The city of Gainesville’s General Policy Committee directed staff to work on funding to keep the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire downtown for another year and to continue exploring alternatives for a permanent site, during a regular meeting on Thursday. 

The faire began in 1986 at the Thomas Center, where it remained for five years before moving to the Alachua County Fairgrounds for the next three decades. Over time, it grew from one weekend to three, but the loss of the fairgrounds prompted a relocation to the old YMCA sports complex on Archer Road in 2022. 

In 2024, both the prime and backup locations fell through only 10 weeks before the faire was set to move onsite, so staff pivoted to the five-acre alternative of Depot Park in downtown Gainesville. 

The solution was meant to be temporary, one year only, but by the end of the year Gainesville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (PRCA) staff still had not found a permanent location, so the faire went downtown again in January 2025. 

The faire normally requires about 11 acres for actual activities and 37 acres for parking. Depot Park’s smaller area has required the faire to reduce from 11 stages to six, from 150 vendors to 90, and from three weekends to one. 

Depot Park as a venue has also removed the ability to hold events like the joust, birds of prey, “Barely Balanced” and medieval games. 

Yearly attendance has fluctuated because of weather issues, the 2020 pandemic and site relocations, but has generally climbed, reaching a peak attendance in 2025 with nearly 50,000 guests. 

Notably, the faire has been unable to charge admission at the downtown location, due to difficulties in fencing it off. This means that the event, which is usually self-sustaining, has dried up its reserves in the last two years, and would require a draw on the city’s reserve funding to last another year. 

Based on the roadblocks to all other sites, staff at Thursday’s meeting recommended that the city seek a partnership with Alachua County to both secure funding for the 2026 faire to be held downtown, and to find a permanent festival and art park. 

In order to return the event to its previous large-scale, admission-charging status, the faire would require a total of 47.5 acres for all its merchants, games, camping, food, performances, activities and parking, according to event coordinator Sunshine Andrei. 

If the city wants the Faire to be able to grow, Andrei said it would need 60-80 acres. 

Staff went looking for possible sites, evaluating them based on the following requirements: 

• 50-60 acres of flat, dry land that is mostly cleared 

• Within four miles of Gainesville city limits, for the sake of city staff who must set up and tear down 

• Available in all of January and some of February, with time for additional preparation if needed 

• Ability to secure event permit 

• Multiple entrances and exits for vehicle access 

• Infrastructure including water, power and fencing 

• Additional desired features such as flushing toilets, a campground for vendors and performers, a tree perimeter to block strong winds, and a paved trail or road for easy ADA and emergency services access 

Andrei said staff reviewed over 40 potential locations, and found none that met the requirements for a new Hoggetowne location. 

The West End Golf Course does not have sufficient parking, the Gainesville Raceway’s extensive insurance requirements are prohibitive, and FAA sound restrictions on aircraft flight paths, and the proximity to Gainesville Regional Airport, remove the possibility of the 40 acres on Waldo Road across from the airport. 

The MLK Jr. Multipurpose Center/Citizens Field, Cuscowilla Nature Center, Alachua County Agriculture and Equestrian Center are all too small. 

The Burch property on Waldo Road, made up of three parcels totaling 170 acres, which staff moved to purchase in 2023 for $1.5 million, fell through after the owner refused to include a zoning clause that would allow the property to be used for a festival park. The owner sold it to another company, which is now selling the property for $10 million. 

The old county fairgrounds site is not an option, as it is now owned by the Army Reserve and scheduled to open this fall as an equipment concentration site. 

For the 2026 faire, staff also brought up the possibility of a parcel the city owns off of State Road 121, though the land presents several challenges, including wetlands that restrict usable land to 35 acres, no road access to the property, a location adjacent to a neighborhood and no existing infrastructure. 

Staff’s recommended alternative option for the 2026 faire was to fund the use of Depot Park for another year, as the faire has yet to secure a location that meets its long-term requirements and plans for a permanent festival and arts park have been delayed by increasing property and construction costs. 

“Without funding support from the City Commission and other partners, the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire will be unable to continue as a city-produced event,” Andrei said. 

Andrei said staff is not giving up on finding a site, but recommended seeking a partnership with the county to cover the $130,000 cost to run the event at Depot Park for another year, as well as for finding a permanent festival and arts park. 

Mayor Harvey Ward warned that no site will be the same as the fairgrounds, and if people look for an exact replica, they will be disappointed. He urged the committee to ask staff about out-of-the-box ideas that may or may not work, but that could spark creativity. 

“We’ve put staff in a situation, I think, where [they’re] only gonna bring us back ideas that are usable and that work,” Ward said. “And I think we’re going to have to step out a little bit and say, what about some ideas that don’t seem to work, or that might be problematic?” 

Ward himself asked staff about the capacity of the Gainesville Job Corps Center, which staff said is about 40 acres, though there is a large section that is wetland, the ground has an unknown contamination and the property’s current designated use is emergency management. But the contaminated ground could be all right for parking, and the designated use could be changed. 

Ward, as well as other commissioners, also asked staff to revisit the Gainesville Raceway as an option. 

Commissioner Ed Book said the raceway likely wants more events and would benefit from having the faire. Ward suggested that if the cost of insurance is too high, ticket prices could be raised, or the faire could look for sponsors. 

Commissioner Bryan Eastman said in 2024, the faire brought $1,338,966 into the local economy and supported 662 jobs. He called it “real economic development,” and said having the faire in Depot Park has affected downtown businesses, spurring them to treat it as a themed weekend. 

Eastman said he would like to see if there is a way to charge admission downtown to make that location sustainable, though staff said tickets would need to be closer to $5 than $20 due to the reduced programming. Eastman also said the faire could get creative about extra space nearby that could be used. 

Public commenters, many of whom work the faire in some form, thanked the committee for supporting the faire and working to keep it alive, but they also noted reasons why Depot Park does not work as a permanent solution—not the least of which is that vendors are not allowed to stake their tents in the ground because the park is a brownfield. 

The brownfield is also prohibitive of events like jousting and would make a temporary fence tricky because the ground is not allowed to be broken. 

Ashley Ladnyk, who has directed the faire’s living chess board for the last two years, asked the committee to look for a permanent site that is larger and further from the city.  

“Part of the magic of the medieval faire is getting to transport to a different time and place,” Ladnyk said. “Not being able to stake our tents, not being able to have that illusion for the audience, does kind of pull them out a bit. It’s a little bit hard to stay in the 1100s when you have cars zipping by you and you can very clearly see them.” 

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut made a two-part motion directing the city manager to (1) return with recommendations on funding the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire for 2026, and to explore partnerships, and (2) to explore alternative sites such as Gainesville Raceway and the Job Corps Center.  

In the short term, Book noted that the faire could potentially expand the downtown site in 2026 using minor road closures, partnerships with downtown venues, and the use of public transportation. 

Commissioner Casey Willits, who said the city does need to be transparent about the need for funding in order to gain community support, seconded Chestnut’s motion, and it passed unanimously, with Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker absent.