First Friday Carnival of Arts and Culture Enlivens Downtown FWB

Street Fest includes live music performances, activities for the whole family and shopping from local vendors.

Photo Courtesy of Downtownn FWB Organization

In historic downtown Fort Walton Beach, the vintage marquee of the Downtown Cinema Plus looks much the same announcing a screening of “Black Panther” as it did advertising “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” in 2001.

The adjacent Indian Temple Mound Museum, housing artifacts thousands of years old, hosted my first-grade field trip.

But sprouting amid these old bones is a contemporary hub of art and culture.

At the first Downtown FWB Street Fest last spring, a friend and I meandered along the central strip and reminisced about our bygone days at Fort Walton Beach High School.

Then we came to an unfamiliar alley where we discovered a courtyard teeming with patrons of Taste Tapas & Wine Bar and KC’s Sandbar & Grill indulging in happy hour and a live concert.

We joined in, nursing glasses of rosé while vendors arranged more than 50 booths brimming with arts and amusements.

Previously known as the Fort Walton Beach Art Walk, the city’s first Friday fete has been redesigned into a street fest proper, encompassing culinarians and composers, acrobats and artisans.

“When you hear about an art walk, people tend to envision displays of traditional mediums, such as paintings or photography, when art includes so much more than that,” said Jennifer Bundrick, director of events for Downtown Fort Walton Beach.

“People express their creativity in different ways, and we don’t turn away anyone who wants to share that with us.”

That open-door policy was particularly fortuitous for Kim Hughes and her four girls. These gifted, novice chandlers had been seeking a means to distribute their soy-based, hemp-wicked candles and hoped this was a good place to start.

“This is our first time selling our hobby to the community, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Hughes, as pedestrians stopped to sample aromas such as Nag Champa and Bahama Mama.

“Experimenting with different scents and creating a product that’s healthy for the environment is something we’re proud of. We hope this is the first of many festivals and farmers markets that’ll bring us even closer together.”

Professional artist and Pittsburgh native Christina Donahoe, who exhibits her personalized portraiture and oil/acrylic paintings downtown at Artesano Boutique, enjoyed having casual passersby at FWB Street Fest stop by, fall in love with her art and take it home.

“Compared to Pittsburgh’s art scene, Fort Walton Beach’s is a lot more tight-knit,” she shared.

“A lot of artists are willing to help each other and cross-market, and there’s clearly a positive response from the community for these types of events. It’s been a great experience during the few months I’ve lived here.”

Leaving Donahoe’s provisional gallery, we revelers snaked our way to The Macaron Chef’s cart, where we were unable to merely sample the pastel-colored, gourmet confections without buying a box to take home.

Others noshed their way through Stuff and Things barbecue, while the Beach Brass Band serenaded the streets with New Orleans-style jazz.

Children’s freshly painted faces lit up at an LED hula hoop performance and at the sight of Nonie’s Ark, where they could interact with reptiles, chinchillas and exotic birds.

The family-oriented, neighborly culture of this historic but increasingly youthful town is what inspired Kayla Moody, of Two Sisters jewelry and her mother to travel from their home in Santa Rosa Beach to display their wares.

“The downtown scene in Fort Walton Beach is definitely growing,” Moody said.

“Between all the new businesses popping up and the dives with live music every night, it has a lot going for it. I would rather be out here than trying to sell in 30A because I feel like in smaller places like these, everyone appreciates each other and their craft a little bit more. They’re all putting forth an effort to make Fort Walton Beach a more interesting place to live.”