder’s glove, he has fashioned a gentle cat trap by cutting a hole into the bottom of a laundry bag and sewing that bag onto the cuff of the glove.

“So instead of putting the cat in the bag you are essentially pulling the cat through the bag by the nape of its neck,” Lyons said. “It seems to be the easiest and safest way to do the rescue.”

He said he has never been scratched or bitten, and most of the time, the cats come right to him because they seem to be surrendering and just want to get out of the tree.

“When I come up on them, they are usually wideeyed. They’re not only scared, but they don’t know why in the world you are up in the tree with them,” Lyons said. “But on some level, they know that you are there to help them.”

In Alachua County, as well as a lot of other counties around the nation, fire stations do not rescue cats anymore. He said the notion of cat rescue has become something more of folklore.

“They have good reason not to rescue cats,” he said.

“It’s really not their fault. A firefighter’s job is to protect life and property, and a cat rescue would only distract from a human emergency.”

The emergency medical services will refer people to

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Can you spot the three people in this tree? Climbers suspend from Charlotte’s branches as they make their journey to the top. Along the way, fun tricks ensue, such as bat hangs and limb walks.

climb, but the experience was far beyond what she ever thought it could be.

“My favorite part was when I got to the top and I touched the top. That was such a sense of accomplishment, just being there and taking it all in,” Parker said.

Lyons said that Charlotte the Live Oak has been especially meaningful for a lot of climbers.

“This particular tree has been really awesome; a lot of people have had breakthrough experiences and moments that they’ll never forget,” he said.

“All climbing trees have that. They’re like teachers really. The trees themselves are teachers.”

Charlotte is 100 to 150 years old. And without getting mystical about it, Lyons said he likes to take a moment after each climb to thank the tree.

“Let’s not forget that these are living beings that grow and are life forms, too,” he said. “We are just sharing a moment with them and, at the end, they deserve our respect and thanks.”

He challenges people to reinvent their adventure and to think vertically, not just horizontally.

“When you’re walking through the forest, start looking up more, try to see what’s going on up there. Try to see what’s growing and what’s happening. You’d be surprised. You might even see a tree climber,” Lyons said. “It’s amazing how many times I’ve climbed, and people will be walking close by and they’ll never once look up. They won’t even know I’m up there.” s

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By the end of the interview, I finally started looking up.

During my climb, I saw two ospreys, each with a wingspan of about 70 inches. On the way down, I started gaining some confidence and a couple of bat hangs later, I felt like an old pro.

The moment that Lyons talked about, the one that usually happens when climbing a tree — well, for me, it happened after my feet were firmly planted on the ground. Saying my thanks, I gently pressed my hands against Charlotte’s massive trunk, and my fingers disappeared within the deep grooves of her bark. I guess you could say for a moment I lost myself. I felt small, connected to something so much bigger than myself. Taking a deep breath, I thanked her for the lesson.

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Crowning Achievements Gental Dentle, From our family to your family.

by Mary Goodwin

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alking into Gentle Dental Care is a lot like entering a home. Children gather in front of the television playing video games, while adults sit back and talk amongst one another. Laughter echoes from the hallway adjacent to the waiting room— until suddenly a vibrant, smiling Dr. Patti swings around the door belting, “Hi, everybody! How are we doing?”

Turn the corner into the hallway, and that’s where the real fun begins. Dentists, hygienists and patients laugh and crack jokes like family—perhaps because a large portion of the staff at Gentle Dental Care is family.

Joining Dr. Patti in her dental practice are her two sons Dr. Austin Webb and Dr. Jordan Webb, along with her daughter Amber Patterson who works as the assistant.

Growing up, the world of dentistry was second nature to the Webb children. On Saturdays, you could find them running around the office playing soccer while Dr. Patti performed an emergency procedure. With their mother as a role model, and familiarity with a dental office at an early age, Dr. Patti said her sons gravitated to follow in her footsteps—bringing with them many advantages to the practice.

Dr. Patti has served her role as the mother hen for 22 years, and she knows she won’t be there forever. “When I retire,

60 | Spring 2014

I have two young men here with me now to take over,” she explained. “We’re at the point now where our patients don’t even care which one of us comes into the room.”

One of the greatest advantages to her family business, Dr. Patti said, is the new procedures, concepts and treatment plans her sons bring to the table. This fresh, innovative

talent is complemented alongside her years of experience and expertise.

annual student award for excellence in dental treatment of Patients with Disabilities for his dental treatment of victims of domestic violence, as well as medically compromised patients.

While all three practice general dentistry, each holds a unique and personalized style—undoubtedly, from the paths they took to get where they are.

Dr. Patti entered the University of Florida to study music, until she later decided she would major in chemistry. After graduating, she utilized her positive and encouraging spirit as a high school chemistry and anatomy teacher. While teaching, she earned her master’s in botany from UF and became the director of the State Science and Engineering Fair.

She then decided to return to UF to earn her Ph.D. in plant pathology and served on the Fruit Crops Department faculty at UF for nine years. Again, itching for something more, she returned to UF to earn her D.M.D. in 1993, and soon after joined and took over Gentle Dental Care.

Drs. Austin and Jordan traveled a much straighter path to study dentistry. Both earned their D.M.D.s from the Tufts School of Dental Medicine in Boston—Austin in 2008 and Jordan in 2011. Austin completed an oral surgery externship at the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Hospital in Chicago,

Some women are natural-born nurturers. Dr. Patti Webb, D.M.D., Ph.D, is one of them. As a mother, she cares for seven children. As a dentist, she cares for hundreds. and has largely studied cosmetic dentistry— specifically porcelain veneers, metal-free crowns and bridges, and smile makeovers. Jordan completed a summer externship at the Winslow Navajo Indian Health Care Center, where he strengthened his diagnostic and pain management skills for geriatric patients. He later received the e Academ Academy of Dentistry’s Dentistry s

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Much like their mother, Dr. Austin and Dr. Jordan possess a natural flair to help their patients feel at ease. Friendly smiles and small talk accompany genuine counseling over treatment plans with the highest degree of professionalism. Patients are walked through procedures step by step, with dentists who take the time to not only develop the best treatment for their patient, but who also explain – and even show – courses of action.

“What’s most important is that our patients trust us,” Dr. Patti said.

“They trust me because they see me as a mother figure. They don’t see the white coat complex here; they see a fun, loud family—but a family that is confident and makes going to the dentist fun.”

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>> INCREDIBLE EDIBLES

Landscaping with Dinner in Mind WRITTEN BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES first heard about Edible Plant Project (EPP) when I was looking for somewhere to volunteer,” said recently retired Gainesville resident Georgette Peters, “and I found it on the United Way’s Volunteer Select webpage. My EPP volunteer experience has been amazing.”

Peters said that she applied on Memorial Day to prepare recipes and teach people how to cook their produce.

“Within 24 hours, I had a whole bunch of callaloo to learn how to cook,” she said. “I had never heard of it and had the best time researching recipes and then cooking them. They were all so healthy and tasty.

“Then we set up a time for me to teach a class at Blue Oven Kitchen.”

Peters said she had her class make three callaloo recipes. The class was hands on — lots of washing of the leaves, then lots of chopping.

“Everyone talked and chopped and had a great time,” Peters said. “All the people that I have met working with EPP are happy and positive people. The best

“I

62 | Spring 2014

part was that we got to eat all of the recipes that we cooked. You couldn’t get a better meal in town.”

For Edible Plant Project Director of Development and Outreach, Brian Stanton, helping someone like Peters learn about how to grow and prepare food from the backyard landscape is at the heart of why he devotes much time and energy to the program.

A part of the Gainesville landscape for 12 years, the EPP has been promoting edible landscape practices and local food abundance in a slow, but steady effort to change the mindset of residents as they plan their homestead plantings.

“It’s possible, even for a transient population like we have here in Gainesville, to practice these principles,” Stanton said. “We hope that with container gardens and community gardens, even temporary residents can plant things for the purpose of consumption, rather than just aesthetics. We also encourage the giving of edible plants as gifts and [we] work with communities to plant edible foliage in public areas.”

All of the decorative shrubs around Gainesville’s

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PHOTO BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES

PHOTO COURTESY BLUE OVEN KITCHENS

PHOTO BY GEORGETTE PETERS

TOP: Volunteers haul a trailer-load of easy-to-grow edible plants to market monthly in the hopes others will catch their vision of a more sustainable food system.

ABOVE: Georgette Peters, EPP volunteer, (front right) leads a cooking class using edible landscape greens. EPP needs more volunteers to add to their efforts.

Right: Leafy greens like summer-hardy callaloo were featured in a recent EPP cooking class.

Courthouse, for example, could just as easily be blueberries, he said.

“We encourage locals to grow what we have here already — what is native and well-adapted,” Stanton said. “These types of edible landscape plants are brownthumb-friendly and can thrive on low water, if need be. We maintain that growing your food can be simple and can enhance your yard’s appearance.”

“It’s really much easier than traditional, annual gardening,” added EPP Coordinator, Michael Adler. “We focus on perennials because they are more sustainable.

A yard can have herbs, fruits, nuts, grasses and medicinal plants that don’t require yearly planting. If you plant a garden and come back in 10 years, you will have weeds. If you

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plant a fruit tree, 10 years later you will have a fruit tree.”

Adler conceded that ideally there should be some care because even native plants will stay small and stunted unless fortified — and doing nothing does not qualify as organic.

“Our goal is to educate and expose people to plant varieties es s that are longstanding and nd to identify plants that can be harvested,” he said. “If people can harvest it, it will not go to waste.

Formed by a group of concerned residents in the months following the events of 9-11 and the concern created by a new uncertainty,

the EPP has evolved over the years to include a website, blog, Facebook page, monthly sales at the Downtown Market, seed banks, a local nursery, cooking classes and sustainable agriculture literature and power point presen-

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The Edible Plant Project

Plant Sale Offering an eclectic selection of inexpensive edible plants and seeds

On the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Union St. Farmer’s Market, Downtown Gainesville Gainesville Community Plaza, 111 E. University Ave. www.unionstreetfarmersmkt.com

PHOTO BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES

ABOVE: All set up and ready to grow. EPP participates monthly in the Union Street Market where plants grown at the organization’s nursery are available for purchase.

RIGHT: EPP Coordinator, Michael Adler, encourages residents to plant fruit trees, and grow and harvest local food to help make Gainesville a more beautiful, sustainable place.

The goal is always to educate and equip local residents with all they need to eat what they grow in their yard or on their porch. tations available to anyone interested in learning more about edible landscaping.

Hoping to change the prevailing mindset of the current mono-culture, petroleum-based modern food

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system, where thousands of acres of corn are grown and transported cross-country, to thinking in terms of a more local, sustainable and environmentally friendly food culture, the EPP spreads word and seed entirely by way of volunteers like Peters.

“We always need more volunteers and leaders to help us keep the farm open more days, offer more classes, work at the market more often and grow and expand the project,” Stanton said. “Our helpers are all over the map as far as age, interests and capabilities are concerned. People expect that when we ask them to volunteer they are going to labor and toil, but some of our helpers write grants and send out press releases. We are quite flexible.”

The goal is always to educate and equip local residents with all

they need to eat what they grow in their yard or on their porch. Adler said there are at least a dozen leafy greens that thrive in the heat of the summer here and are well-known foods in other cultures, but are not familiar to Americans.

“I learned there are so many other plants out there that are edible and that Florida is a great place to grow them,” Peters said.

“This program could help people who want to enhance their gardens with great sustainable plants.

Michael taught the class a lot about the plants themselves and even had seeds to sell at the cooking class.”

Adler, Stanton and the rest of the EPP volunteers plant seeds wherever they possibly can, hoping the fruits of their labors will be harvested and enjoyed by others — right in their own back yards. s

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COLUMN >> ALBERT ISAAC

Different Note Fishing isn’t always about the fish

have many fond memories of fishing with my family as a youngster growing up in Miami. My brothers and I fished from seawalls and docks. My father would take us out in our boat. I learned the value of patience while fishing with Dad on the emerald waters off the coast of the Florida Keys. During one fishing expedition, my childhood pal complained and repeatedly cast his line and caught nothing, while I sat still and quiet.

Patience paid off and I reeled in a whale of a grouper.

On another fishing trip Dad and I caught nothing but saltwater catfish. I learned the hard way that the slimy vermin have a fierce dorsal spine that burns like fire if you get stuck. I tried to get one off my hook, wrapping it with newspaper because they are so slippery. Let me be the first to tell you: Newspaper offers little protection from the barbaric barb. I took a hit through the palm of my hand that felt like molten lava — only hotter.

But it was still a great day. Me and Dad fishing in the bay, catching memories.

When my son was 5, the two of us went fishing on a lake at the home of a friend. I warned the boy that we

I

might not catch anything.

“That’s why they call it fishing,” I told him, “and not catching.”

However, my intrepid fisherman immediately hooked something — his shirt. Before we had even left the car. Took me 10 minutes to extricate him.

We then marched down to the dock with our nearly empty tackle box, our fishing rods and a bucket of dirt containing an earthworm he had captured the week before — or so we thought. Somehow the worm had vanished, or perhaps perished and turned to dirt, because that was all that was left in the bucket. Dirt.

The worm was AWOL. Not to worry. I had brought cheese. Sliced cheese.

On a warm day. It melted. Wouldn’t stay on the hook.

When we cast the line we would see two splashes — one splash was our line, the other the cheese.

“It’s all about the experience,” I told him. “This is a great day. Just relax. A bad day fishing is still better than a good day working.”

“We need worms, Dad,” he replied.

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Fortunately, my buddy could not resist taking a break from his yard work to join us. He brought us a container of worms and grubs and then cast his line.

Within minutes, much to our surprise, he was reeling in a wide-mouth bass.

He dashed to the house with the fish, cleaned it and fried it. It was the freshest fish we had ever tasted. Delicious.

My son was very impressed. So was I. But after that, despite the patience of Job, and a variety of lures, worms and maggots, we had little luck.

But we didn’t care. It was an incredible day. I caught a tiny bream. Threw him back. My son caught a lizard.

Then the lizard caught my son, biting him on the lip and refusing to let go.

“Get him off Dad,” he mumbled, the miniature green dinosaur dangling from his lower lip. “Just kill him.”

Surprising words coming from the little lizard lover, so it must have hurt. I pried the reptile’s jaws from his lip with my thumbnail and asked if we should stick him on a fishhook and use him for bait. I knew the answer.

“Nah, just let him go.”

Our adventure wasn’t over, however. My son wanted to hike, so off into the woods we went. We caught brambles. And I caught some ticks. And as soon as my back was turned my boy caught something else: a cactus.

“Look what I have,” he said carrying the little green prickly plant.

“Look at your hands,” I said. He dropped the cactus.

Sure enough, a zillion miniscule cacti spines were sticking into both of his hands. Furthermore, a coating of yellow fuzz (tiny thorns) covered the front of his shirt where he had rubbed his hands.

Fortunately, unlike my catfish impalement, the thorns were not terribly painful, just tenacious. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to extract them from his hands and belly — and then from my own hands.

Once home, he willingly hopped into the bathtub (that’s a first!) and soaked for an hour, none the worse for the wear.

We may not have caught a lot of fish that day, but we definitely caught a lot of memories. s

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>> PERMANENT GOOD

Startup Quest Turning Today’s Unemployed into Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs

WRITTEN BY CRYSTAL HENRY ary Kinsey had not been in Gainesville very long when he found himself unemployed.

In 2009, Kinsey had been helping a physical therapist start a practice focused on the elderly, and they started off with a mobile unit to drive to patient homes. They eventually parked out at the North Florida Retirement Village full-time, but driving the mobile therapy lab was how he became familiar with the city.

However, it was a start-up business, and its owner was having trouble meeting the financial agreements they set. So Kinsey decided he had to leave, and he claimed unemployment. Soon FloridaWorks contacted him about a new program called Startup Quest that was created to train people to be entrepreneurs.

“I was 64 years old, and I wasn’t all that interested in what they were offering,” Kinsey said.

They asked him to at least come to the presentation and hear them out, so he agreed. He went out the first day and after a “powerhouse presentation” from FloridaWorks and the University of Florida Office of Technology Licensing, he decided it was something he

G

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could not pass up.

The pilot program for Startup Quest began in 2011 with a $175,000 grant. Fourteen unemployed or underemployed professionals were paired up with Gainesville’s most successful entrepreneurs to create business plans to bring new inventions and technologies to market.

Kinsey said each team learned different components of starting a business such as financial statements and business plans. For nine weeks, the teams met once a week for half a day or more. They each took a patented invention developed at UF and built a virtual company around that patent. And at the end, each team presented their virtual company to a panel of venture capitalist in a Shark Tank-style finale. Kinsey said the top companies got cash prizes.

“We didn’t finish in the money, but we got good experience out of it,” he said.

