Uptown Art Hop

The next Uptown Art Hop is coming up soon! Friday, February 12th, from 6-9. We will have spinning and knitting demonstrations all night, and of course wine, cheese, and general Good Times. This time Hanks is proud to be showing the artwork of science fiction writer Joe Haldeman (you can see some of his artwork online here). Joe will also be available to autograph books during the Art Hop - his latest novel, STARBOUND, has just been released.

Joe says about art -

It's been a casual hobby all my life, but in the past ten or fifteen years it's become more serious; more central. It started out with a simple idea, which I read in some forgotten magazine: keep a watercolor diary of your travels. It sounded like fun, more fun than taking snapshots, so over the years I've filled up a few notebooks with travel sketches.

Of course it's easy to get hooked. I play with oils and pastels as well as ink and watercolor, and even when I'm at home, I'll bike out and do landscapes. Once a week I go to a studio and draw and paint nudes, and I'm sure my wife believes that I spend several hours staring at naked women purely for the sake of art.

And it's not just Hanks hogging all the fun -- the district of Uptown at 43rd Street includes art galleries, businesses and restaurants in Millhopper Square, Thornebrook Village, and The Market Place. We'd love to have you join us! See a sampling of some of the best art in Gainesville, ranging from one-of-a- kind locally made art, to gifts from the far corners of the earth. A rickshaw shuttle will allow event goers to easily travel the short distance between stops.

As if you needed another reason, but... why else should you show up? Because Uptown Art Hop merchants will be selling raffle tickets with 100 percent of the proceeds donated to Florida's Eden's One Region One Book program. Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5. The prize is $150 in gift certificates (in $25 increments) valid at any participating location. Click here for more information.