Downtown Gainesville holds 5th open house

GAINESVILLE - From an Irish fiddle to the Great Chicken to horse and carriage rides on the Square, downtown Gainesville started the Christmas shopping season in style
Thursday night with the 5th Annual Upstairs Downtown Tour and Open House held by Mainstreet Gainesville.
Danny Ray Cole played the fiddle and set the mood in front of British Isles Across the Pond.
Across the Square, Debra Harkrider in her chicken suit at Main Street Market brought back the Great Chicken.
"We're the Poultry Capital of the World and I thought we should have the Lighting of the Great Chicken," she said.
Gus Gonzalez served free hot coffee and invited everyone to come back for the opening of Crepes and Coffee in two weeks.
Katie King hails from Braselton but she and partner Jenny Blankenship decided to locate their new Inside/Out Accents on the Square.
"We love Gainesville, we looked everywhere and this is just the best place by far," King said.
New businesses also invited shoppers at Main Street Market and the Coffee Shop of Horrors re-opened its doors along with the Vorderbrug Loft.