Kinsey came out of the program with an appreciation not only for entrepreneurial endeavors, but for the community in Gainesville as well. It was all about

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAREERSOURCE NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

Team 14, nRODx, took home the ďŹ rst-place award for their pitch and business on tto plan on a unique nanorod design for preventing mammalian cell adhesion his hi is implanted devices. Mentor Karl Zawoy selected the UF technology for this team. From left: Fred Chapin, Karl Zawoy, Matthew Fisher, Li-Xia Yang, Susan Powers, Cheryl Marwood and David Lovett.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF FLORIDA WORKS

Sue Washer (front) speaks at the 2012 BASEC Launch in Gainesville, where participating regions traveled to learn about the Startup Quest™ program. Washer is the president and CEO of Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC) and was a mentor in the Startup Quest™ pilot program. Angela Pate (back) CIO of FloridaWorks, facilitated the launch.

taking technologies from UF and helping to build the community through business.

“It opened up a whole new world for me,” he said.

At the conclusion of the program, Kinsey took his knowledge and ran with it. Since he had a military background in missiles, he decided to look through the catalog of patents and find something he could market.

As he looked through the lists of patents, he realized he knew a few of the inventors from his days in the physical therapy mobile lab. One invention, called the CathStrap, was developed by a woman he knew who used to bring nursing students to the retirement village.

He saw that the invention was a low-tech device that hospitals could use when transporting patients with a fully bagged catheter. The product was simple but innovative, and he saw that it should have a quick FDA pathway for medical approval. He had already learned about correlations between urinary tract infections and falls in the medical field. Kinsey said UTIs are one of the main causes of falls in the elderly, and this device was meant to help prevent UTIs by ensuring that the catheter bag always hangs below the patient’s bladder. This reduces the backflow that causes UTIs. Kinsey met with the inventor and put together a team including two people from his Startup Quest team.

And North Florida Medical Solutions, Inc. was born.

“The whole thing has been an incredible learning experience for me,” Kinsey said.

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There are thousands of inventions waiting to be brought to market, but they do not have entrepreneurs to do it.

And the most incredible part is how people in the community are willing to come together to help build these companies, he said. He has encountered some roadblocks.

For instance, since the product was developed at Shands, he assumed Shands would be an easy sell. But hiccups with clinical trials, communication and bureaucracy have put a snag in that market.

“It’s not going to stop me,” he said. “There’s a huge demand.”

Because of his physical therapy knowledge and engineering background he has been able to take this technology from UF and make a business. And although they kicked off with a limited amount of money, it has been a relatively fast track to the market. Typically it takes five years to get a product market ready. But Kinsey’s team is

ready after only two. Now they just have to break into the market.

“And that’s a hard nut to crack,” Kinsey said.

But Kinsey said his experience in Startup Quest has taught him how to overcome those hurdles.

“It’s not all going to go your way,” he said. “That’s part of being the CEO of a company.”

There are thousands of inventions waiting to be brought to market, but they do not have entrepreneurs to do it, he said. And that is part of what FloridaWorks is attempting to do with Startup Quest. The program opens up doors for inventors, entrepreneurs, investors and others in the community.

“It’s good for the university. It’s good for the UF technology people.

It’s good for the state of Florida. It’s good for the community,” Kinsey said.

The pilot program was so successful that the founders applied for a new grant through the U.S. Department of Labor. And in 2012 they were awarded a $12.7 million grant to create a consortium of eight workforce regions throughout Florida. The local workforce investment boards in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Daytona, Brevard, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, St. Petersburg and Tallahassee have all joined a consortium to implement the program.

“And what’s exciting about this is it’s not just the UF office of Technology and Licensing,” said Kim Tesch-Vaught, FloridaWorks executive director. They are working with other offices of technology, federal labs and even NASA. She said most workforce programs provide training and work on obtaining degrees. But this program

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- Information provided by Stephanie Gocklin -

What to do if you lose your job –

L PHOTO COURTESY OF CAREERSOURCE NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

Richard Wheeler of the simulated company Arrow Spine, LLC, demonstrates an expandable cage for orthopedic spinal surgery.

This real technology is from the University of South Florida.

is for people who already have degrees and sometimes multiple degrees. It is a way to plug these professionals in.

And the goal is not just for everyone to create a business.

Even if they just end up working for a new company, they realize their role in bringing in profits. The participants become entrepreneurial in the positions that they have.

Tesch-Vaught said not everyone who applies will get the training, but the grant will extend the program for three years. This will be the first year since the pilot, and at the end they will gauge when to start the next group.

“They’re doing good work,” Kinsey said. “And it’s a good thing.” s For more information visit their web site, startupquest.org.

78 | Spring 2014

osing your job can be a stressful and difficult time, but FloridaWorks can help with your transition. Unemployed individuals should register at EmployFlorida.com. The Employ Florida Marketplace (EFM) is Florida’s online employer and job seeker database. Job seekers can search for a job anywhere in Florida and make their resume available to employers searching for candidates.

FloridaWorks has a variety of programs that provide opportunities for people to learn new skills or advance existing skills. FloridaWorks staff can assist job seekers applying for jobs or looking to start a new career through its job-matching services. They also offer skills assessments, job retention workshops and programs for youth, adult, older workers and veterans.

CONNECT is a program offered by FloridaWorks and the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce for professional-level job seekers with a minimum of an Associate’s degree or five years of experience in an industry. CONNECT meets weekly on Mondays from 5:45 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to provide an opportunity for job seekers to network, gain knowledge of the current job market, and receive an orientation to the services offered by FloridaWorks. Once evaluated, participants are offered one-on-one assistance for review and critique of resumes, evaluation of transferable skills, assisted job searches through EFM, training opportunities and other counseling services. In addition, there are monthly mini-interviews with HR managers from companies with open positions.

Visit FloridaWorksOnline.com for step-by-step instructions on how to register in EFM, class schedules and the most recent CONNECT calendar, as well as access to resources on the many FloridaWorks programs and opportunities that can aid in your search for employment.

For more information, please call or visit a One-Stop Career Center. Gainesville: 4800 SW 13th St., 352-955-2245 • Starke: 819 S. Walnut St., 904-964-8092

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>> THE CUTTING EDGE

Gator Innovator The UF Office of Technology is a Treasure Trove of Exciting New Advancements

WRITTEN BY CRYSTAL HENRY ou can’t watch the end of a football game without seeing a coach get doused with one of the most famous inventions to come out of the University of Florida. But hundreds of other advancements are being developed every year. And the UF Office of Technology Licensing is the treasure chest that holds these innovative technologies.

The office employs 23 full-time employees whose job it is to review these discoveries and decide on which ones to file patents. Then they work to find commercial partners for them. About a third of these inventions are picked up by large corporations, a third are picked up by smaller corporations and a third are taken on by startup companies. The Office of Technology Licensing searches for entrepreneurs who are interested in developing a business plan around the technology. Then those entrepreneurs find investors to fund that company.

One of the new businesses to pick up a Gator innovation is Sharklet Technologies. This advancement uses diamond shaped patterns that mimic those of sharkskin to ward off infection. It was discovered that

Y

80 | Spring 2014

unlike whales and other large marine creatures, sharks were resistant to algae and barnacle growth because of the patterns on their skin. This discovery was originally going to be used to keep barnacles off of ships. But then the materials scientist who made the discovery discussed the technology with another innovator in the medical field and a new idea was hatched.

The microscopic diamond-shaped pattern is now used to inhibit bacterial growth in a medical setting.

The pattern was put into medical devices and prevents bacteria from attaching, colonizing and forming biofilms, according to information from the Sharklet website. And since 80 percent of infections are spread from human hands, this chemical free solution to bacteria growth is a pioneer in the field.

“It’s what happens when smart minds collide,” said Jane Muir, associate director in the Office of Technology Licensing.

Muir said it is interesting to see something that was originally intended to keep ships clean now being used to save lives. Since one in seven people who go into the

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The Bud-E-Bar system developed at UF helps semi truck drivers maintain control to prevent jackknifing. hospital come out with an infection they did not have going in, this technology is a lifesaver, she said.

To help bring entrepreneurs together with these technologies, Muir helped develop a program called Startup Quest. Many have compared the program to a shark tank where entrepreneurs compete for investors.

But Muir said Startup Quest is more like a dolphin tank.

“If you fall off a ship in a shark tank what happens?”

Muir asked.

But if you fall off a ship in a dolphin tank the dolphins will help you and push you to the top. One of the ways that the office helps push these technologies to the top is through their incubator at the Florida Innovation Hub. This facility creates an atmosphere for success to nurture these inventions from their infancy.

There are office spaces, modern laboratories, seminars and other resources to strengthen the startup companies built around the UF technologies.

Muir said each year a professional association conducts a survey to find out how many startups are coming out of various universities. In 2012, UF was ranked fifth in the number of startups it helped create, behind a little school called the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT had 16 and UF had 15. Other top five contenders were the entire University of California system and the entire University of Texas system.

Muir said the office is hard at work marketing these products, and there are hundreds available for entrepreneurs and investors to choose from.

One of the innovations making headlines in Gainesville is a smell test to detect the early stages of

82 | Spring 2014

Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers state that one in eight Americans over 65 has Alzheimer’s disease, but early detection can help prevent its progression.

Existing tests are expensive and time-consuming, so the advantage of the new test developed at UF is that it is simple, quick and inexpensive.

Using a common odorant such as peanut butter, researchers can test smell sensitivity in the patient’s nostrils. A deficiency in one nostril is a sign of a problem in the temporal lobe of the corresponding hemisphere that suggests the presence of early-stage Alzheimer’s.

They’ve seen a pattern of atrophy more often in the left hemisphere in the early stages of the disease. If doctors can catch the disease early they can develop treatments to delay its progression. The procedure is less costly and less invasive than current tests on the market.

UF technologies range from innovations preventing citrus canker to medical marvels. Then other innovations are saving lives outside the medical field. Another UF researcher has developed a product that quickly reduces speed to prevent semi trucks from jackknifing.

The big rigs are typically about one third the length of a football field, but it can take the entire length of a football field to stop them. And since they can carry the equivalent weight of 20 standard cars the braking system is under a lot of stress. The brake shoes wear down and make it hard to stop these giant trucks.

The Bud-E-Bar system developed at UF helps the driver maintain control even in rain, ice, snow and on mountains and hills. Better brake control means fewer accidents and more lives saved. s

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YES! Our area is well known for sinkhole activity and shifting soil. If your home is sitting on shaky ground, your largest investment could be in jeopardy. There are solutions and they may not be as L_WLUZP]L VY HZ ]L_PUN HZ `V\ [OPUR ;OL ÄYZ[ HUK TVZ[ PTWVY[HU[ [OPUN [V KV PZ [V ÄUK V\[ L_HJ[S` ^OH[ ULLKZ [V IL KVUL [V Z[HIPSPaL `V\Y OVTL¯HUK [OH[ KVLZU»[ JVZ[ HU`[OPUN ^P[O 9HT 1HJR -PYZ[ [OPUNZ ÄYZ[·KV 0 OH]L H WYVISLT& Minor symptoms of settling due to improper soil preparation, expansive clays, or sinkholes are cracks in the interior of your home VY L_[LYPVY ^HSSZ JYHJRZ PU ÅVVY [PSLZ ZSVWPUN ÅVVYZ HUK TPZHSPNULK KVVYZ VY ^PUKV^Z [OH[ Z[PJR 0M `V\ OH]L [OLZL WYVISLTZ VY OH]L ZLLU [OLZL WYVISLTZ ^VYZLU P[ TH` IL [PTL [V NL[ H WYVMLZZPVUHS VWPUPVU 6RH` 0 [OPUR 0 TH` OH]L H WYVISLT 5V^ ^OH[& >OLU `V\ MLLS [OH[ `V\ TH` OH]L H MV\UKH[PVU PZZ\L ^P[O `V\Y OVTL [OLU `V\ ^PSS ULLK ZVTL IHZPJ PUMVYTH[PVU VU OV^ [V THRL H NVVK KLJPZPVU VU ^OH[ [V KV UL_[ 4HRPUN [OL ^YVUN JOVPJL JV\SK IL H ]LY` L_WLUZP]L SLZZVU (YL `V\ MLLSPUN ZVTL HU_PL[` `L[& >LSS YLSH_ HZ ^L ^PSS OLSW `V\ PTWYV]L `V\Y LK\JH[PVU SL]LS [V OLSW `V\ THRL H NVVK KLJPZPVU VU ^OV `V\ ZOV\SK JHSS [V KL[LYTPUL ^OH[ [OL HJ[\HS WYVISLT ^P[O `V\Y OVTL PZ >PSS T` PUZ\YHUJL JV]LY [OL JVZ[ VM YLWHPYZ& ;OL SVNPJHS HUZ^LY [V [OPZ X\LZ[PVU ZOV\SK IL ¸@,:¹ OV^L]LY TVZ[ OVTLV^ULYZ» WVSPJPLZ L_JS\KL JV]LYHNL MVY MV\UKH[PVU YLWHPY K\L [V ZVPS Z\IZPKLUJL 0UZ\YHUJL ^PSS WH` MVY YLWHPYZ VUS` PU JHZLZ ^OLYL JVUÄYTLK ZPUROVSL HJ[P]P[` OHZ ILLU VIZLY]LK I` H NLV[LJOUPJHS LUNPULLY 9LHK `V\Y WVSPJ` [V ÄUK V\[ PM `V\ OH]L :PUROVSL :\IZPKLUJL JV]LYHNL 0U HSTVZ[ HSS JHZLZ `V\ HYL JV]LYLK by your insurance policy if you have a catastrophic ground cover collapse due to a sinkhole. General subsidence due to improper ZVPS WYLWHYH[PVU VY L_WHUZP]L JSH`Z MHSSZ \UKLY H KPќLYLU[ JSHZZPÄJH[PVU 86 | Spring 2014

:OV\SK 0 NL[ ZPUROVSL [LZ[PUN& 0M `V\ [OPUR `V\ OH]L H ZPUROVSL [OLYL HYL H ML^ [OPUNZ [V [OPUR HIV\[ -PYZ[ does you policy cover sinkhole subsidence? If it does then your insurance JVTWHU` ^PSS \Z\HSS` WH` MVY [OL [LZ[PUN 0M [OL PUZ\YHUJL JVTWHU` HNYLLZ [V OPYL HU LUNPULLY [V PU]LZ[PNH[L ZPUROVSL HJ[P]P[` `V\Y WYVWLY[` ^PSS [OLU OH]L H JSHPT HNHPUZ[ P[ L]LU PM [OL [LZ[PUN JVTLZ \W ULNH[P]L 0[ PZ [OLU ÄSLK ^P[O [OL county clerk of court and is on record as having problems. The average cost MVY ZPUROVSL PU]LZ[PNH[PVUZ JHU YHUNL MYVT MV\Y [V [^LS]L [OV\ZHUK KVSSHYZ ZV the insurance companies consider the investigation a claim.

If the investigation comes up negative, your insurance company is not liable for the repairs. If you have neighbors that have positive sinkhole activity under their home, or you notice depressions in your yard, there is a good chance that `V\Y WYVISLTZ HYL HZZVJPH[LK ^P[O ZPUROVSL HJ[P]P[` HSZV ([ [OPZ WVPU[ WYVWLY investigation by a geotechnical engineer is very important. If you are JVUJLYULK ^P[O OH]PUN [OL Z[PNTH VM ZPUROVSL HJ[P]P[` H[[HJOLK [V `V\Y WYVWLY[` `V\ TH` ^HU[ [V JVUZPKLY OVSKPUN Vќ VU JHSSPUN `V\Y PUZ\YHUJL JVTWHU` @V\ should probably call a foundation repair company or a geotechnical engineer [V PUZWLJ[ `V\Y OVTL ÄYZ[" LZWLJPHSS` PM [OLYL HYL UV RUV^U ZPUROVSL condemned properties in the general vicinity of your home. Ram Jack and most MV\UKH[PVU YLWHPY JVTWHUPLZ ^PSS WYV]PKL MYLL L]HS\H[PVUZ OV^L]LY LUNPULLYPUN JVTWHUPLZ ^PSS JOHYNL MVY PUZWLJ[PVUZ >OH[ ^PSS H 9HT 1HJR :VSPK -V\UKH[PVUZ KV K\YPUN [OL MYLL PUZWLJ[PVU VM T` OVTL& >L ^PSS TLHZ\YL HUK JYLH[L H WSHU VM [OL HJ[\HS KPTLUZPVUZ VM `V\Y OVTL VY business to assist in the evaluation. >L ^PSS [HRL PU[LYPVY HUK L_[LYPVY MV\UKH[PVU LSL]H[PVUZ \ZPUN HU PUZ[Y\TLU[ [OH[ TLHZ\YLZ HU` JOHUNLZ PU `V\Y ÅVVY LSL]H[PVUZ 0UKPJH[PVUZ VM JYHJRZ HUK HYLHZ VM MV\UKH[PVU MHPS\YL ^PSS IL PUKPJH[LK VU [OL ZLY]PJL WSHU WYVÄSL @V\ ^PSS YLJLP]L H JVTWSL[L ZLY]PJL WSHU [OH[ PUJS\KLZ HU L_WSHUH[PVU VM HU` problems discovered during the inspection and a thorough explanation of the course of action recommended to correct the problems.

