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Closing out the celebration of June as national African American Music Appreciation Month, “Free Fridays” hosts popular reggae band, De Lions of Jah, to play a concert Friday, June 28, at 8 p.m. The Jacksonville, Florida band has been dubbed “the best reggae band in Duval County.”

The Galleries at the Historic Thomas Center are pleased to announce the opening of Synchronica :: Framing Time, which will run Friday, June 28, 2019 – Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. A public reception for the exhibition takes place Friday, June 28 from 7–9 p.m. during Artwalk Gainesville.

The “Free Fridays” Concert Series, as part of its celebration of June as African American Music Appreciation Month,  presents The Shakedown Friday, June  21 from 8-10 p.m. at the Bo Diddley Plaza.

The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department and the Wild Spaces & Public Places program are pleased to announce the installation of new shade structures over the Fred Cone Park bleachers. The canopy offers shaded seating for sports spectators and spans the full length of the bleachers, which will soon accommodate up to 360 people. Measuring 125 feet long, 16 feet high and 21 feet wide, the cost of the project was $75,275.00 and was funded by the Wild Spaces & Public Places half-cent sales tax.

On Thursday, June 20 at 10 a.m., thousands of children and adults are invited to unite at aquatics facilities around the world to set a new global record for the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson (WLSL). The City of Gainesville is proud to be one of the nation’s top water safety and training organizations that joins forces with participants worldwide in order to foster education on the vital importance of swimming lessons that aid drowning prevention. The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department (PRCA) is joining Team WLSL to once again break a world record, and send the message that swimming lessons save lives. The world record attempt takes place at three Gainesville locations: Andrew R. Mickle Pool (1717 SE 15th St.), Dwight H. Hunter (Northeast) Pool (1100 NE 14th St.) and H. Spurgeon Cherry (Westside) Pool (1001 NW 31st Dr.).

The band Fast Lane features funk, soul and R&B at its “Free Fridays” concert, held Friday, June 14 from 8-10 p.m. at the Bo Diddley Plaza.

A celebration of African American Music Appreciation Month occurs every Friday night in June at the Bo Diddley Plaza as part of the “Free Fridays” concert series. Inspired by the dream of late local musicians Richard Baxter and Roland Burns, African American Music Appreciation Month has been celebrated in Gainesville since 1998.

The Gainesville community is invited to attend the Barbara Higgins Park Dedication Ceremony, held Saturday, June 8 at 11 a.m. The park is located at 1352 SE Second St. The dedication is made possible through the support of the Neighborhood Housing & Development Corporation, Lowe’s Home Improvement, the Wild Spaces & Public Places Program, the Springhill Church and the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department.

The City of Gainesville has developed a Proposed Annual Action Plan (AAP) that describes how it plans to use annual funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  In order to encourage community participation in the review of the AAP, and ongoing identification of community needs, meetings will be held in each of the four City Commission Districts, as follows:

• Monday, June 3 at 6 p.m.: Thelma Boltin Center (516 NE Second  Ave.)
• Tuesday, June 4 at 6 p.m.: Senior Recreation Center (5701 NW 34th  Blvd.)
• Wednesday, June 5 at 6 p.m.: Millhopper Branch Library (3145 NW 43rd St.)
• Thursday, June 6 at 6 p.m.: Gainesville Technology Entrepreneurship Center (2153 SE Hawthorne Rd.)

Mick Marino, Mark Miale, Tony McMahon and Friends play a tribute to the music of Stephen Stills at the “Free Fridays” Concert Series at Bo Diddley Plaza in downtown Gainesville Friday, May 31 from 8-10 p.m.