GAINESVILLE - It's a fall tradition for downtown Gainesville: turning the streets…into an outdoor art gallery. 

 

But things may be a little warmer this year, as organizers made the decision to move the fair to mid-October, back from its normal early-November start date.

 

Organizers say the decision to move the fair was made at the request of the Gainesville Police Department. Because the University of Florida football team has three consecutive home games this November, police asked the city to hold the fair at an earlier date. Event organizer Linda Piper says the art festival normally attracts about 100,000 people, a number that requires extra police presence. If a football game was added on top of that, police may have been overwhelmed.

 

In addition, Piper says hotel rooms would have filled up faster, raising the price for art vendors who travel from out of town.

 

The 31st annual Gainesville Art Fest will feature more than 250 vendors. Roads will be closed around downtown Gainesville all weekend. The show kicks off Saturday morning, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.