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>> CHARITY

Dancin’ through the Decades The American Red Cross of North Central Florida’s Upcoming Gala

WRITTEN BY STYLIANA RESVANIS t’s the 1940s. As World War II wages on and more than 16 million Americans battle the Axis powers, people on the homefront find a brief respite from thoughts of war in the sounds of brass and the pulse of the rhythm section of big-band swing.

The outcome of the war remains murky. In the entertainment world, “Casablanca” wins the Academy Award, and Bing Crosby dominates the Billboard charts — and his rendition of “I’ll Be Seeing You” becomes an anthem for soldiers serving overseas.

But soldiers were not the only ones serving. The American Red Cross, a volunteer-fueled humanitarian organization, recruited more than 104,000 nurses, gathered upward of 25 million packages, shipped more than 300,000 tons of supplies and collected more than 10 million pints of blood to help war efforts, according to its website.

Now, the American Red Cross of North Central Florida aims to take guests back in time with “Dancin’ Thru the Decades: A 1940s-themed Gala.” Proceeds will support the organization’s emergency service work in the area.

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The event, which will take place April 26 at “The Gainesville Canteen” — the World War II hangar at Gainesville Regional Airport’s University Air Center — will include an optional 1940s-themed costume contest, a live and silent auction, a catered dinner and bar, a live swing band and World War II airplanes and vintage cars.

While the North Central Florida chapter usually hosts two smaller fundraising events per year (such as a golf tournament or a wine-tasting party), it opted to make a change in 2014.

“This summer when our board met, we made the decision to … try to create a large signature event that we could do year after year and that would become associated with the Red Cross,” said Melanie Saxon, executive director of the chapter.

The theme came from Bill Pokorny, who found inspiration at work. As general manager of the University Air Center, he often rents hangars to groups for fundraisers and parties.

“The idea of doing an elegant dinner party in an

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“Dancin’ Thru the Decades: A 1940s themed Gala” April 26, 6-10 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26 2014 WWII MUSTANG HANGER AT THE

Location: World War II hangar of the University Air Center, located on the north side of the Gainesville Regional Airport: 4701 NE 40th Terrace, Gainesville, Florida 32609 Price: $75 per person, available at the American Red Cross of North Central Florida office or from any board member

UNIVERSITY AIR CENTER where ideas flow

For tickets, auction or sponsorship opportunities, call (352) 376-4669 or email Melanie.Saxon@redcross.org

aircraft hangar with a theme just kind of hit me,” said Pokorny, chairman of the gala. “I said, ‘Boy, that might be really good.’ The 1940s hit me because it’s kind of an elegant era.”

The chapter hopes to draw about 400 guests to the fundraiser, which has taken nearly six months to plan, and aims to raise $30,000 to support its efforts. And if this year’s theme proves successful, the group plans to continue through the decades — meaning next year, people can anticipate a 1950s gala.

“It’s all about serving the local community,” Pokorny said.

The American Red Cross has served communities nationwide since its establishment in 1881 by Clara Barton, a nurse and humanitarian who was inspired by the global Red Cross network she discovered in Switzerland after the Civil War and the work she did with the International Red Cross during the FrancoPrussian War, according to the organization’s website.

It has chapters in every U.S. state and even some in Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Marianna Islands.

The organization aids in disaster relief (such as medical care and financial support), blood drives,

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international emergency services, support for military families (including sending emergency messages to service members if necessary), and health and safety training and education (such as lifeguard training and first aid/CPR certification).

“The thing about the Red Cross is you never know when you’re going to need them,” said Pokorny, who experienced that sentiment first-hand when he served in the military 10,000 miles from home and the Red Cross contacted him about the birth of his twins.

The Red Cross has played a part in the care and recovery of citizens following countless natural disasters and conflicts. In the early 1900s, the organization’s volunteers aided survivors of the sinking of the Titanic and brought supplies to Europe during World War I. In the mid-1900s, volunteers helped victims after the attack on Pearl Harbor and gathered medicine and food to give to Cuba in exchange for the release of the Bay of Pigs prisoners of war.

More recently, it provided aid after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in rural Pennsylvania, and mobilized its largest single-disaster relief effort following Hurricane Katrina.

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PHOTO BY TALIA FRENKEL - AMERICAN RED CROSS.

Red Cross volunteer Martha Crosby meets Tuscaloosa, Ala., resident Jean Farmer, 85, in front of her destroyed home after a tornado in 2011.

1881 Clara Barton and colleagues establish the American Red Cross. Later that year, the first local chapter forms in New York, and the organization takes on its first disaster relief effort, aiding victims of a Michigan forest fire.

1898 The organization gives its first war-related aid to the U.S. military when Barton brings supplies to Havana, Cuba, for victims of the SpanishAmerican War.

1900 The Red Cross receives its first congressional charter.

As a charitable organization, all services offered by the Red Cross are free of charge. According to its website, an average of 91 cents per donated dollar goes toward its mission, and the organization operates on seven principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service,

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1913 President Woodrow Wilson becomes the first honorary president of the Red Cross.

1991

2005

The Red Cross welcomes its first woman president since Clara Barton.

unity and universality.

“We serve every single human being,” Saxon said. “We don’t get involved in the politics of it — we are just about providing service to people in need.”

The North Central Florida chapter, originally established in 1917 to serve Alachua County,

The organization mobilizes its largest singledisaster relief effort in response to Hurricane Katrina.

2006 The Red Cross celebrates

125

years of service.

now also supports Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, Levy, Columbia, Hamilton and Suwannee counties.

It provides relief in a wide range of situations, including house fires, floods and hurricanes. It can help with everything from paying for temporary lodging to replacing medical prescriptions or offering

“We serve every single human being,” Saxon said. “We don’t get involved in the politics of it — we are just about providing service to people in need.” mental health counseling.

The organization as a whole coordinates at the regional and divisional level to share resources, allowing volunteers in North Central Florida and around the country to deploy to areas in need based on distance and expertise.

In 2013 alone, the chapter helped nearly 140 families who fell victim to house fires and provided disaster education for 4,000 people.

“We work year-round to maintain a state of constant readiness,” Saxon said. “We have to be ready because people count on us to be ready.” s

PHOTO COURTESY OF MELANIE SAXON

Melanie Saxon has been executive director of the Red Cross of North Florida for more than two years.

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BRINGING NEW YORK TO GAINESVILLE ORIGINAL SAHAG TECHNIQUE

Z

oetic design is located in the Tower 24 Plaza. The inspiration for this specific hair salon is to connect beauty with nature through a dry-cutting technique. The spacious 1800 square foot salon was designed to resemble the Sahog Workshop on Madison Avenue in New York City.

Zoetic has taken the road less traveled, focusing on customer individuality by working with the natural growth pattern of hair. The result, is hair that is unique to each client and impossible to duplicate.

This transformation takes place by understanding the individuality of the hair combined with the shape of ones face, to create a style that is uncompromised and as individual as the person.

The dry-cutting technique was originated by the famed John Sahog of NYC. As the only truly certified salon in Gainesville, Zoetic Designs uses this technique based on the concept of cutting hair dry, to create visual balance. Cut vertically, the hair is seamless and shows no horizontal lines, therefore never working against gravity.

John Sahag, who passed away seven years ago, was an icon in the hair and fashion industry.

His technique lives on through the passion and dedication of his Mastercraftsmen and his Sahag Team. Salon owner, A.J. Everett serves as one of the leading educators for the Sahag Product Company and travels throughout the country teaching the Sahag dry-cutting technique in addition to performing at hair shows as a platform artist. She frequents NYC for events such as fall and spring

fashion week as well as doing editorial photo shoots for Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Allure magazines.

Sahag’s inspiration was about creating hairstyles that have natural influence. This concept of natural influence is reflected in the salon’s interior, its location and most importantly in the dedication to its clients. As you set foot into Zoetic Designs, nature presents itself as you look out 10-foot glass windows.

The chic salon has clean lines and exposed ceilings.

The walls are a cool, calming grey color and the open layout pays tribute to its New York City roots. This corner salon is surrounded by thriving trees, allowing for nature’s influence to always shine through.

According to AJ Everett, the clients that have experienced this dry-cutting technique have enjoyed a dramatic difference in appearance. The dry-cut technique works harmoniously with coloring as each client is treated as a new painting. Each painting requires different brushes and colors, leaving creations that continuously evolve with each visit.

Her stylists are excited to come to work and she feels her clients, existing and new, are happy to experience the changes in their hair. The staff at Zoetic Designs, strives for perfection with each new challenge they undertake.

The passing of John Sahag has left individuals like A.J. Everett a legacy to follow. Dedicating her efforts to her mentors; John Sahag, Thomas Clancy, Director of the Sahag team, and her national team of educators, Everett’s most important goal is to continue to learn, teach her own team of designers, and to always give back to the industry she loves.

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>> DISCIPLINE

Kids Kicking Cancer Packing a Punch and the Power of Positive Thinking

WRITTEN BY CRYSTAL HENRY ayla’s school was offering karate classes, and she was anxiously looking forward to stepping out on the mats in a crisp white gi and a yellow belt. Instead, she found herself stepping into a hospital bed with a cancer diagnosis. The hospital gown was a far cry from the karate uniform of her 11-year-old dreams.

Then one day Kayla looked up from her hospital bed to see a man in a white gi standing in her doorway.

“Karate,” Kayla exclaimed leaping up in her bed.

Andrew Hix, the head instructor of Kids Kicking Cancer of Gainesville, had heard about Kayla and came to see if she would like to join his Heroes Circle. Her exuberance was a pleasant surprise for Hix. He wasn’t used to such an energetic greeting and, as her smile

K

beamed across her entire face, he answered her, “Yes.” He was here for karate.

“Please can I go to karate class?” Kayla asked her mother, Sharon. Sharon told Hix about her missing karate at school and agreed to let her join the Heroes Circle.

Hix told Kayla all about the fun she would have in class and the martial arts secrets he would share with her. But he also told Kayla that she’d be teaching and inspiring others, and she sat captivated. Then he told her about the uniform.

She bolted up in bed. “I get a uniform?” she said.

“When?”

He explained that after two classes she’d get the uniform, and in time she could earn the yellow belt.

Kayla went to her first two classes and got her

PHOTO COURTESY OF KIDS KICKING CANCER

Daniel joined the Heroes Circle each week, but some days his illness kept him in bed. On those days, instructor Andrew Hix brought instruction and friendship to Daniel’s bedside.

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uniform. After about eight classes, Hix said he lost count, and on days Kayla wasn’t feeling up to making it to the group class, Hix would go to her room for a visit.

“We would Power Breath together and sometimes play Donkey y Kong Country,” he said.

Kayla yla trained train for months, and she even taught karate classes for her friends and family when she went home between n treatments. In November, Nove she demonstrated Power wer Breathing in front of hundreds hund of people at the Martial Arts Dem Demo.

Hix said teaching and learnin learning from Kayla has been such a joy, an and he iss happy to report that because of her teaching efforts sh she officially ally earned that yellow belt.

Hix is the Kids Kicking icking Can Cancer program director in Gainesville and as the head in Gai instructor he visits children who are hospitalized. He H is a massage therapist who has practiced acticed Tai Chi for fo three years. Most of the heroes in the Heroes es Circle Circ have chronic illnesses such as cancer or sickle celll anemia, anem but not all. Classes are taught in different units of the hospital such as the NICU, but he also does bedside visits and outpatient clas classes. Hix helps children harness martial arts techniques tto lower pain and stress.

The children are the focus, but friends, family and staff T also benefit.

One of the em main techniques he teaches is Power Breathing, hing, a techniqu technique that uses the arms and the principles of qigong and ta tai chi to lower pain and stress. Martial arts are used to build peace of mind and empowerment.

These childre children feel as though they have lost a sense of controll because of their thei illness, but these techniques help them take it back.

“And they get excited about it,” Hix said.

Each class begins and ends by teaching three principles: power, peace and purpose. They focus the fun and power of becoming a martial artist. They llearn to deal with pain and fear as they use the martial arts to find peace. And they find their purpose rpose iin the world by inspiring others with their courage ge to face fac their illness. They become heroes.

The firstt progra program started in Detroit, and with the help of the original fou founder, Matt Tenney and Nancy Lasseter brought the pro program to Shands. In order to fund the program they h host fundraisers, such as the All Star Jam in January.

The program is designed to help these patients become empowered in their own healing and to see themselves as courageous heroes instead of victims. But not all the kids kicking cancer are as young as Kayla.

A few months after Hix started teaching with KKC, he met a patient named Daniel who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Daniel was 22, and he didn’t have any family staying with him in the hospital. They talked for a while until the subject of martial arts came up. Daniel told Hix he used to do martial arts, and that it helped him build discipline. He paused for a moment and said, “It would probably be good for me to get back into it.”

Hix said Daniel attended every class for the next three months. His diagnosis meant that he couldn’t bear weight

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PHOTOS BY KRISTIN KOZELSKY

Andrew Hix (above) and founder Matt Tinney (below) talk to attendees during the recent AllStar Jam for Kids Kicking Cancer held at Cymplify Central in Gainesville on January 26.

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PHOTO BY KRISTIN KOZELSKY

Students display their skills at a Kids Kicking Cancer fundraiser organized by Larry Hartfield in November.

Each class begins and ends by teaching three principles: power, peace and purpose.

on his left leg, but every day he would walk down the hall to class. He also insisted on standing for the bow to show respect, and he did it each day while wincing from the pain. Hix said Daniel would practice Power Breathing while standing with his full weight resting on his right leg. It’s called the False-Leg Stance, and in the coming months it would prove to be a useful tool.

Daniel practiced martial arts in 20-minute sessions three times a day. He asked to sit and focus on awareness for 10 to 15 minutes at a time and was always seeking new information and setting new goals. He adapted the routines so that he could perform them while seated, but Daniel told Hix that his goal was to make a video of him practicing the forms in the full stances once he could put weight on his leg.

Then one day, during a bedside visit, Daniel told Hix that the video would not be possible. The cancer was spreading, and his leg would need amputation. Hix said they sat in silence and then spent the rest of their time that day hashing out the details.

After his surgery, Daniel’s phantom pain was so intense it interrupted their practices and conversations.

When he started rehab, Daniel was hopeful and looked forward to having the resources to practice martial arts while he waited for his physical therapy session. Hix said he came back quite proud and with a new energy.

The physical therapists had been very impressed with his leg strength, which he attributed in part to the time he spent practicing the False-Leg stance.

Hix said Daniel continues to practice martial arts throughout his chemotherapy treatments. He tells Hix about his ambition to one day be powerful enough to receive a prosthetic leg. And although it will be 90 percent harder to maneuver, he said it will be worth it to be able to practice his martial art forms.

Hix said Daniel’s perseverance is inspiring, and he is proud to be Daniel’s teacher, student and friend. s For more information about Kids Kicking Cancer in Gainesville visit www.kkcgainesville.org.

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>> UNDER THE SEA

A Trip to Sea Turtles Meet an Endangered Species at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERICKA WINTERROWD ooking to take a day trip to a destination a little further away from Gainesville? Why not venture out to Jekyll Island, Georgia? It is only two and a half hours away from UF and home to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC). Jekyll Island is one of only four Georgia barrier islands that feature a paved causeway to access the island by car, which makes it a great road trip for those who wish to hop the state line without straying too far.

What makes the GSTC so unique? It is Georgia’s first sea turtle rehabilitation, research and education facility that provides state-of-the-art emergency care to sick and injured sea turtles. Visitors can watch procedures live though the treatment room window while learning about various treatments, diagnostic procedures, and surgeries through interactive exhibits. Also visible to

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visitors is a view of the sea turtle hospital pavilion where guests can watch these mending reptiles in their tanks.

An alumnus of UF’s residency program in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, Dr. Terry Norton, 53, is the veterinarian and director at the GSTC where he oversees the entire animal care. He operates with a staff of five different rehabilitators including a coordinator, vet tech, and three rehabilitation technicians, as well as volunteers. The GSTC opened in 2007, but Dr. Norton’s vision for it first began in 2001.

