A crowd of 10,000 is expected downtown Saturday for Jingle Mingle, the Lighting of the Chicken and the Festival of Trees. That’s according to city officials who have also issued some parking advice and other information for anyone planning to attend Gainesville’s official holiday kickoff.
For one thing, the city is waving downtown paid parking (ParkGVL). Drivers may park in the following zones for any length of time without engaging with the ParkGVL system:
*Broad1 and Broad2 (Broad Street between West Academy and Main streets)
*Spring1 (Spring Street between West Academy and Maple streets)
*Maple1 (Maple Street between Washington and Academy streets)
*Wash3 (Washington Street between E.E. Butler Parkway and Green Street)
Other options include the free parking decks: the Main Street Deck (downtown), the Gainesville North Deck (near the library), and the Hall County Deck (near the courthouse).
Some ParkGVL zones will be unavailable because those streets will be blocked off to allow for pedestrian traffic.
For event details, go to:
https://www.exploregainesville.org/jingle-mingle/
https://www.gainesville.org/833/2026-Festival-of-Trees-Kickoff