Beyond the dunes, along harbor boardwalks, tucked beside cafés and courthouse squares, you will find plenty more than sugar-white sand shimmering in the Florida sun. Public art is everywhere—perhaps even in a downtown you’ve seen a thousand times. Our stretch…
Along the Emerald Coast, creativity is an inheritance—shaped by hand, passed through generations, and rooted in the shared act of making something meaningful, lasting, and uniquely one’s own. For some families, it becomes a language spoken through wood, paint, and…
From symphonies and stage lights to pirate ships, dolphins, and upside-down museums, Northwest Florida delivers show-stopping entertainment from Fort Walton Beach to Panama City Beach. Traveling with toddlers, teens, or grandparents? These 12 can’t-miss stops promise memory-making moments beyond the…
Beyond the beach chairs and sunset cocktails, another kind of Emerald Coast experience awaits—one rooted in wraparound porches, handwritten welcome notes, and breakfasts served with a side of local lore. Historic bed-and-breakfast inns offer something refreshingly personal: conversation over coffee,…
From monarch butterflies and majestic herons to painted anchors and pelicans in paradise, the Emerald Coast doubles as an open-air gallery. Follow this playful, coastal-themed art trail from DeFuniak Springs to Pensacola—no tickets required. The Emerald Coast is famous for…
Pack your curiosity alongside your sunscreen; you will need both. Along the Emerald Coast, the experience goes beyond the view, inviting visitors to step into a more hands-on kind of getaway. From Destin to 30A, the rhythm of the beach…
There’s a difference between eating on vacation and truly tasting a place. Along the Emerald Coast, that difference comes down to one thing: local. The kind where recipes are rooted in family, the fish was likely caught that morning, and…
Sunscreen? Check. Flip-flops? Check. Hidden artistic talent you didn’t know you had? That’s where the Emerald Coast comes in. Beach days may be a given, but this stretch of coastline offers something more—an invitation to step off the sand and…
There’s something visitors often say when they arrive on the Emerald Coast: “We want to live like the locals.” We hear it in restaurants, on fishing piers, and along our sugar-white beaches. Travelers want more than a postcard experience. They…
When Sinfonia Gulf Coast raised its baton for the first time in 2005, it did so with an audacious promise: to redefine the symphony experience along Northwest Florida’s Emerald Coast. Two decades later, that promise has become a lived reality—one…
The energy inside the Juniper Ballroom of Hotel Effie at Sandestin on March 26 was unmistakable—joyful, electric, and deeply inspiring. As guests entered the elegant foyer, they were greeted by friendly faces and a festively framed portrait of 12 accomplished…
There’s no tap dancing around it, Emerald Coast Theatre Company’s 2022 Fall Educational Theatre programs offer something for everyone including both children and adults. “There couldn’t be a time where self-expression through the performing arts is more essential for our…
Emerald Coast Theatre Company adds sizzle to three Friday evenings in June during its second annual Summer Pop Fun-raiser series. The Summer Pop Series, which caps ECTC's 9th annual season, will be held at 560 Grand Boulevard (upstairs) in Grand…
If a picture is worth a thousand words, the Digital Graffiti Festival (DG) at Alys Beach is ... priceless. The 15th annual installation of the world's first juried projection art festival showcased the original digital art of 41 artists from around the…
It was an arty Pop Up party. Artists, designers, gallerists, photographers, musicians, writers — even mixologists — gathered at Maxine Orange Studio + Gallery in Fort Walton Beach on a warm spring evening in May. The creative Pop Up Party…
The sun was shining, faces were smiling, and music played as artists meeted and greeted during the 34th ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival on Mother’s Day weekend. ArtsQuest is a highlight of Art Month Walton County: A Cultural Arts Alliance Initiative.…
Art lovers, nature lovers and underwater museum enthusiasts gathered under twinkling lights in Grand Boulevard Town Center in Miramar Beach on a balmy spring evening to support all three. The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County kicked off Art Month…
It’s springtime! That means it’s about time to shake a leg … and your booty … at the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation (MKAF) Concerts in the Village. This year MKAF presents 10 entertaining concerts by a range of musicians, from…