“The ultimate goal is to get the animals back into the wild,” Norton said. “Obviously there are some times when we need to euthanize animals humanely if it’s a really severe injury or problem. There are also some that end up not being releasable but can be a good captive animal, so we’ll try to place those in an aquarium

Dr. Terry Norton poses with Apex after a debriding treatment. Norton earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in 1986 and completed a residency in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine at the University of Florida in 1989.

The GSTC provides state-of-the-art emergency care to sick and injured sea turtles, with opportunities for scientific research and long-term treatment.

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Jekyll Island is an ideal site for the rehabilitation center; it is unique among Georgia’s developed islands for its significant annual turtle nesting. Visitors to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center will explore exhibits on sea turtle conservation, rehabilitation and their amazing journey from egg to adulthood. An open window to the examination room allows visitors to see the action.

or facility that can use them as an ambassador for the species.”

Injured turtles make their way to GSTC a number of ways.

“Many people will find them on the beach or there may be a fisherman who catches a turtle on the dock and brings it to us with the hook,” Norton said. “Sometimes people find them floating in the

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water, it really just depends.”

Norton said he also has permits to receive turtles from Florida; close to 40 percent of the center’s caseload comes from Florida. He said the sea turtles are brought to the center usually in the summertime. Most of them are stranded on barrier islands so there are lots of turtle patrols on the lookout.

“Turtles are looking for nests, so the people who are patrolling help to protect those nests as well as tag many of the turtles,” Norton said.

GSTC has received turtles from as far away as Massachusetts.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) is the main turtle conservation division in Georgia, so it manages the overall

Norton and his team prepare Apex for treatment.

Sharks are one of the few predators that can make a meal out of a large turtle.

program and the GSTC receives all of its permits through them. Norton said the GDNR will get the call about an injured sea turtle and will plan the pick up. If access by boat is necessary, they will coordinate that as well. However, if the turtle is on Jekyll Island and something the GDNR thinks the GSTC can handle, then the center will go out and

receive the patient.

Currently, the GSTC has 10 sea turtle patients as well as several box turtles, terrapins and even a white pelican. In total Norton and his team have released 109 Loggerhead, 90 Green, and 47 Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles back into the wild.

One patient named Apex

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arrived at the GSTC with several bite wounds on the flippers and carapace (shell) consistent with a shark bite. Sharks are considered an apex predator, meaning they are a top predator in the food chain, thus the name choice for the patient. Large sharks are one of the only predators for a sea turtle as large as Apex, who weighed in at

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BE SEA TURTLE FRIENDLY - Never disturb sea turtles nests, stakes or eggs.

- Fill in holes on the beach that could trap hatchlings.

- Stay off sand dunes. They are important nesting habitats.

- Recycle used fishing lines.

- Don’t use lights on the beach after dark during nesting/hatching season.

- Report sea-turtles emergencies: 1-800-2-SAVE-ME

DID YOU KNOW? - Sea turtles have existed for at least 250 million years – since the time of the dinosaurs.

- Approximately one out of 4,000 hatchlings survives to become an adult sea turtle.

- The temperature in the nest determines whether a sea turtle hatches out as a male or female.

- The sex of a sea turtle remains undetermined until it reaches the age of 30 to 35 years of age.

WAYS TO HELP - Be “Sea Turtle Friendly” and encourage your friends, too!

- Become a Member of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (special benefits)!

- Adopt-a-Turtle at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center!

- Become a volunteer! There are so many ways to help at the center or from home!

- Purchase a personalized brick in the Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s “Walkway to Wonder.”

- Shop for gifts, books, clothing, and more at our on-line store!

- Tell others about your visit to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center!

Source: Georgia Sea Turtle Center Georgiaseaturtlecenter.org 108 10 08 | S Spring prin pr ing in g2 20 2014 014 4

GSTC volunteer Gary Buckles, 64, was awarded the International Sea Turtle Society’s Ed Drane Volunteerism Award, which recognizes one volunteer from around the world who has made a significant contribution to sea turtle conservation.

68 lbs. when first arriving to the center. Apex was missing a significant part of the left front flipper, had a bite wound on the right front flipper as well as another severe bite wound on the left side of the shell.

Apex receives frequent cleanings and bandage changes on the flipper and shell wounds. Norton said that honey is often used as a natural medicine to help prevent infection and promote healing. Apex also receives several different antibiotics and medications for pain management.

“For the shark bite injury we have mostly just been cleaning and debriding it; that is where we take off dead tissue to promote new healthy tissue growth,” Norton said. “We were going to amputate one of the flippers but we decided to leave it. It was pretty mangled and looked pretty bad when he first came in, but since the treatment has started it has healed up really nice and he definitely has some function out of that flipper.”

Debridement and wound care is common but the GSTC also performs a variety of other procedures, including x-rays and CT scans.

“It’s not like every day we’re doing surgery but it happens relatively frequently, I guess,” Norton said.

One sea turtle had a shell fracture repair using stainless steel plates. Norton said they had an orthopedic surgeon help them with that case and they were able to get the company that makes the plates to donate them for the surgery.

With all of the clinical help Norton and his team give to these creatures one fact remains clear: danger lurks beyond the doors of the center and there is only so much the GSTC can do. The main threats to sea turtles are habitat loss, predation by raccoons and on some of the barrier islands pigs are a big problem. Norton said wherever these turtles go, there will be a different predator — on sand or in the water — so from hatchling to a certain point of adulthood the mortality rate is very high. One out of 4,000 hatchlings reach adulthood. Then other threats

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include shark attacks and boat-strike injuries. About 30 to 40 percent of the turtles stranded in Georgia were hit by boats, which is a worldwide problem.

“The main thing you can do is awareness and education, so that is what we try to do,” Norton said.

Lisa Joy Schlembach, 27, has been an education member at GSTC since September. She said what makes this facility so special is that in addition to having the rehabilitation and hospital work they have the educational component.

“It’s been said that to change people’s behavior you have to change their hearts,” Schlembach said. “And so by having the education component we are able to reach a lot more people, a large range of people, and I think that is what is going to make a big difference from a social perspective.”

The success of GSTC is due in large part to the dedication of its founder, Dr. Norton.

“If a turtle comes in at 11 o’clock at night [Norton] comes in at 11 o’clock at night,” Schlembach said. “If it’s his day off he comes in to help. He is great at finding solutions to different injuries and illnesses and, with a limited budget, helps so many turtles.”

While growing up, Norton had an array of pets including iguanas, guinea pigs, gerbils, rabbits, reptiles and salt-water fish.

“I always wanted a dog,” Norton said. “I was just never allowed to have one.”

He said it wasn’t until college that he had a dog.

Although a lover of all animals he said at this point his heart would probably be most connected with the sea turtle because of the immense amount of effort he and his team have put into GSTC. “I’ve definitely put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into getting the place going,” Norton said. “I think it has a significant impact for conservation and all the people that come through here, from our students, the general public, kids and all of our staff. You know, they’ve all been impacted by this dream that I had, and it came to fruition.” s

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Hours of Operation

Tuesday – Sunday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Monday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

(Closed Mondays during December 1 – February 28)

Admission

Adults (13-65 years) - $7 Seniors - $6 Children (4-12 years) - $5 Children 3 and under – Free $1 discount for active military, law enforcement & fire safety personnel, teachers and students (ID required) All proceeds support operational costs associated with the rehabilitation, research and education efforts of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

Directions

Jekyll Island is located between Jacksonville, Florida and Savannah, Georgia, a few miles off Interstate 95 at Exit 29.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is located on Stable Road in Jekyll Island Historic District. Daily parking fee for Jekyll Island is required.

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>> INTERACTIVE EDUCATION

Can You

Dig It? Event Marks its Eighth Year at Florida Museum of Natural History

WRITTEN BY ILANA LIFSHITZ ince 2010, Jenny Franklin and her team from High Springs Orchard and Bakery have been the only food vendor at the Florida Museum of Natural History’s Can You Dig It event, where they provide baked goods and cooked food to all attendees. Each year, they spend two days preparing everything, including cookies, quiches, potpies and sweet pies. But Franklin wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We are extremely grateful to be the only food vendor at this event,” she wrote in an email. “It’s a promise [that] baked goods and food will [be] tastier than ever.”

A couple of days before the event, she and her team — which includes her husband, a baker and a chef — spend half a day just sourcing ingredients.

The day before Can You Dig It is more in-depth.

The group spends about four hours baking and two hours wrapping and packaging. And because all the cooking is done at the event, Franklin spends six to eight hours the day before prepping the food,

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PHOTO BY KRISTEN GRACE

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CAN YOU DIG IT WHAT: Annual geology event open to kids and adults WHEN: March 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

PHOTO BY KATE MARTIN

WHERE: Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Road (across the street from the Southwest Recreation Center)

LEFT TOP: Attendees experiment with erosion by learning how water and sand can change the shape of our beaches at last year’s Can You Dig It.

PHOTO BY KRISTEN GRACE

such as washing, cleaning, chopping and mixing. The day of, Franklin wakes up to start cooking at 4 a.m. so that everything is fresh. At about 9 a.m., she is at the museum setting up tables and putting all the food on display. And her day hasn’t even gotten started.

Now entering its eighth year, Can You Dig It is a free, annual event hosted by the museum and the University of Florida’s Department of Geological Sciences, said Amanda Harvey, an educator at the museum. On March 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., children, adults and students can take part in interactive demos both inside and outside the museum. In the central gallery, there will be tables manned by volunteers who will discuss different topics such as sand formation and deep ocean drilling.

The one demo most children look forward to is the volcano eruption, Harvey said. One of her favorite stations, however, is the earthquake demo. When entering the classroom space where the demonstration is held, a large group of people jumps on a mat that then projects the magnitude of the quake.

“There’s lot of hands-on things involved, so I think everyone gets a kick out of it,” she said.

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LEFT BOTTOM: Andrew Zimmerman, an associate professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at UF, explains the Secrets of Sand to guests.

At press time, Harvey was unsure of the new items that will be at this year’s event. However, there will be about 15 to 20 stations from which children and adults can learn. Each station is staffed by knowledgeable volunteers from the museum and from the department of geological sciences. This year’s tagline is “Dig Into the Ground Beneath Your Feet.”

Children also have the opportunity to receive a prize at the end of their visit. Upon entrance, all children will receive a Passport to the Universe. Each station has a stamp, and if they fill up their passports with every stamp, they’ll get either a gem or mineral when they leave. Harvey said she expects to have about 1,000 to 2,000 people at this year’s event.

Franklin, who has been farming and growing since 1996, said she first participated as a vendor when her store was invited to several special events around Gainesville, which was how the shop was noticed by the museum. She and her team have loved every event the museum offered, and they continue to support local activities.

“It’s educational that involves all ages, and [you’re] never too old to learn something every day,” she said. s

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COLUMN >> BRIAN “KRASH� KRUGER

Gate Crashing On Deck: The Procrastinators, Root Doctors, She He He, Bill Perry Orchestra DATE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014 VENUE: 1982 BAR reetings, live music aficionados! With 4 bands, let’s cut straight to the music.

Up first were The Procrastinators, the new band fronted by Rob “Dark� Smith. This basic rock trio (guitar, bass, drums) picks up where Rob’s prior quartet, Big Oil, left off, albeit slightly more stripped down instrumentally. Big Oil in turn was a slightly morphed turn on Rob’s quartets from the ‘90s, Gritkisser and Grain.

All of these bands might be said to mix a swampy Southern rock sound with a good deal of punk/indie sensibility and volume, and at least a hint of garage. A sort of amped-up alt-country, referred to by some as “y’allternative,� albeit without a Southern drawl.

Rob’s choice of guitars for the set complimented the material well, including a Gibson SG Junior and a “TV Yellow� Les Paul Special, with his bassist on a Fender Precision. Smith’s two guitars both featured P-90 pickups, found originally on Gibson guitars in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, before Gibson switched to “humbuckers.

To many guitarists and rock fans, this sort of single-coil

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pickup with a massive magnet produces the perfect rock guitar (excepting metal, hardcore, and ‘80s-style hair-rock) sound, falling somewhere between the treblier twangier Fender-style single coil found on Strats and Telecasters, and Gibson’s later creamier sounding dual-coil humbuckers. Think the Who’s “Live at Leeds� and Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen� and you’ll know the sound of a P-90.

The Procrastinators played a loud set of originals, including “Go Fishin’� (an up-tempo country blues that dates back to Big Oil and perhaps the Gritkisser days), “Hey Jospehine,� “Angel of Thompkin’s Square� and the rocking “road� song “Takes One to Know One,� as well as a cover of a song by the alt-country band Slobberbone. Did I mention sweet backing vox by the bassist? I have now.

Next up were Root Doctors, whom I’ve mentioned in a previous column a couple years back, whose history as a band goes back to the ‘90s, and whose members’ participation in the local scene goes back much further.

This was the first show I’d seen them play since the death last year of lead guitarist Charlie Scales (the owner of longtime local record store Hyde ‘N’ Zeke), to

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whom they dedicated a song.

Lead singer Jim McKay is still the frontman, which is almost always the key to continuation in a band undergoing membership changes. Guitarist Rich Groene continues with his G&L Strat in that slot, but former bassist and backing vocalist Bryan Blair has moved over from bass to guitar (an Epiphone G300 SG, if you need to know). The bass slot has been filled by the very same Rob Dark from the Procrastinators (for this show, at least) on a sweet G&L bass.

The Docs inhabit the same general Southern rock genre as the preceding band, but take it in a slightly bluesier direction and with more experimentation into other genres, including surf and a couple songs with a reggae beat. Their originals, including those more experimental ones, also include the hard rocking “When The Sh*t Comes Down” and the more lyrically hippietastic “It’s All Love.”

Up third were She He He from Athens, Georgia.

Though from the name you might expect a trio, in fact they are a five piece with two women vocalists, one of whom plays rhythm guitar (a Strat). Guys fill the remaining slots on drums/backing vocals, Fender Jazz (that’s a model name, not his musical style) bass, and

lead guitar (an ESP Les Paul style). They have a hard rock/garage style reminiscent of the Donnas, with just a pinch of Blondiesque pop hooks. Lyrically, several of their songs are about rock and roll itself, including unironic exhortations to “burn it down,” and they also covered the Misfits’ “Horror Business.” Good times.

Speaking of good times, wrapping up the evening was the Bill Perry Orchestra, that night playing the first gig of their 30th Anniversary year.

The BPO is sort of a performance art collective which has probably had a couple dozen members playing with Bill, a local painter who is the lead vocalist and plays keyboards and assorted other instruments. With the exception of a more straightforward song written and sung by lap steel guitarist Lisa Johnson, the material Bill writes is pretty outre’, but humorous, including subjects like Yoko Ono shopping for citrus, being shushed in the library, the effects of too much coffee, and a love song called “The Shape of Your Nose.” Laying down the beat for the set on a minimalist kit consisting of a snare drum and some wooden crates was longtime local scene drummer Blue Lang, with guitar supplied by your humble author.

Now, go see some bands. s

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Home Health Care While health professionals are trying to find ways to make health care more affordable, Seniors are seeking ways to maintain their independence. Both groups are finding a common solution – home health care.

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ur goal is to keep Seniors as independent as possible and in their homes for as long as possible, along with keeping them out of the hospital,” said Pamela Morgan, Senior Director of Professional Services with Mederi Caretenders of Gainesville. “It’s cheaper for a patient to be seen by a home care nurse once a week for two years than it is for an emergency room visit. Hospitals are looking at how to decrease re-hospitalizations, and home care is going to be the big component to doing that.”

So what exactly does “home care” encompass? With National Home Care Month upon us, Morgan discussed the many facets of quality inhome care that Mederi Caretenders provides.

Nursing – Nurses care for wounds, give injections, reconcile and assess medication regime compliance and perform other medical care functions. They also assess the patient’s situation and educate relatives or caregivers. “When you have caregivers suddenly taking care of a family member, they don’t understand the disease process, they don’t understand all the medications,” said Morgan. “We can teach them how to take care of their family member and know what to expect.”

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therapists help with everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing and preparing food. Many elderly patients are not easily able to travel to another therapy location, where their in-home environment is not always replicated. “We can modify things that they can’t when they’re going to an outpatient facility or hospital,” Morgan explained. “We look at their home and, for example, explain how to negotiate stairs.”

Speech Therapy – Speech therapists assess and assist patients in regaining or improving communication and swallowing. They can also administer VitalStim, a therapy that uses electronic stimulation along with swallowing exercises to help the patient relearn how to swallow. Speech therapists also provide therapy to teach the patient and caregiver about foods to eat or avoid.

Home Health Aide – A home health aide can help a client perform basic tasks like bathing and grooming, making a light meal and changing linens.

