Festivals

Creativity and inspiration are the fuel of One Spark. The concept of assisting creative individuals and organizations in Jacksonville with seed money came together last year and showcased over 400 contributors to more than 100,000 attendees. One Spark is a crowdfunding festival that brings many facets of the community to downtown Jacksonville and has gathered worldwide recognition–so much so that another chapter is opening up in Berlin. One Spark 2014 has also been selected for A&E’s Project Startup. This year, One Spark has 632 registered and placed creator projects to showcase at One Spark 2014, a 56-percent increase over One …

ONE SPARK FOOD VILLAGE This year, the One Spark Food Village will be a hotspot with food options, seating, and entertainment. All this creative energy will get you hungry, so the  will be on hand to nourish your day and delight your palates. Gourmet food from, , , , and will be available. Food trucks will also be on hand for more casual food. Other food vendors in the dining district include these delicious options: , , , ,  Food Truck, , , , , and . Food vendors will span two blocks of Laura Street between Adams Street and …

The , presented by, is one of the many new additions to One Spark 2014. The One Spark Beer Village is located on the corner of Adams and Main Street, offering One Spark attendees a cool place to hang out, enjoy specialty craft brews, fun Sea Best® eats, and great live entertainment. This village will also feature musical performances by One Spark creators, serving up live music throughout the event. The Beer Village is open Wednesday-Friday from 4-10 pm, Saturday from 11 am-10 pm and Sunday from 11 am-5 pm. One Spark After Dark Lot is located at the  at …

Last year’s  festival was rife with innovative ideas, incredible local talent and nearly transformational excitement for Jacksonville culture. One Spark was founded in 2011 to connect ideas with resources and has managed to make the concept of crowdfunding into a fun and important event that gives festival-goers the opportunity to profoundly craft their community. We spoke with , One Spark’s Executive Director, about this year’s events–and he left us well beyond excited. Though it was certainly a success, Sampson says they learned from the inaugural fest. Based on feedback from last year’s attendees, creators, venues and volunteers “we condensed the …

February 27-March 9  There will be a Strawberry Queen, a midway, and diverse live entertainment (rockers from and violinist  show the range of that diversity). Plant City, flstrawberryfestival.com February 28-March 2   Includes a midway of rides, food, entertainment and more for the whole family. Adults are $5; children 11-17 and adults 65+ are $3; children under 10 and active duty military are free. In St. Augustine, on the Beautiful Prince of Peace Grounds, off San Marco Avenue, near the Giant Cross. 101 San Marco Avenue, St. Augustine, thecathedralfestival.com March 1  Celebrate 140 years of light at the St. Augustine Lighthouse. …

Bostwick Building Saved The owners of the Bostwick building were met with a precedent-setting decision when they were not permitted to demolish one of the most historic buildings in Jacksonville, located at the base of the Main Street Bridge downtown. Maybe what’s left of Downtown’s history still has a viable chance for revival. Brooklyn Construction Projects After a decade of failed promises, the redevelopment of Jacksonville’s Brooklyn is in overdrive. Roughly $100 million in construction is underway in the form of 220 Riverside, Unity Plaza, The Brooklyn Riverside, Shoppes on Riverside, and the Winston Family YMCA. In less than one …

by KRISTI LEE SCHATZ, M.A. Every day we hear about the latest and greatest secret for life success, from the newest self-help book, to the gimmicky sales pitch for the next quick fix. We all want to live peacefully, but if it were that easy, wouldn’t we all be doing it? The truth is that life is a unique art form. It takes time and regular practice to master your craft. Learning acceptance, patience, trust, surrender, and willpower can help you live more fully, but those qualities aren’t developed overnight. The art of living well requires you to consciously take …