In April, artist/inventor Dwayne Szot — founder of Zot Artz — is returning as an art partner with Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation’s ArtsReach residency program with Artz for All with Zot. This time, Szot will lead two full-day residencies at…
“It was awesome. It was great to have Sinfonia interact with the kids,” spouts Michelle McKain, a Freeport Elementary School teacher who escorted her 20 students to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Conference Center on March 9 for Sinfonia Gulf Coast’s…
They may not have capes, but Fort Walton Beach has a band of new heroes. In an animated presentation to the Fort Walton Beach City Council on Tuesday, Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) administrator Alisa Burleson introduced the newly minted members…
Music was a big part of Aaron King Vaughn’s family life growing up in Tallahassee. His grandfather was a voice professor at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) for 50 years and his grandmother was a concert pianist. It’s not…
Maxine Orange looked plucky in her petite plum velvet blazer, but she was nervous. “This is a first,” she said. Though the 42-year-old artist has done many things — design an underwater art sculpture, paint portraits of blushing brides live,…
You Only Live Once is the motto for the Emerald Coast-based YOLO brand, and co-founder CEO Jeff Archer is making the most of the lifestyle brand experience while he can. “We are proud to have been born and raised in…
South Walton artist Andy Saczynski just landed a whale. Meaning … Not only did he land a huge opportunity to install a large-scale commissioned artwork on a “blank slate” wall, but the 45-year-old known for his vibrant, Cubism-like, mixed media…
Cre·scen·do (/krəˈSHenˌdō/) Even the name is full of fun! It’s such an exciting word — it’s a noun, adverb, adjective and verb. We love a themed…
Crestview just got its "sea legs." Restauranteur Stewart Taylor has expanded its family-owned and operated business by opening its third Stewby's Seafood Shanty at 4120 S. Ferdon Blvd. (State Road 85 between the Ford Crestwview and Allen Turner Chevrolet dealerships.)…
After “growing up in the theme parks,” this theater buff jumped on a membership position for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) when she was just 20. When 9/11 shuttered her SAG office, she segued into stage management for NBC Universal,…
On a crisp, sunny fall Saturday, friends, couples, and colleagues were all smiles as they gathered under majestic live oaks shading Cerulean Park in Watercolor to usher in the 5th annual Harvest Wine & Food Festival — one part of…
Before Deb Nissley joined the staff of Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation more than 23 years ago, she didn’t have a background in the cultural arts. She had designs on being a landscape architect, but life had other plans for this…
Pensacola is fast becoming known as “the Culture Capital of the Southeast.” That’s thanks in part to hosting ambitious cultural events such as next month’s Foo Foo Fest, a 12-day extravaganza of all things arts, culture, and entertainment. Pensacola’s pristine sugar-white…
The summer rotation runs June 28 through October 17, 2021
Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation closes out their series Thursday, June 24th
Excited to continue fulfilling the “creative” vision is CEO Demetrius Fuller.
At a glance, you could say Eleanor McCain’s life is patchwork. But closer inspection reveals a tapestry of thoughtful, deliberate choices.
Siblings overcome obstacles in building ‘glampground’
Grab & Go Market Conversions, Enhanced Renovations and Curbside Chef Specials
FloridaShines Offers Array of Resources for Online Learning
President Martha Saunders says ‘Fighting COVID-19 is a critical mission and we’re all in this together’
National Hospitality Experts and Local Chef Jim Shirley Weigh In Saying ‘We have to reinvent and retool going forward’ … ‘we will need to adapt’
Save the Date for Live Art Demos, Virtual Art Festivals and Exhibits
No. 1 national recording artist presents first Facebook Live show
A Partnership Between the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the Alzheimer’s Association is Bringing New Communication Abilities to Assisted Living Facilities
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Children’s Volunteer Health Network Receives $35,000 Grant from the Helping Hands Foundation of All In Credit Union