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Taste of the Town

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Mark’s Prime Steakhouse & Seafood 201 SE 2nd Avenue, Gainesville, FL (Historic Downtown) Monday: 5:00pm - 9:00pm • Tues-Sat: 5:00pm to 10:00pm Happy Hour: 5:00pm - 7:00pm

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NEIGHBORHOOD GRILL — Featuring Harris Ranch All Natural Prime Steaks, All Natural Chicken (no antibiotics, no steroids) and local produce. Join us for the love of Fine Spirits, Food and Music! Live Music on Friday & Saturday! Come listen to the area’s best Jazz and Blues bands every Saturday for “Music & Martinis” with $5 Martinis all night!

We muddle, pour, mix & Stir! So join us for Happy Hour at our bar, big enough to bring all your friends! Join us for a nooner! Our casual cuisine is perfect for lunch in a rush. Private Dining Room available for rental, perfect for your next rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, baby shower, birthday party, corporate luncheon, etc.

Adam’s Rib Co. 211 NW 13th Street, Gainesville, Florida 32609 1515 SW 13th Street Gainesville, Florida 32608 Monday - Saturday: 7am to 9pm Sunday: 9am to 9pm

352-373-8882NW 352-727-4005SW AdamsRibCo.com BARBECUE — Looking for the best BBQ in Gainesville? Then look no further than Adam’s Rib Company. Adam’s Rib is North Florida’s Premier Barbecue restaurant, serving North Florida’s finest beef brisket, pulled pork, bbq spare ribs and slow smoked chicken and turkey. Choose from over 20 sauces – from honey sweet to habanero hot – and everything in between. Don’t forget dessert, like their scrumptious “Banana Pudding” and their famous Peach Cobbler. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Adam’s can cater any event locally. Give Adam a call for your next tailgate party 352-514-8692!

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Heavenly Ham 3832 W. Newberry Rd Ste 1-C Located in Plaza Royale next to Moe’s Mon- Fri 10AM – 6PM Sat 10AM – 4PM Sun 11:30AM -3PM

352-375-8050 www.heavenlyhamgainesville.com LUNCH / CATERING / HOLIDAYS — Heavenly Ham Market Café has the best custom hand tossed salads in Gainesville! Seriously!

With over 20 toppings, 10 dressings, and 8 different meats to choose from, our custom hand tossed salads are sure to please. In addition to our salads, we hand craft our signature & classic sandwiches made to order. Delicious Vie de France bread is baked daily so that it is at its freshest when we prepare your box lunch either for dine-in, carry out, or delivery. We also carry a line of hot sandwiches & panini like our Roasted Chicken Florentine Panini made with fresh baby spinach, toasted on ciabatta with melted provolone cheese and our house made Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Dos Mamas 2017 NE 27th Ave. Gainesville, Florida 32609 Monday - Thursday 11am – 4pm Friday 11am - 11pm

352-505-0369

www.dosmamascatering.com

HOME STYLE — New to the North East part of Gainesville, Dos Mama’s has fast become a great local establishment. No they are not a Mexican joint. Just a down-home restaurant serving up Mama’s finger licking home-style cookin’. Terra and Rosa, your new mama’s, have over 40 years of combined experience in the Food and Beverage industry to make sure you get what you expect. Customer Service is NUMBER ONE to these Mama’s. Live entertainment is also on the menu at Dos Mama’s, with local bands ranging from Blues to Jazz to Rock and Roll. With Little Jake Mitchell and the Soul Searchers and Little Mike and the Tornados all sharing Friday nights and putting on a great show.

Gator Tales Sports Bar 5112 NW 34th Blvd (across from the YMCA) Mon-Tues 11:30 - 12am • Wed, Thurs, Fri 11:30 - 2am Saturday 9:00 - 2am • Sunday 9 - 12am

(352)-376-9500

www.gator-tales.com

BAR & GRILL — GATOR TALES Sports Bar features 3 large separate entertainment areas! You can relax at our Tiki bar in a large covered outdoor patio with tropical tunes enjoying 3 large screen TV’s. If you prefer to be inside, visit the sports bar, where you can find large TV’s, a performance stage with nightly entertainment including karaoke, live bands and acoustical sets. We have a separate pool hall and offer two happy hours every day. Gator Tales has a variety of domestic and import beers including a local favorite Swamphead Stompknocker and BigNose. Appetizers black angus burgers, gator tail, and salads.

Breakfast served all day everyday. Check our website for trivia, karaoke and other events.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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SPECIAL RESTAURANT ADVERTISING SECTION. CALL 352.372-5468 FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION.

Napolatanos 606 NW 75th Street Gainesville, FL Monday - Thursday & Sunday 4:00pm-10:00pm Friday 4:00pm-2:00am • Saturday 4:00pm-11:00pm

352-332-6671

www.napolatanos.com

ITALIAN — Napolatanos is the longest original owner operated restaurant in Gainesville. Nappys, the name the locals have given Napolatanos has the most extensive menu. Whether you choose pizza, calzones, salad, burgers, sandwiches, pasta, seafood, steak dinners or the best chicken wings in town, Nappy’s uses only the freshest ingredients. Visit on Tuesday & Wednesday for half price appetizers. Save up to $4 on pizza on Thursday and $5 off bottles of wine on Saturday. Outside dining with live music on Sunday evenings. Family meals for pick-up starting at $21.95.

Newberry’s Backyard BBQ 25405 W Newberry Rd, Newberry Monday-Wednesday 11am-9pm • Thursday 11am-9pm Friday and Saturday 11am-11pm • Sunday 10:30am-8pm

352.472.7260

newberrybbq.com

BBQ — The one and only Newberry’s Backyard BBQ is located in our historic building in beautiful downtown Newberry. Our pork, chicken, beef, and turkey is smoked to perfection daily. Our salads and sides are always fresh. If you are thirsty we have the best sweet tea in the South and a full bar as well. Make sure to bring your kids, we serve their meals on a frisbee that they take home. For your entertainment, we always have live music on Friday nights and Karaoke on Saturday evenings. Always remember big or small we cater all gatherings.

Brown’s Country Buffet 14423 NW US Hwy 441, Alachua, FL 32616 Monday-Friday: 7am - 8pm Saturday: 7am - 2pm Sunday: 8am - 3pm

386-462-3000 Brown’s Country Buffet is country-style cooking at its finest, just like Grandma’s house! A buffet style restaurant, Brown’s Country Buffet is open seven days a week! Foods like fried chicken, grilled pork chops, real mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage, banana pudding and coconut pie, just to name a few, are served in a laid back, relaxing environment.

We offer AYCE fried shrimp on Friday nights from 4-8 along with whole catfish & ribs. In addition to their buffet, Brown’s also offers a full menu to choose from. You are sure to find something to satisfy any craving at Brown’s. Serving lunch and dinner daily and a breakfast buffet Friday-Sunday until 10:30am, you’re sure to leave satisfied, no matter when you go. So, when you’re in the mood for some good home cooking, Grandma’s style, visit Brown’s Country Buffet.

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Dave’s New York Deli 12921 SW 1st Road • Tioga Town Center Open 7 Days

352-333-0291

www.DavesNYDeli.com

AUTHENTIC NY DELI — The Reviews are in and here’s what customers are saying about Dave’s NY Deli Tioga Town Center!

“Best Reuben, Best Pastrami, Best Philly, and Best Wings” Dave’s continues to be the place to go for authentic NY Deli food and Philly Cheesesteaks. Owner Dave Anders says “Nothing beats quality ingredients combined with a friendly staff. We bring in all of our Pastrami and Corned Beef and Cheesecake from New York’s Carnegie Deli. In addition we offer Nathan’s Hot Dogs, NY Kettle Boiled Bagels, Nova Salmon, Knish, Cannolies, Philly Cheesesteaks, Wings, Cubans, Subs, Kids Menu and more.”

Come out and enjoy Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at Dave’s NY Deli.

Now serving beer and wine.

Copper Monkey West 14209 W Newberry Road, Jonesville, FL 32669 Across from the Steeplechase Publix Sunday-Thursday 11am - 11pm • Friday-Saturday 11am - 12am

352-363-6338

mycoppermonkey.com

Restaurant & Pub — Located in the heart of Jonesville, this All-American dining is convenient to all neighborhoods in Gainesville, Alachua, Newberry, High Springs and beyond. Our family-friendly dining features great food at a great price. Whether you come in for the “best burger in town” or try any one of our freshly made salads, pastas or sandwiches, you will not leave disappointed. Our USDA choice steaks, served with 2 sides, offer a great alternative for the perfect celebratory meal. We also feature a full-service bar with signature drinks and many options for your viewing pleasure. Great food, great price, we’ll see you soon.

Northwest Grille 5115 Northwest 39th Ave., Gainesville 32606 Open 7 Days: 11am to 10pm (Friday open until 11pm) Saturday & Sunday: Serving brunch 10am to 3pm

352-376-0500

www.northwestgrillegainesville.com

SEAFOOD — Locally owned and operated, Northwest Grille has been providing the finest quality fish and seafood entrees in a friendly atmosphere since 1996. Whether it’s their fresh, local seafood and fish, or handcrafted sauces and specialty desserts, Northwest Grille has something to please your palate. Meat lovers will enjoy the hand-cut steaks and vegetarians will love the wide range of vegetarian options.

Serving lunch and dinner daily, Northwest Grille, offers an extensive brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-3pm. Northwest Grille also features a full liquor bar with nightly drink specials. Happy hour is served daily from 3pm-7pm and all day on Wednesday – offering a wide assortment of craft beer, wine and $5 martinis.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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SPECIAL RESTAURANT ADVERTISING SECTION. CALL 352.372-5468 FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION.

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ive days a week, Dos Mama’s serves a bevy of home-cooked favorites for the residents and workers on the east side of Gainesville.

From their chicken and dumplings to their famed Cuban sandwiches, co-owners Terra LaFleur and Rosa Sandoval enjoy serving what their customers often don’t have time to make themselves.

But Dos Mama’s isn’t just a restaurant. LaFleur and Sandoval have also expanded the catering side of their business, offering their services for cocktail parties, receptions, rehearsals, fundraisers and more.

And by “more,” they mean pretty much anything a customer can think of.

“We are your custom caterer. That’s our thing,” said LaFleur. “We can do anything – gluten-free, vegetarian, anything that you want, we can do it for you.”

Dos Mama’s handles all kinds of events from small gatherings to large extravaganzas. Whether a customer wants plated meals, a buffet or a variety of hors d’oeuvres, every job gets top quality food made from scratch.

The duo met while working at another establishment in Gainesville, where LaFleur was the catering manager and Sandoval was the front house manager. The women struck up a friendship and

realized that their 40 years of combined food and beverage experience would be a great foundation for their own business. They opened Dos Mama’s in May of 2012 with a focus not only on quality home-cooked food, but on premium customer service as well.

“We are hands-on owners; we want to make sure the customers are happy,” said LaFleur. “With some chains around town, you don’t see the owners. Rosa and I are there at all times. If someone has a problem, we can take care of it.”

The restaurant is open for lunch five days a week, with expanded hours on Fridays for dinner and live local music. The pair also regularly participates in charity events such as Souper Fun Sunday and Taste of Gainesville.

Whether it’s the restaurant, the catering work or the community it serves, the ladies of Dos Mama’s keep one simple mantra in mind.

“We have the best food and service,” said LaFleur. “That’s it.”

Dos Mama’s is located at 2017 NE 27 Avenue in Gainesville. Visit www.dosmamasgainesville.com for operating hours, menu and other information.

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CALENDAR If you would like to have an event considered for publication in this calendar, please submit information directly. post 4400 NW 36th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32606 | e-mail editor@towerpublications.com | fax 352-373-9178

BASEBALL FOR ALL! Multiple Dates Times Vary ALBERT “RAY” MASSEY (WESTSIDE) PARK - Ball Field #3. Free program offered through a partnership with the non-profit corporation Noah’s Endeavor, Inc., for children with special physical and developmental needs. The program teaches children to be comfortable on the field while they have fun and learn important safety skills. Please call Noah’s Endeavor: 352-275-9639, or info@ noahsendeavor.org. Visit

www.noahsendeavor.org, www. cityofgainesvilleparks.org.

HIGH SPRINGS MUSIC IN THE PARK Third Sunday of Every Month 2:00pm - 4:00pm HIGH SPRINGS - James Paul Park and Community Garden, 200 North Main St. Every third Sunday, come enjoy local music and fresh air out in the park. Bring lawn chairs, refreshments, and blankets. Admission is free. 352-275-4190.

ARTWALK GAINESVILLE Last Friday of Every Month 7:00pm - 10:00pm BO DIDDLEY PLAZA Self-guided tour of downtown’s galleries, eateries and businesses. Pick up a map near Bo Diddley Plaza, visit more than a

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dozen spots, including local landmarks like the Hippodrome and The Sequential Artists Workshop. Watch live performances throughout the night, as well. www.

artwalkgainesville.com.

A 10,000-MILE JOURNEY Now April 13 Times Vary THE FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY - 3215 Hull Rd. Art joins science to reveal the wonders and perils of the Swallow-tailed Kite’s migration in a six-month installation at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida. The paintings, poetry, and photography of Margo McKnight, Chris Cock, and Jim Gray bring to life Avian Research and Conservation Institute’s exciting discoveries about the year-round ecology of this alluring raptor. 352-846-2000.

FILM AND ARTS FESTIVAL Feb. 13 – Feb. 16 Times Vary THE HISTORIC DEPOT STATION - 201 SE Depot Ave. The Cinema Verde Environmental Film and Arts festival features more than 30 films on topics, including food, water, waste, energy, animals, sustainable life, business and government. It brings together organizations, businesses and citizens to take steps toward a greener future. www.

cinemaverde.org.

BATTLE OF OLUSTEE REENACTMENT Feb. 14 - 16 8:00am - 5:00pm OLUSTEE - Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park, 5815 Battlefield Trail Rd. Take yourself back to the 19th century at the 38th Annual Reenactment of the Battle of Olustee. This year will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Thousands will come out for an accurate period reenactment of Florida’s most important Civil War battle. 386-397-4478.

AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES AT FLORIDA MUSEUM Feb. 15 – March 31 Times vary FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY - Visit the museum’s “Butterfly Rainforest” exhibit to experience large numbers of spectacular, exotic butterflies from Africa. Enjoy daily butterfly releases at 2pm.

GOLF SCRAMBLE Saturday, February 15 8:30am IRONWOOD GOLF COURSE - 2100 NE 39th Ave. The four-person-team golf scramble benefits the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy Organization. The cost is $75 and includes breakfast, lunch, prizes, range balls, greens fees, drink ticket and a cart. There will also be a silent auction with

items from Disney, SeaWorld, Salon 119, Trader Joe’s, Marriott Hotels and more.

407-301-2634.

FARM-TO-TABLE DINNER Saturday, February 15 4:30pm ALACHUA - Swallowtail Farm, 17603 NW 276 Ln. Featuring Chef Gail Johnson of Delicious Delivered, food from Swallowtail Farm and surrounding local farms will be artfully prepared by Gainesville area celebrity chefs, highlighting the wonderful local food culture. Dress casually and wear comfortable shoes. Tour the farm.

At 6:30 guests will gather at the harvest table for cocktails, music, good company and appetizers. Cost: $80. 352-840-7170. www.

swallowtailcsa.com.

GAINESVILLE CIVIC CHORUS Feb. 15 and Feb. 16 Times TBA GAINESVILLE AND OCALA - Lauredsen’s Lux Aeterna and Bach’s Easter Oratorio will be performed at Gainesville’s Holy Trinity Episcopal February 15 and Ocala’s First Methodist on February 16. www.gcchorus.org.

WOLF TO WOOF: THE STORY OF DOGS Feb. 15 - Sept. 1 Times Vary FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY - 3215 Hull Rd. “Wolf to Woof” is an exhibit on the

history, biology and evolution of dogs. This family friendly exhibit reveals the fascinating history of dogs, their connection with wolves and what makes them man’s best friend.

352-846-2000.

RESTORE THE MUSIC FESTIVAL Feb. 22 and Feb. 23 1:00pm — 1:00am DOWNTOWN - There will be 150 bands and multiple stages.

They are accepting submissions from musicians, vendors, sponsors and volunteers. The festival is open to all unsigned musicians with original music of all genres. A portion of the proceeds will benefit VH1 Save The Music Foundation.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 after Feb. 7. www.kdpromo.com.

3-D FLUORESCENT MUSEUM OPENING

Will Muschamp Scramble for Kids Friday, February 22 7:00am – 6:00pm MARK BOSTICK GOLF COURSE - 2800 SW Second Ave. Will Muschamp Scramble for Kids is a hole-in-one for area charities. The event benefits Children’s Home Society of Florida, Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County and Girls Place. 352-334-0955.

Feb. 21 – Feb. 23 Times vary NEWBERRY - 25310 Newberry Road.

America’s first 3-D fluorescent museum is holding a grand opening. The museum displays art created for black light, designed to be seen with 3-D glasses. 352-379-5642.

