Education & Classes in Gainesville

Years ago, Rebecca Barborak went to a BYOB painting class and found that it combined her love for art and red wine. She decided to start her own paint-it-yourself studio, where students of all skill levels bring forth flowers, animals, and landscapes in painting classes in both BYOB and child-friendly varieties. The studio also hosts casual open sessions where visitors can work at their pace on canvas and pottery pieces. Beneath the paintings that festoon the walls and cover the dozens of mysterious safes, private parties and camps can reveal the secrets of painting.

Wanting to fly to the beat of a different drummer, a couple of flight instructors decided in 2009 to start their own training center and teach the skills their unique way. They laid the groundwork for their new business with cutting-edge safety features such as aircrafts boasting airbags and innovative weather and traffic advisories. Additionally, the duo acknowledges that cost often keeps those with sky-bound ambitions grounded, so they work with individuals to find an affordable training plan. Besides their pilot programs, the owners make their Cessnas and bundles of helium-filled balloons available for rent.

Tobin Wagstaff has traveled quite an interesting path: he founded a nonprofit music school, and, in a turn of events profiled on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, hobnobbed with rock royalty Kiss. All the while, Studio Percussion has been teaching pupils to tickle the ivories, strum the guitar, drum up a storm, and sing their favorite tunes, whether they’re jazz ballads or traditional Klingon folk songs. The instructors—all of whom remain active in the industry—help to whisk their pupils into the limelight during performances at UF sporting events, city music festivals, homecoming parades, and even family jam nights, during which participants take turns reciting their ancestral lineage to music.

The University of Florida Alumni Association helps Gator fans stay in the know on university happenings and make new connections in the Gator nation. Association members can commingle at special on- or off-campus events, such as the Gator Nation tailgate before each home football game or meet up at events organized by their local chapter of the Gator Club. Membership also nets them a slew of other benefits, including discounts from both local and non-local merchants.