A fall favorite festival is scheduled in Gainesville this weekend - Mule Camp Market.
The annual celebration of Mule Camp Springs, Gainesville's first name, is back after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a few things have changed.
"In 2021, we've moved Mule Camp to the Midland Greenway. It's a great passive park that Gainesville Parks and Rec has built up the last several years, gonna be a beautiful location for us, it's going to give more of a park like setting and less of a city setting," said Chris Wunn, a Gainesville Jaycees Mule Camp Director. "It also gives us space to expand, which we've needed for several years as Mule Camp continues to grow, more vendors want to come and be a part of it, more participants want to come, and we've just sort of outgrown the Square. So the Greenway is going to be a great location for us."
Wunn said some people have expressed concern about the lack of parking in the area. Gainesville City Public Relations Manager Christina Santee said the city is helping with the traffic effort.
"To accommodate visitors at the Midland Greenway, the city will provide free shuttle service," said Santee. "That will be from downtown via the Gainesville Trolley. We are encouraging people to park at either the Main Street parking deck or the Hall County parking facility, but the trolley will only stop at the Main Street deck."
The festival runs Friday through Sunday, and a few special events are on the 2021 schedule.
"Friday night we have this three-act concert, it will start at 6:30 with Luke Latimer, and then we'll have Homemade Pants, play at seven o'clock," said Wunn. "Drivin' and Cryin' is our headliner, they'll play at 8:30, and when they're finished at about 10 o'clock we're going to have a fireworks celebration, sponsored by the city of Gainesville and Main Street Gainesville, to help celebrate the 200 year anniversary for the city of Gainesville."
On Saturday, Wunn said there will be a community stage at the festival with local arts acts and performances, every half hour beginning at 11 a.m. and running through 5 p.m. Then, live music will take the stage until 7 p.m.
Some things have stayed the same, like the arts and craft vendors, festival food, petting zoo, and family friendly activities.
Mule Camp is a rain or shine event, Wunn said, and should go on as scheduled despite inclement weather.