WINE CELEBRATION Sunday, February 23 1:00pm - 4:00pm REITZ UNION - This is the 25th annual benefit wine tasting and auction for public radio stations WUFTFM 89.1 and WJUF-FM 90.1. Enjoy wines from around the world, culinary delights and a silent and live auction.

Tickets are $60 in advance, and $75 at the door. 352-294-7138.

Winter Art Fair March 7 - 9

Times Vary

JONESVILLE - Tioga Town Center, 105 SW 128th St. The Gainesville Fine Arts Association is presenting its Winter Art Fair. Over 100 artists will gather, along with continuous entertainment centrally located at The Square. 5,000 attendees expected. www.gainesvillefinearts.com.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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SPRING BLING Tuesday, February 25 Times Vary ET YORK CARE CENTER - 4200 NW 90th Blvd. Haven Hospice Alliance’s inaugural Spring Bling. Shop for lightly used jackets, handbags and jewelry.

Enjoy a variety of teas and treats donated from Celebrations Catering and Simply Delightful Confections. $5 entry fee. Advance reservations preferred; email your name and total guests in your party to alliance@ havenhospice.org or call 352-692-5177.

ARTWALK CRAFT & COTTAGE FOOD FAIR Friday, February 28 7:00pm - 9:00pm CITIZEN’S CO-OP - 435 S. Main St. Art, food, music and drinks In the Courtyard. Peruse art, crafts and food offerings from local vendors. 352-505-6575.

RACE THE TORTOISE 5K Saturday, March 1 7:00 HIGH SPRINGS - O’Leno State Park, 410 S.E. O’Leno Park Road. This is an out-and-back race along the Park’s scenic, paved main road. Gates close at 7:30am. Race begins at 8:00am. For more information about prices and registration, call 386-454-0723.

TOUR OF KITCHENS Saturday, March 1 10:00am – 4:00pm JUNIOR LEAGUE OF GAINESVILLE - 403 N. Main St. Visit Gainesville’s finest homes, kitchens and outdoor spaces. This year’s tour will feature a select group of

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homes and restaurants.

All proceeds benefit the Junior League’s community projects: Kids in the Kitchen, Miracle on Main Street and Read with Me Children’s Literacy Initiative. www.

gainesvillejrleague.org.

NPR STORY CORPS MOBILE BOOTH STOP Friday, March 7 10:30am DOWNTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY - 401 E. University Ave. Record a conversation with a loved one or friend.

Select interviews will be on NPR Morning Edition on Friday.

352-339-2063.

TOUR DE SWAMP FIRST FRIDAY Friday, March 7 5:00pm - 10:00pm DOWNTOWN - Grab your fixed gears, road bikes, and cruisers and get ready for an evening around downtown to remember. This event will feature a chance for pre-registered participants to partake in a mini-bicycle race; a Gator Cycle bike safety tent; and reusable water bottle decorating contest! www.pledge5.org.

DUDLEY KIDS PROGRAM Saturday, March 8 10:00am - 2:00pm NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park. 18730 West Newberry Rd. This month’s theme will be “Eat Your Vegetables,” as part of the “Kids Fun on the Farm” every second Saturday October through May at Dudley Farm Historic State Park, 352-472-1142.

WRITERS ALLIANCE OF GAINESVILLE Sunday, March 9 2:30pm – 4:00pm MILLHOPPER BRANCH LIBRARY - 3145 NW 43rd St. David Greenberg, marketing consultant, will speak on “How to Market Your Book.”

Greenberg founded David Greenberg Communications, Inc., a public relations/ marketing/advertising agency, in 1999. WAG monthly meetings are free and open to anyone interested in the written word. www.

writersalliance.org.

ST. AUGUSTINE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT Wednesday, March 12 6:00pm PUGH HALL - UF Campus.

The Samuel Proctor Oral History will host a public panel called “If It Takes All Summer.”

Martin Luther King Jr. came to northeast Florida and remarked that St. Augustine was “the most segregated city in America” at the time. He pledged to defeat segregation using nonviolence, even “if it takes all summer.”

This panel will be a vibrant commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the St. Augustine movement.

352-392-7168.

GATOR GOBBLERS HUNTING HERITAGE BANQUET Thursday, March 13 5:30pm ALACHUA - Rembert’s Rock Hollow Farm, 13014 NW 174th Ave. National Wild Turkey Federation’s local chapter Gator

Gobblers, a non-profit conservation group, introduces youth, women and Handicap to their love of the outdoors. They do this through events such as Ladies shotgun clinic, youth hunts, family bow shoot. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; dinner at 7:00 p.m. Followed by a live auction. $55 single, $100 couple, $30 kids, $275 sponsor, $700 sponsor table (8 seats). Missie Schneider at 352-316-0073 or GatorGobblers.NWTF@gmail.com.

GATOR NATIONALS March 13 – March 16 Times Vary AUTO-PLUS RACEWAY 11223 N. County Road 225. 45th Annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals, the traditional East Coast opener is the season’s first of 16 events for pro-stock motorcycle riders and first of 10 for pro-mod racers.

This event is one of the sport’s mostrevered, with a rich tradition of historymaking performances.

352-377-0046.

OBSERVERSHIP FOR ‘THE TEMPEST’ March 14, 21, 28 & April 4, 9 Times Vary HIPPODROME THEATRE - 25 SE Second Place. Ever wanted a behind-thescenes look at how the Hipp brings a production from the page to the stage?

Meet the theater professionals who put it all together in an engaging session that will lead you through the creative process of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”

Participants will see

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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designed presentations, a read-though with the case, rehearsals and other elements of the artistic process. The observership ends with a preview performance and post-show session with the cast and creative team. www.

thehipp.org.

CLINT LACINAK ST. PATRICK’S SHAMROCK 5K Saturday, March 15 7:00am ST. PATRICK INTERPARISH SCHOOL - 550 NE 16th Ave. Run or walk with us as we celebrate the life of Clint Lacinak.

In the spirit of St. Patrick, run, walk or roll through the grounds at St. Patrick’s school, Northeast Park and Gainesville’s charming, historic Duckpond neighborhood. www.

clintlacinak.org.

RUN FOR HAVEN Saturday, March 15 4:00pm

Antique Tractor and Car Day Saturday, March 15 9:00am to 2:00pm NEWBERRY - Dudley Farm Historic State Park. 18730 West Newberry Rd. Learn about our rich heritage as members of the North Florida Antique Tractor Club demonstrate the importance of the tractor to agriculture. They will plow a sugar cane field on a variety of vintage machines, dating from the 1930s. The local Antique Automobile Club of America will display their cars for your viewing pleasure. Admission: $5.00 a car, with up to 8 occupants. 352-472-1142. www.friendsofdudleyfarm.org.

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NEWBERRY - Tioga Town Center, 140 SW 128th St. The Fifth Annual Run for Haven, put on by Haven Hospice, will feature a 5K and 10K run/walk with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. Other children’s activities, costume contests, food and music will be available.

Call 352-331-8773 to pre-register.

FAMILY DAY AT THE DAIRY FARM Saturday, March 15 9:00am – 2:00pm HAGUE - Now in its third year, Family Day at the Dairy Farm is free and open to the public. It takes place at the UF dairy farm in Hague, 20 minutes northwest of Gainesville. The

event offers visitors an up-close look at the operation of a real working dairy farm, and information about the UF research and Extension projects that help Florida’s dairy farms improve their production and herd health. Directions are available at www.

familydayatthedairyfarm.info.

KIWANIS PANCAKE BREAKFAST Saturday, March 15 7:30am – 11:00am GAINESVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - 1900 NW 13th St. Come to a pancake breakfast hosted by the Gainesville Kiwanis clubs, held in the Gainesville High school cafeteria. $5/ person; kids under 12 accompanied by parent eat free. Takeouts are available and the portions are generous.

Proceeds from the breakfast support youth-oriented projects throughout Gainesville.

Info: 335-3985 or email

patbartlet@yahoo.com.

FARM-TO-TABLE DINNER Saturday, March 15 4:30pm ALACHUA - Swallowtail Farm, 17603 NW 276 Ln. As part of the 2013-2014 Farm to Table Dinner Series, Chef Jose Gonzalez of the Jones B-Side will be preparing dinner.

The series highlights delicious food from Swallowtail Farm and surrounding local farms that is artfully prepared by Gainesville area celebrity chefs, celebrating the wonderful local food culture. Tickets are $80 and will go toward sustaining Swallowtail Farm. 352-840-7170.

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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FLORIDA MUSEUM’S ‘SCIENCE CAFÉ’ Monday, March 17 6:30pm JONESVILLE - Saboré.

Hyatt and Cici Brown Professor of Florida Archaeology Kenneth Sassaman from UF’s department of anthropology, “Futurescapes of Ancient Native Americans of the Florida Gulf Coast.”

Participants purchase their own food and beverage for each program from a special Science Café menu, with seating and ordering beginning at 6 p.m. Please note seating is on a first-come basis (except when wheelchair access is requested in advance) and participation is limited. To help plan for these free programs, please RSVP at least one week in advance of the café date with your name and the number attending by emailing aerickson@flmnh.ufl. edu or calling Amanda Erickson Harvey, 352-273-2062.

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March 21 – March 29 Times vary THORNEBROOK GALLERY 2441 NW 43 St. Suite 6D. For the last three years, Thornebrook Gallery has offered a show called “The Mob” featuring local artists.

A one-week showing with an opening party the evening of Friday March 21st from 6:00 until 9:00 and a closing party from 3:00 until 5:00 on Saturday March 29th.

www.thornebrookgallery.com.

352-378-4947.

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ELLA FITZGERALD Friday, March 21 7:30pm – 9:30pm PHILLIPS CENTER - UF Campus. This tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, “The First Lady of Song,” features the 17-piece Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and vocalist Delores King Williams — a winner of the Billie Holiday Vocal Competition who has performed at the White House and Carnegie Hall. The evening centers on original arrangements created for Fitzgerald in the ‘40s and ‘50s, which haven’t been heard by live audiences in more than 40 years. www.

performingarts.ufl.edu.

SPIRIT OF CHARITY GALA March 22 6:00pm – 11:00pm STEPHEN C. O’CONNELL CENTER - Prepare for a night of great food, music and fun. Dinner will be provided, and there will be live music.

352-392-5500.

KANAPAHA SPRING GARDEN FESTIVAL March 22 - 23 Times Vary KANAPAHA GARDENS 4700 SW 58th Dr. This is Gainesville’s premier horticultural event. The Spring Garden Festival features about 200 booths offering plants, landscape displays, garden accessories, arts and crafts, educational exhibits and, of course, foods. www.kanapaha.org.

G. F. HANDEL’S MESSIAH Sunday, March 23 3:00pm p.m.

HOLY TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH - Hear Messiah as you’ve never heard it before, with 16

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by John T. Lowe, Jr. Arrive early for best seating! 352-372-4721.

holytrinitygnv.org.

FLORIDA MUSEUM HOSTS K-5 SPRING BREAK CAMPS March 24 – March 28 Times Vary FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Students will have the opportunity to investigate life on the farm and immerse themselves in theatrical magic. Camps are offered as full- or half-day programs. In the morning students will get “Down on the Farm” by learning more about domestic animals and how they are essential parts of our lives. In the afternoon students will experience “Movie Magic” and discover the science behind the magic in movies and what puts the “special” in special effects. 352-273-2061.

www.flmnh.ufl.edu.

FALLEN HEROES 5K Saturday, March 29 9:00am

Viva ! 2014 African Safari Saturday, April 12 Time TBA ALACHUA - Rembert Farm. ViVA! is Haven Hospice’s signature fundraising event that had over 600 attendees in 2013. Food and drink from Blue Water Bay, auctions, live music and entertainment. For more information about this event, to become a sponsor, auction donor or to purchase a ticket, please contact Stephanie Brod at 352-271-4665 or email smbrod@havenhospice.org.

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UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA - Commuter Parking Lot Gale Lemerand Dr. Benefits from the race will go to the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting wounded military members by providing free living facilities to their families. A portion of the funding will also go the UDT-SEAL Association, a nonprofit organization that provides support to veterans. For more information about NROTC’s Fallen Heroes 5K, contact Hank Murphy at 813-454-7218.

INDIA FEST AND HEALTH FAIR Saturday, March 29 9:00am – 6:00pm SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE GYMNASIUM 3000 NW 83rd St. ICEC would like to invite everyone to its biggest annual cultural even.

India Fest showcases the diverse culture and traditions of India via music programs and dance performances.

Alongside, there is a sale of exquisite Indian jewelry, art décor, traditional attire and moth-watering cuisine.

352-871-7112.

SPLENDOR: NEW YORK NIGHTS Saturday, March 29 6:00pm NADINE MCGUIRE THEATRE AND DANCE PAVILION - UF Campus.

A gala celebration of the performing arts, including dinner, dancing and a silent auction. Proceeds benefit the UF School of Music and the UF School of Theatre + Dance and will help provide program support and scholarships.

352-846-1218.

OLD TIMERS’ DAY Saturday, April 5 10:00am – 2:00pm HIGH SPRINGS Ichetucknee Springs State Park. Experience a wealth of information about life in “Old Florida.” Plans in the works might include a potluck dinner, a setting at which the “Old Timers” (those whose families lived around and visited the springs before it was a state park) reminisce about the “good ‘ole

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days.” Interpretive van trip to cultural sites, such as the Mission de San Martin de Timucua site and the old gristmill footprint at Mill Pond Spring.

ichetuckneealliance.org.

HOGTOWN CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL Saturday, April 5 1:00pm KANAPAHA BOTANICAL GARDENS - Expect craft beer from most Florida craft breweries as well as many other regional and national breweries, food and craft beer pairings from local restaurants and caterers, beer education, a homebrewing tent and more.

The cost of the beer fest and food pairing is $55. www.hogtownbeerfest.com.

SPRING ARTS FESTIVAL April 5 – 6 Times Vary HISTORIC DISTRICT - NE 1st Street. 45th Annual Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival.

GOLF AND GALA Sunday, April 6 All Day HAILE PLANTATION GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB - Rotary Club of Gainesville Fisher House’s 5th Annual Golf and Gala includes a day full of competitive golfing, then sway to the rhythm and heartbeat

of Spain at the “Night in Barcelona” Gala.

Golfers will enjoy a latemorning Bloody Mary to kick off the day, and can continue to indulge with refreshing margaritas, bang-bang shrimp, juicy sausages and more!

For gala reservations, please email gfisherhouse@ gmail.com. If you have questions concerning the golf tournament, email Robbie Stevens at

roblyn1927@gmail.com.

ALLIGATOR LAKE SPRING FESTIVAL Saturday, April 12 8:00am – 3:00pm LAKE CITY - Alligator Lake Park. Enjoy a free community festival celebrating nature. Bird walks led by experts start at 8 a.m. on the Florida Birding Trail. Walking workshops highlight butterflies, native plants and flowers.

Vendors and exhibitors offer native plants and nature- and gardenrelated items. Many free activities will be offered for children, and food and drinks will be available.

386-466-2193.

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GAINESVILLE SLOW ART DAY Saturday, April 12 11:00am HARN MUSEUM OF ART - Slow Art Day is a worldwide celebration that encourages people to look at art slowly and thereby experience

art in a new way. Art viewing is from 11:00am to 1:00pm, and lunch is from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. 352-392-9826.

OLD FLORIDA CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS April 12 & 13 10:00am – 5:00pm CEDAR KEY - 2nd St. 50th Annual Spring Arts Festival. This juried event features 120 fine artists and craftsman along with delicious local seafood, homemade baked goods, kid’s activities, music and more in beachfront City Park. This friendly island community is located 60 miles SW of Gainesville at the end of SR-24 in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. Come for the day or the weekend, enjoy art, nature, food & fun in this very special place. Contact Bev Ringenberg: 352-543-540. www.

cedarkeyartsfestival.com.

GAINESVILLE CIVIC CHORUS Sunday, April 13 Times TBA FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - Lenten Reflections! The season closes with the First Presbyterian Chancel Choir joining the GCC in a varied program of music appropriate for the season as part of the First Presbyterian concert series. www.

gcchorus.org.

CARILLON RECITAL Sunday, April 13 3:00pm CENTURY TOWER - UF Campus. Member of UF Carillon Studio will perform on the 61-bell carillon housed in Century Tower. Bring a blanket and picnic lunch to enjoy the historic part of the UF campus while you listen to the sonorous bells. Event is free and open to the public.

352-273-3181.

“OLD FLORIDA” BIRDING AND NATURE FESTIVAL April 18-20 Times Vary GAINESVILLE HAMPTON INN - 101 S.E. 1st Ave. Gainesville Ecotours will offer photography field workshops and paddling opportunities at springs, local rivers and the Alachua Sink at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Hike with the Florida Trail Association and tour the Butterfly Rainforest. The Lubee Bat Conservancy will open its doors for tours from noon to 5:00pm for festival participants, and there will be a sunset tour of Lake Alice and the bat houses on campus.

