Hoggetowne Medieval Faire to take over Depot Park in downtown Gainesville this weekend

Medieval magic, noble knights and jubilant jesters will take over Gainesville this weekend as the Hoggetowne Goes Downtown for the first time its 37-year history.

This year's event will be held Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Depot Park, 874 SE Fourth St., and feature more than 50 merchants, six stages of entertainment, food vendors and the living chess match.

Sunny Andrei, the event's producer and assistant manager for Gainesville's cultural affairs department, said organizers were forced to find a city-owned property for the fair due to time constraints after their primary and backup locations fell through within a week of each other.

"Depot Park had already established itself as supporting some larger attended events, like Sparks in the Park, The Bash last fall had a lot of attendees, so we decided that would be the best location for having Hoggetowne," she said.

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Having it at the park, however, will limit the festival to just one weekend instead of it usual three.

“It’s a big public park and we couldn’t take it over three weeks and have our usual run." Andrei said.

Andrei also admitted that the fair will be only about half as big usual due to the limited space at the park, but noted that, unlike in years past, this weekend's event is free to attend.

"It'll still be a good show even though it's a little bit smaller," she said. "It's a great chance for people that maybe couldn't come because of the ticket price in the past to see Hoggetowne and have that experience and make those memories, and maybe fall in love with it."

The popular Kids Kingdom will not be a part of this year's event due to its size, however the playground at Depot Park will be open as usual and the Cade Museum for Creativity & Invention will be offering free admission all weekend with medieval-themed STEM activities.

"We figured between the Cade and the playground, that would give a lot of activities for the kids to participate in," Andrei said.

Those at nearby First Magnitude Brewing Co., 1220 SE Veitch St., also will get a taste of the festivities, with music by The New Minstrel Revue on Friday night and a performance by the Sahnobar Caravan on Saturday. 

Anyone who's been to Depot Park on a regular Saturday morning knows parking can be difficult, and the festival will only add to those difficulties. Free round-trip shuttles will be offered from both of the downtown parking garages — 105 SW Third Ave. and 220 SE Second St. — and run about every 15 minutes. Attendees also are encouraged to make use of Gainesville's RTS system with the Rosa Parks Downtown Transfer Station just steps away from the park.

An interactive parking map is available at hoggetownemedfaire.com.