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Come Discover High Springs by Anisa Perbtani - A day-trip to our neighboring town can be relaxing or exciting.
Just a twenty-minute drive northwest of Gainesville will bring you back in time to a place where everything has slowed down, and the small things are important again. There, in the heart of High Springs, Florida, you can experience first-hand the old world charm, captured in the brick-lined walkways and the majestic architecture of Main Street.
If shopping is your form of relaxation, then you will be delighted, for it is one of High Spring’s big attractions, with merchants offering various goods, from jewels to art. You can expect a warm greeting as you enter one of the many beautiful boutiques, where shopkeepers give kind attention as they help you select the perfect antique, jewel, or gift. Their helpful, friendly attitude will leave you feeling as though you’ve made a new friend; in fact, you may even decide to call High Springs home once you’ve experienced their hospitality. Whether it’s show-quality antiques or just a souvenir you seek, you are bound to find the perfect treasure.
Fans of the performing arts will be happy to find that High Springs has its very own amateur theatre group. Local thespians from the surrounding areas participate in the four main-stage productions, which are performed in the High Springs Community Theatre at 130 N.E. 1st Ave.
Another live performance venue in the area is the Theatre of Memory, located in the old Opera House above the Great Outdoors Restaurant, at 65 North Main Street. They host a variety of local performing artists and musicians every Friday and Saturday evening at 8:00. Tickets are $7.00.
Talk about history! One of High Springs most exciting events is the annual Pioneer Days, where you can experience what the city was like at the turn of the century. Sponsored by the High Springs Chamber of Commerce, the festivity began as a Tobacco Festival, celebrating the crop that sustained the area’s economy. However, as the tobacco industry declined, the name was changed to reflect the customs and lives of the people who lived there.
During the two-day celebration, which is held on the first full weekend in May, the town becomes as it was in the past, and there is a feeling of nostalgia for a time gone by.
Throughout the day, the sheriff and local “bad guys” can be found roving the streets, creating havoc. The highlight of the day is the grand shootout between the sheriff and the bad guys, where over the years they’ve enacted such dramas as bank robberies, train heists and saloon fights.
Although it started as a local celebration with costume contests, seed-spitting contests and local musicians, Pioneer Days has now grown into a large two-day festival, attracting over 20,000 people each year. The festival combines an arts-and-crafts show with food provided by local churches and civic groups, as well as entertainment, all in the relaxing atmosphere of Sink Hole Park. There are lots to see and do: children’s activities, carriage rides and old-time craft demonstrations, to mention a few. The whole family is sure to be entertained by the many activities and booths.
Outdoor enthusiasts will be thrilled to discover all that High Springs has to offer. Outfitters line the streets, providing a bounty of outdoor adventures to canoeists, kayakers, cave divers, hikers, cyclists, horseback riders, and more.
Just outside of town, the Santa Fe River’s rise and sink are part of a unique system of state trails and country roads at O’Leno State Park. You might like to hike a trail that parallels the swirling waters of one of the region’s many tributaries. Or visit the Ichetucknee River, where you can spend an entire afternoon floating on an inner tube, shaded under a leafy canopy. You may choose to take one of the canoe trails on the Santa Fe River leading to the Suwannee River and hundreds of springs along the way; Ginnie Springs, included in this group, is a cave-diving favorite. For those less athletic-minded, the historic walking tour of High Springs, featuring narratives detailing the local architecture on Main Street and the Opera House, is popular with visitors.
Whether you are looking for an adventure, or a simple change of pace, High Springs has something for everyone.