Lectures include Florida sinkhole geology, an introduction to birding, the history of birding in Gainesville, and nature photography topics.

gainesvillebirdingandnaturefestival. com. 904-704-4087.

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Gator Stompin’ Thur., May 1

Living the Gospel in Downtown Gainesville!

The Rev. Louanne Loch Rector Dr. John T. Lowe Dir. of Music

Sunday Services 8:00am • 10:30am • 6:00pm

BO DIDDLEY COMMUNITY PLAZA The official Gator Stompin’ T-shirt grants you access to more than 80 of Gainesville’s best nightclubs, bars and restaurants for drinks, delicious food and live music. Participants can earn discounted admission by pledging five public service hours to local nonprofits. www.gatorstompin.com.

EASTER EGG HUNT Saturday, April 19 11:00am KANAPAHA BOTANICAL GARDENS - There will be 3,000 candy-filled eggs spread over Kanapaha’s expansive lawns for the youngsters to hunt. Younger kids will start on one side and older kids on the opposite end, so that all kids have a chance to collect eggs.

352-372-4981.

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GAINESVILLE CIVIC CHORUS FUNDRAISER Friday, April 25 Time TBA HAILE VILLAGE - Meet and greet old and new friends at the GCC fundraiser. Street party, live music, silent auction, munchies and wine. www.gcchorus.org.

UPTOWN ART HOP Friday, May 6 6:00pm – 9:00pm THORNEBROOK VILLAGE

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GREATER GATOR SCAVENGER HUNG Saturday, May 17 Time Vary SHUCKS - 1643 NW 1st Ave. As a part of International Gator Day, Pledge 5 teams with Titletown Gators to host the Greater Gator Scavenger Hunt! Teams of Gators will gather goods across Gainesville for points. Items will be donated to various charitable organizations throughout the community and the teams win amazing prizes the more goods they obtain from the scavenger item list.

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>> OLD FLORIDA

Celebrating 50 Years of

Creativity WRITTEN BY SHAYNA POSSES

t the second-ever Cedar Key Fine Arts Festival, 9-year-old Beth Johnson — now Beth Davis — won the children’s category for a watercolor of a fish house. Her prize? A ribbon, her picture in the paper and $5.

She grew up with the festival, which turns 50 this year. Every spring, Davis and her friends would wander around in between shifts at the school booths, checking out the art and the interesting visitors who flocked to town. Now 58, Davis leaves the prize-winning to others, but she looks forwards to the event every year.

“It’s always a really exciting weekend,” she said. “It shuts down the town.”

Cedar Key sits about 60 miles southwest of Gainesville at the very end of State Road 24, an island community of about 800 with a passion for the arts.

The festival — renamed the Old Florida Celebration of

A

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the Arts — that started with 40 exhibitors and a few hundred visitors in 1964 now attracts a lively competition for one of the 120 exhibition slots and more than 20,000 art-lovers who take over the four blocks of Historic Second Street. The art displayed includes paintings, sculpture, textiles, photography, jewelry and crafts, and is accompanied by local seafood, entertainment and children’s activities.

The juried art show will be held on April 12 and 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with artists competing for more than $14,000 in prizes and awards — a far cry from the first show where artists simply had to reserve sidewalk space in advance, and winners were chosen by a popular vote.

Started by Bessie Gibbs, operator of the town’s historic Island Hotel, the event was one of the first art festivals in the area, said Beverly Rigenberg, this year’s event coordinator. A 1968 article in the Florida

Rural Electric News saluted the town for “an Arts Festival that would do credit to a much larger city.”

“In a world increasingly involved in materialism, it is refreshing to find a small community willing to go all out in pursuit of the aesthetic,” the article reads.

Mike Segal, whose colorful, Floridainspired paintings have brightened the festival for 25 years, said the area has always attracted artists. When the festival began, Cedar Key had quite a few nationally recognized artists working nearby, which drew attention to the show.

“This is an area of Florida that has more artists per square mile than anywhere else in the state,” Segal said.

“It’s isolated. Artists have to work in isolation, and people who live here mind their business.”

The arts-minded community combined with the natural beauty of the island proved a perfect foundation for the festival, and April became the month of art in Cedar Key, a tradition that continues to this day.

The festival grew quickly, Rigenberg said, attracting 15,000 visitors less than a decade later. That year — 1972 — the Lions Club’s annual fish fry cost $1.50, and the festival was standing room only, according

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PHOTOS BY LARRY BEHNKE

ABOVE: Art-lovers explore the village of tents that takes over Historic Second Street for the weekend.

LEFT: At the City Park gazebo, entertainers play what Rigenberg calls the “best toe-tapping music of the last four decades.”

to a Gainesville Sun article. The next year, visitors were doubling up in single rooms. The barely two-lane roads were overrun with traffic jams. By 1975, there were 500 artists — and one policeman.

Locals started to think the festival was starting to get too big, so the decision was made to split the event into two: the spring arts festival and the October Seafood Festival. The arts festival settled down into a non-juried show, open to anyone.

“It was always a fairly good show,” Segal said, but in

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2005, a Chamber of Commerce committee got together with local artists to revamp the festival and bring it back to its original vision.

That’s when Marsha Schwartz got involved. The mosaic artist and her sculptor husband, Chick, fell in love with the town as soon as they got out of their car at the Island Hotel the first time they visited.

“I’m not sure what draws us all here, but I’m amazed by the talented people who live here,” she said. “Besides just the beauty of the place, everybody waves at you.

Everybody smiles at you.”

They moved down from Canada, where they raised their children on a farm — “We did everything with a book in one hand,” — and were a natural choice to help

reimagine the arts event.

“When the chamber took it over, someone said you shouldn’t have an arts festival without the input of artists,” Schwartz said. “It was a natural assumption that it should be about art.”

“The show really serves as a museum without walls for an underserved arts community.”

The organizers visited other festivals and got to work recruiting talented artists. The Schwartzes used their connections in the art world to attract former and current museum directors and curators to act as judges.

It was a difficult but wonderful year, Schwartz said.

“I remember the first year, the artists came up to us who were involved, and they were so happy and awed by how they were treated. The word got out quickly,” she said. “It was that euphoria of having the townspeople, the businesspeople and the artists so grateful.”

Since 2009, the festival has been run by the Cedar Key Arts Center, an organization that provides arts programming and exhibits for the community yearround. For the festival’s 50th anniversary, staff chose to

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PHOTO BY LARRY BEHNKE

Old Florida Celebration of the Arts April 12th and 13th • 10am – 5pm www.cedarkeyartsfestival.com for an underserved arts community,” put the focus on a local landmark he said. “The thing I think is the most — the Honeymoon Cottage. The important is to see all these people Thomas family, of Gainesville, from all these small communities built the wood-framed cottage having a cultural exchange on the 300 feet from shore as a weekend highest level.” getaway years ago. It has been But he said one of his favorite the subject of art creation after parts of the event is seeing the same art creation, but storms have customers every year and watching gotten to it, said Rigenberg, their children grow up. president of the arts center.

“On the [Island] Hotel’s veranda, Locals are apt to say that one and in the lobby, reunions happen,” more big storm will get the best of reads an old St. Petersburg Times it, so the festival organizers decided article. “Never seeing each other this would be a good year to honor at any other time during the year, the iconic building, Rigenberg said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF OLD FLORIDA bunches of annual friends meet in the Its image is being used in the festiCELEBRATION OF THE ARTS quaint lobby where they first met.” val’s marketing, and the center will Carmen Williams displaying her art It is a wonderful time for the locals, hold an exhibition commemoratin 1963. By the ‘70s, thousands of who throw their support behind the ing the cottage in February. During art pieces competed for recognition festival year after year. Community the month of April, the center will in eight categories, including acrylic volunteers staff the event. Nonprofit hold a special exhibition detailing painting and pottery. organizations such as churches and 50 years of art in Cedar Key. garden clubs run the food booths. The With only a couple galleries artists involved mostly hail from the North Florida region. remaining in the area after the recession and no art “It is simply the will and desire of the people who museum or arts council in Levy County, Segal said it live here to retain this connection to art,” Schwartz is the combination of the center, the festival and local said. “Each year, everyone seems to have worked themartists that keeps the arts thriving.

“The show really serves as a museum without walls selves to exhaustion, but we keep coming back.” s

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>> INTERVIEW

Tom Parsons

MOTO X MAN

Gainesville resident Tom Parsons is a professional motocross athlete who recently took home the title of Biggest Whip at the 2013 Monster Energy Cup held in Las Vegas. When he isn’t training at his compound in Citra, Florida he can be seen at least four days out of the week at his residence here in Gainesville. Even though he is currently training and competing in California, he managed to fit this phone interview into his busy schedule. And from the looks of it, it’s pretty clear that this underdog is coming out on top.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND INTERVIEW BY ERICKA WINTERROWD

How would you describe yourself?

When did you start riding?

HOMETOWN: TRABUCO CANYON, CALIFORNIA

TP: Very mellow. I’m a pretty slowmoving person until I’m on a dirt bike and then it’s completely different. I like to tell people that I am just saving everything for when I ride a dirt bike — I save the speediness and craziness for when it really counts.

PROFESSION: MOTOCROSS ATHLETE

Where do you consider home?

TP: I started riding dirt bike when I was 12; it was pretty much right after I moved to Florida. I watched a couple local races here, and then decided I was going to do it. Growing up, I always had a four-wheeler and a skateboard, but it wasn’t until I moved to Florida and started riding dirt bike that I began to train and compete.

AGE: 32

TIME IN GAINESVILLE: LONG ENOUGH THAT IT FEELS LIKE HOME

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TP: Florida is home.

What is your connection with Gainesville?

TP: Gainesville is kind of the city I grew up in because in Citra there isn’t a whole lot there, so you have to drive to either Gainesville or Ocala to do anything.

Pretty much from the time I was in high school I’d come up to Gainesville either to skate or BMX, or just hang out.

When did you become a professional?

TP: I turned pro racing in 2003. When I was in the intermediate training group — it would have been around age 18 or 19 — I thought to myself, ‘maybe I can actually do something with this.’ At that point in time I started working towards becoming a professional; but before that, you are just trying to do your best

www.VisitOurTowns.com

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and then you get to a point where you have to decide what level you are going to take it to.

I hear you are very close with your family. How are they involved with your career?

TP: They’ve been there since day one, from buying my first bike and taking me to everything when I was younger.

My brother is my mechanic, so he works and maintains all of my bikes and even now he still goes with me to events as my mechanic. And my dad will also travel to them just to watch and hang out.

What is one of your first memories of riding?

TP: The thing I remember from when I first started racing is just how slow I was. I would watch videos and I just couldn’t believe it because it felt like I was going fast but then I’d watch it and I was just so slow, people would lap me – (chuckling) it was kind of sad.

It is pretty obvious how dangerous a sport motocross is, but the training is very grueling as well.

Can your explain that process?

TP: When I try to compare it to something, I always say the same thing, and that is that there are guys who race motocross that use the same trainer that Lance Armstrong did, so we’re basically on that same regimen, which is pretty intense.

How many times have you been in the hospital for motocross injuries?

TP: (Chuckling) Oh man, uh, that’s a lot to count. I don’t know. I mean, I’ve been to the hospital quite a bit but I’ve only had to have about eight surgeries.

If you added up all the months that I couldn’t ride because of an injury it would probably have to take up a few years, I would guess.

What has been your worst injury so far?

TP: Probably my broken arms. It’s maybe not the worst when I did it, but the long lasting affects of that one were pretty bad. I did a jump I probably

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shouldn’t have and I missed the landing I was supposed to land on, and the impact just basically broke both of my arms. It did a lot of internal damage as well, some nerve damage. My recovery time on that injury was pretty long.

The bones healed up pretty quick, about three months, but the internal damage took about another year. It was probably a good solid two years before I was able to start riding again. It was a little bit of a struggle.

I, of course, want to ask you about your most recent big win, but before I do why don’t you explain what a “whip” is?

TP: It’s basically a trick where you go off a jump and you try to lay the bike over sideways as far as you can or even upside down, which is kind of how it is nowadays, and then you bring it back and land it on both wheels. It’s generally 75 feet from where you take off to where you land and about 35 feet in the air.

Lets talk about the Dirt Shark Biggest Whip contest that was televised at the 2013 Monster Energy Cup this past October.

You won 1st place. What was that experience like?

TP: It was pretty wild. I didn’t actually even get invited at first. I had been trying to get into a Best Whip contest for a couple years now and I kind of thought I had missed it because I didn’t get an invite at first and then I ended up seeing a video. They did a promo video, which listed how it was going to be run and the names of the riders, and I was on the list. So actually no body even contacted me, I was just on that list and that’s how I found out I was in it.

You beat out X Games athletes even though you were looked at as the underdog in the competition.

Do you think that helped as far as the pressure of it all?

TP: I don’t know if it helped me necessarily; I know there were a couple of other guys like me, who were trying to get into Best Whip competitions but had a little more hype around them, which may have hurt them a bit just

“It’s It s basically b a trick where you go off a jump and you y try to lay the bike over sideways as far as you can or even upside down…”

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because the people judging or watching may have had higher expectations for them than they did for me. When I came out and was doing well, it was probably more of a surprise.

So in a way that might have helped me.

Did you mind being looked at as the underdog?

TP: Nah, that’s fine. I like it that way, I just kind of like to do my own thing and be in the background and then when it’s time to go, I go.

What was it like beating all of the top guys in one night?

TP: It was pretty awesome. More than anything it was just something I wanted to be in.

It’s kind of my niche I guess, and I just wanted to be there and actually get to compete with those guys, whether I beat them or not. So the big accomplishment was qualifying into the final and actually getting to be out there. To win was just, I don’t know, the cherry on top, I guess.

Is there an X Games in your future?

TP: That’s the goal, I hope. Probably the best chance I have at getting in is this next year, so hopefully winning that was enough to get me the nod.

What is next for you?

TP: Well, I’m in California so I’m working on a couple of things. I’ll probably do a couple rounds of super cross in the next month, and a buddy of mine has a free ride tour that is sponsored by GoPro, so we’ll go out on that for a few days in February. And then after that, I don’t know, I start getting ready. X Games are in early June, so hopefully some time around March or so I’ll hear whether or not I’m getting in.

With all of the broken bones and injuries you’ve endured, as well as the time it has taken to reach this height in your career, would you change anything?

TP: I mean, if I could go back I would probably just take out some of the dumb jumps I’ve tried to do when I was young and more eager.

I’m sure there are a couple of broken bones I probably could have avoided if I just went with my instinct. If I said to myself, you know, I’m just not going to do this jump today — there will be another day. That’s about it, though.

Everything else I’m pretty happy about. Of course, I guess if I changed something then I might not be where I am now. s Follow Tom Parsons on Instagram: @tomparsons930

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> TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER BOOK REVIE REVIEW EW >>

Oh, sure, it’s a nice button. It’s red and round and it’s just sitting there on the page, waiting for something to happen. It’s a plain old red button on the paper, right there all by itself. Sometimes, Larry wonders what would happen if you pushed it… but no!

Don’t push the button!

Then again, what if nobody was around? What would you do with that button? Larry is pretty tempted to find out but he wants you to do the dirty work. He wants you to “give the button one little push.”

Uh oh. If you push the button, strange things happen to Larry. Now what? Push it again and even odder things happen. Push it “a bunch of times” and wow.

Now you’ve really got a mess and Larry’s in big trouble.

He’s no longer a purple monster.

But there’s a way out. Larry knows what to do. There are a few steps you’ll need to take to get things back to the way they were before. But only you can do it Don’t Push the Button! because, well, you were the one who pushed the button written and illustrated by Bill Cotter in the first place. c.2013, Sourcebooks Just don’t do it again. Don’t push that button! (Okay. $16.99 / $19.99 Canada 32 pages Maybe just once…) ou never get to do anything fun.

Of course, you want your child to know that books are Little kids get away with all kinds of behavior. good and reading is fun, which is why you need “Don’t Big kids get all the privileges.

