Gainesville’s annual fall festival returns for three days of music, food and fun this weekend at the Midland Greenway.
Mule Camp Market will run from Friday, Oct. 7 through Sunday, Oct. 9.
The festival was previously held at the Downtown Square but moved in 2021 to accommodate for more space.
“The Greenway opened up more opportunities to expand. The city also has done a very good job of putting in infrastructure down there with lighting, you have a dog park, playground for kids,” Palmer Loggins, a board member with the Gainesville Jaycees and Mule Camp Market Director said
This year the Jaycees are planning the festival a little differently. Instead of one night of music, festivalgoers will enjoy two nights.
“We're adding another full night of music this year. So historically, we only had one night that I know of in there in the recent years,” Loggins said.
According to Loggins, there will be bands from Nashville playing from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday night. Local artists will play from 5 p.m to 10 p.m. on Saturday.
There will be over 180 vendors selling arts and crafts, food and beverages. There will be different types of carnival-like activities for people of all ages.
“We'll have Downtown Drafts and Tap It for beer and wine sales and then Joe Joe, our lemonade guy. He will be there on several corners, so if you want lemonade, he's your guy,” Loggins said.
To accommodate traffic and to make it easier to get to the Midland Greenway, there will be a shuttle service with the Gainesville Trolley. The service will start at the Gainesville North Parking Deck just off the Gainesville Square.
Mule Camp Market began many years ago as a farmer’s curb market near the Downtown Square. It then evolved into the Corn Tassel Festival, which focused on local craft exhibitors. In 1993, the Gainesville Jaycees revamped the event & renamed it “Mule Camp” to honor the city’s origins.