Push the Button!” in your But you, at your age, you only house. This book is good fun. hear “No” or “Don’t” or “You Larry the Monster is adorable can’t.” and every bit as curious as is It’s enough to make a kid your child. He’s like a paper scream. playmate; daring kids to do the Don’t go outside without not-so-naughty thing he’s told a coat. No playing in mud them not to do. But author and puddles. Don’t get dirty. You illustrator Bill Cotter makes can’t touch anything. Don’t ask Larry — and the button — too many questions. No being irresistible, and the interactive Bill Cotter, Author and illustrator loud. Don’t fight with your solution to what ultimately sister. You can’t forget your mithappens will make kids giggle. tens. And, for sure, when you read the new book written Word-wise, there’s not much to this book. You could and illustrated by Bill Cotter, “Don’t Push the Button!” probably plow through it in about five minutes, but Open the covers of this book and you’ll be introwhy would you? “Don’t Push the Button!” is a story duced to Larry. that absolutely needs to be read with time on your Larry is a purple monster, but he’s not scary. Not at hands and a sense of silliness. Again and again. That’s all. He’s friendly and fun and he wants you to come something kids will really want to do. s play with him inside this book. There’s just “one rule” Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was 3 years old you’ll need to follow: Don’t push the button. and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives with her two dogs and 11,000 books.

“Seriously,” says Larry. “Don’t even THINK about it.”

Y

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>> POWER IN NUMBERS

Circle of Influence Women’s Giving Circle Increases Philanthropic Impact

WRITTEN BY DARLA KINNEY SCOLES hen members of the Women’s Giving Circle (WGC) come together each year to pool their resources and then redistribute them for the benefit of other women and girls in North Central Florida, they do so knowing that they have each — and collectively — made a significant difference here. The group is an initiative of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida (CFNCF) and with every member committing to an annual $1,000 donation ($500 for those under age 40) the pool of money they disperse to worthy causes each year can fund some weighty — and life-changing — projects.

“It’s been truly an amazing experience to watch this group make a difference, said Barzella Papa, president and CEO of CFNCF. “A $1,000 donation turns into a $25,000 grant to an organization such as Peaceful Paths.

When you get a group leveraging their money together, the impact is tremendous.”

When Papa was hired by the CFNCF in 2006, the Women’s Giving Circle was simply an idea that had been tossed around by the organization’s board of

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directors. Papa was asked by the board to start a giving circle here in the Gainesville area.

“There are giving circles popping up across the country — from women gathering in the mornings over coffee and putting their spare change together, to business women pooling larger dollars together to help others,” Papa said.

Papa began researching, networking and organizing, and within seven months had formed an 80-woman circle and awarded the group’s first grants. Since then, the WGC has contributed more than $500,000 to a variety of programs and initiatives within the community.

“It is a powerful and empowering movement,” Papa said. “Our retention rate is high and our members continue to be engaged because we are able to focus our efforts where they will have the greatest economic and empowering effect for women and girls in Alachua County.”

In 2013, the WGC awarded $50,000 to Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., with those funds providing immediate and direct support to 140 adult women

PHOTOS COURTESY OF COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

A year in the life of the Women’s Giving Circle includes a fall kickoff luncheon, smaller quarterly social and educational events and the awarding of grants each spring. A recent power lunch featured guestspeaker Kristen Hadeed, a UF graduate who, while earning her degree, started a studentstaffed cleaning service. Voted a Leading Women’s Enterprise in both 2010 and 2011 by the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Hadeed’s Student Maid cleaning (and house sitting, dog walking, organizing and party help) service represents the type of female entrepreneurship the Women’s Giving Circle encourages with its grants toward micro-loans and individual development accounts for women.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

“The Women’s Giving Circle here is part of a national network of giving circles,” said CFNCF President, Barzella Papa (left) with Ericka Ryals.

clients who demonstrated the training and job skills necessary to enter or re-enter the workforce.

With a two-year focus, the program has already held workshops and training for 48 women, with 15 gaining employment.

“That’s pretty incredible,” said WGC Chair Ester Tibbs. “Those kinds of things are what our members get excited about.”

Tibbs, a retired social services administrator, was a founding member of the WGC and helped shape the group’s goals of furthering women in education, personal development and economic

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self-sufficiency. Organizations awarded grants with those goals in mind include Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, ACORN Clinic, Junior Achievement of Alachua County and Southern Scholarship Foundation.

“I am just so aware of the great needs in our community regarding women,” Tibbs said. “I saw the WGC as another opportunity for me to give back to the community and help women be successful. Every fall we have a kickoff luncheon and then award our grants in late spring or early summer. The months in between are spent with committees

sending out requests for proposals and then selecting recipients.”

Both Papa and Tibbs point to the fact that WGC members can choose their level of hands-on involvement, as a factor that contributes to the success and growth of the group. Some members simply write a check each year. Others serve on committees. Everyone is invested in the overall goal, and all members help choose the group’s annually determined focused area of giving.

“A side benefit to membership,” Tibbs said, “is that these women can also network and be more informed about their community.”

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Why Join?

• To increase philanthropy in the Gainesville community • To connect with women in strategic giving that produces greater impact • To improve the lives of women and girls in our area • To invest in projects that deliver maximum return in relation to the value of the money and time contributed PHOTOS COURTESY OF COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

Philanthropic women, such as Marilyn Tubb and Cherie Fine, pool donated funds and help determine where that money will best be utilized.

This year, for the first time, the WGC kicked off a corporate membership campaign, with businesses committing to a $1,500 annual contribution.

“It has been fascinating to witness the evolution of our giving circle,” Papa said. “As we learn and grow, we

are able to adapt and even increase our funding of innovative programs.

Three years ago, we decided to have two pools of grant funds. Now, 20 percent of our contributions go to an endowment where interest is generated, 50 percent goes to our impact grant pool ($25,000-$50,000), and 30 percent goes into a general grant pool ($2,000-$5,000) for immediate needs met by a variety of agencies.”

Catholic Charities, Peaceful Paths and Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. have thus far received the larger grants. General grant recipients include Girls Club of Alachua County, Displaced Homemaker Program,

Take Stock in Children, Partners in Success and PACE Center for Girls.

For all those involved, the mission of the WGC is to build an association of women philanthropists of all ages and backgrounds and grant funds to support organizations, programs and initiatives that address the needs of women and girls in the surrounding community.

“It’s the power of collective giving,” Tibbs said. s For more information about the Women’s Giving Circle contact the Community Foundation of North Central Florida at 352-367-0060 or visit cfncf.org.

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REVIEW: YAMATO >> ERICKA WINTERROWD

Adventures in Appetite STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERICKA WINTERROWD

Nestled in the back of NW 60th Street is a dining experience just waiting for your taste buds. ou’ll know you are in for a cultural treat, as you walk past grinning patrons who are enjoying their edible adventure.

The moment you enter the doors of Yamato, you are greeted by a friendly hostess. Depending on the time and day of the week, you may notice a little extra elbowroom as you wait for a hibachi table.

Patrons are seated in groups of eight and soon become friends as they wait to be entertained by their hibachi chef.

There is a party-like atmosphere as you get to know your fellow diners and conversation flows around the table regarding their favorite dish or the number of times they have eaten here. Sitting next to me was a darling couple that always makes Yamato a destination when visiting family in Gainesville. The two consider themselves “regulars” even though they live in Georgia.

By the time a waiter returned with our drink and appetizer order we had ample time to choose our entrée. Among the options are chicken, steak, shrimp, tofu, or various combinations. My fellow diner ordered the chicken while I selected the tofu (Teppan Yaki). Side salads with ginger dressing as well as miso soup accompany all hibachi table meals.

The salad consisted of fresh greens topped with a

Y

light and flavorful ginger dressing, chopsticks optional.

No worries about burning your tongue on hot miso soup here; it was served at just the right temperature to keep you warm on a chilly night.

Next up: we ordered tempura vegetables, a favorite of all Asian Cuisine appetizers. A generous serving of broccoli, sweet potato, zucchini, mushroom and onion were lightly battered and deep-fried to a golden brown. The vegetables were very tender and crisp, definitely leaving us wanting more. However, by the time we started thinking about a second appetizer serving, our hibachi chef arrived, wheeling a cart of many wonders, one being: Fire.

As he readied up the grill, we made sure to hold on to our eyebrows. Tip: be sure you heed the warning to lean away from the grill before your hibachi chef commences with the dinner show. A flame the size of the grill itself leaps towards the ceiling for about two seconds.

But not to worry — these are professionals after all.

We sat back and enjoyed the show as our chef handled gleaming knives and juggled spice shakers and fresh eggs. It was a feast for the eyes, as well as other senses, as we watched in wide-eyed amazement wondering, “Is this what happens behind the scenes when we dine at a ‘normal’ restaurant?”

After feasting on this culinary spectacle, you may think you have no more room for another bite, but you would be wrong. Three words: Fried Ice cream.

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I can fully recommend the tofu as one of the best I have ever tasted.

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First the chef prepared an onion volcano. Don’t ask, you have to see it to believe it. This onion made its way into our fried rice, a chopped-up version, of course.

While the rice was cooking, he moved on to the next items as each diner’s entrée was prepared simultaneously and the other ingredients were added to the grill.

Lo mien noodles and stir-fried vegetables compliment the main dish and we could hardly wait to dive in. The best part is, we didn’t have to wait. As our chef finished with the sides, he graciously started to serve up the plate of each diner. You can nibble or dig in as you watch. How great is that?

The chicken was tender and not overcooked and I can fully recommend the tofu as one of the best I have ever tasted. The teriyaki sauce enriched the tofu, giving flavor to something that most meat-eaters believe tastes somewhat like a sponge. The couple from Georgia selected a shrimp and steak combination for their entrée, raving that the filet mignon was cooked to perfection.

After feasting on this culinary spectacle, you may think you have no more room for another bite, but you would be wrong. Three words: Fried Ice cream. I have been to restaurants before that have this item on the menu and I have usually gone home disappointed like a kid on Christmas that didn’t get her pony. Typically these said restaurants dish up a scoop of vanilla ice cream with what appears to be cornflakes on top, but Yamato is the real deal, folks. I cannot recommend this dessert enough; it consists of a frozen ball of delicious vanilla ice cream, dipped in a tempura batter and quick fried to a golden brown crisp with drizzled chocolate on the sides. This entire concoction makes it to your table before the ice cream even begins to think about melting, which is quite a feat, but again this is Yamato and they sure know how to put on a show. s

Here’s the basics…

PHONE: 352-332-4466 LOCATION: 526 NW 60th St., Gainesville HOURS: Monday & Tuesday: 4:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Wednesday & Thursday: 11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Friday 11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 9:45 p.m.; Saturday 4:30 p.m. – 9:45 p.m.; Sunday Noon – 8:30 p.m.

MENU: Chicken, steak, seafood, sushi, Japanese PROS: Entertaining and delicious. Complimentary birthday meal with proof of ID. Call for more information.

CONS: Since Yamato is very popular, a wait on weekends is to be expected. Call ahead for a reservation to shorten wait time.

PRICE: Main course items range from $12 to $29, and major credit cards are accepted.

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Over 30 Years of K-5 Prepatory Programs

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ADVERTISER INDEX 4400 NW 36th Avenue • Gainesville, FL 32606 352-372-5468 352-373-9178 fax AUTOMOTIVE Auto ER ...................................................... 112 L&S Auto Trim.............................................34 Gainesville Buick GMC................................7 Park Place Car Wash & Detail ........... 139 Terry’s Automotive & Qwik Lube .... 138

FINANCIAL / LAW Alarion Bank .............................................. 162 Brightway Insurance ................................ 37 EasyTax and Accounting ...................... 166 Edward Jones ......................................... 163 Gateway Bank...........................................65 ProActive Tax & Accounting ............. 147 Sunshine State Insurance ................... 134 SunState Federal

REAL ESTATE Bosshardt Realty Services .................160 Miller Real Estate .......................................83 Mike Weseman / Watson Realty..........10

MEDICAL / HEALTH Affordable Dentures ..............................99 Alliance Pediatrics, P.A........................ 155 Caretenders ............................................. 120 Clear Sound Audiology........................ 101 Cohen & Montini Orthodontics ..........67 Douglas M. Adel, DDS.............................17 Gainesville Dermatology ............ 137, 139 Gainesville OBGYN ................................... 8 Gentle Dental Care ............................2, 60 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ........... 27 Samant Dental Group ............................ 102 UFHealth Plastic Surgery .......................43

Credit Union.....................................23, 25, 172

FITNESS and BEAUTY Advanced Hair Removal & Skin Inst. ....56 Charisma for Hair ....................................70 Fantastic Sams Hair Salons ..................18 Floting Lotus Spa ......................................50 LAE Beauty .................................................... 6 Maureen & Co. Salon ................................48 Sun Station Tanning .............................. 50 Zoetic Designs, LLC ...............................95 34th Street Salon ................................... 50

CHILDREN and SCHOOLS Alachua Learning Center ....................... 9 Gainesville Country Day School ...... 167 Millhopper Montessori School .............19

PETS and VETS Bed & Biscuit Inn ......................................71 Dancin’ Dogs Boarding ....................... 153 Daytime Dogs & Friends .................... 135 Dream Dogz ............................................ 153 Eager Pup ................................................ 153 Flying Fish Aquatics.................................85 Robertson Animal Hospital .................59 Vacation Station Pet Resort.............. 153 Wild Birds Unlimited ..............................35

MISCELLANEOUS Holy Trinity Episcopal Church ..........140

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RETAIL / RECREATION A-1 Sewing Machine & Vacuum ......... 50 Alachua Main Street Festival .............. 163 Beacher’s Lodge....................................100 Bennett’s TrueValue .................................84 Blue Springs ............................................109 Cedar Key Arts Festival ................ 35, 100 City of Gainesville ................................... 145 Colleen’s Kloset........................................42 Crevasses Florist..................................... 50 Dance Alive.............................................. 133 Especially for Women ...........................160 Family Jewels & Pursestrings ...............83 Flip Flop Shops ...........................................19 Fluid Lounge ............................................ 94 Garden Gallery ....................................... 162 Gator Spirits & Fine Wines ................ 170 High Springs Pioneer Days....................84 Hippodrome ............................................. 131 Jeannie’s Attic ......................................... 49 Jones Golf Carts & Palms .....................47 Klaus Fine Jewelry .............................3, 49 Lawful Defense Guns & Transfers .....47 Lentz House of Time ............................ 166 Liquor & Wine Shoppe ........................ 170 New Smyrna Beach .................................. 4 Paddywhack..............................................59 Stephen Foster Florida Folk Fest ......137 Tina’s Bling Boutique ............................. 73 TGE Bridal Boutique.................................83 Thornebrook Chocolates ........................ 51 Thornebrook Gallery ...............................51 Thornebrook Village ..............................48 Valerie’s Loft Consignment ........ 73, 163 World of Beer .......................................... 94

HOME IMPROVEMENT American Metals ........................................ 72 Graetz Remodeling & Custom Homes...68 Griffis Lumber.......................................... 161 H2Oasis Custom Pool & Spa ...............76 IMI Solutions Fences & Gates ................ 71 Overhead Door ...................................... 159 Pools & More ............................................... 5 ReUser Building Products ....................33 Red Barn Home Center ........................ 117 Rosenboom Construction ....................99 United Rent-All........................................ 113 Whitfield Window & Door.................... 73 William Weseman Construction ..........11 Zebra Painting .............................................111

SERVICE Alpha Bytes Computers ..................... 134 Archer Electric Service ........................ 141 A&K Outdoor Services ......................... 161 The Best Restoration ............................ 113 Bounds Heating & Air ............................109 Chimney Sweeps of America...............71 Craft Cleaners ........................................... 145 Creekside Outdoors ...................... 36, 135 Gainesville Regional Airport ............. 166 Grease Busters ......................................... 73 GRU Natural Gas......................................... 15 The Grounds Guys ................................. 118 Jack’s Small Engine Repair.................. 37 Lotus Studios Photography ............... 20 Ram Jack ....................................................86

RESTAURANT / CUISINE Adam’s Rib Co. ...............................122, 126 Bev’s Burger Café......................................85 Brown’s Country Buffet ........................ 124 Chomps Sports Grill ................................91 Conestoga’s Restaurant........................ 162 Copper Monkey West ..................... 79, 125 Dave’s NY Deli ........................................ 125 Dos Mamas ......................................123, 127 D.W. Ashton Catery ..............................109 El Toro........................................................ 162 Embers Wood Grill .................................93 Flying Biscuit Cafe ................................. 171 Gator Tales Sports Bar ........................ 123 Heavenly Ham ........................................ 123 Mark’s Prime Steak & Seafood ......... 122 Napolatanos Italian............................... 124 Newberry Backyard BBQ ................... 124 Northwest Grille ..................................... 125 Pepper’s Mexican Grill & Cantina...... 126 The Red Onion ....................................... 122 TCBY .............................................................51

page

52 >> MOM, I GOT SUSPENDED

You might ask yourself what our writer, Ericka Winterrowd, is doing hanging upside down like a bat? Should you sign up for a climb with Canopy Climbers LLC, don’t be surprised if you too end up in a similar pose. There is something about ascending to 65-plus feet that makes you feel like anything is possible.

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SunState Federal Credit Union has been serving its members for more than 55 years. Visit us today to see the difference it makes to do your banking at the place where Jay works.

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