News & Culture

Honoring Our Heroes

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the Vietnam Conflict, the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce proudly hosted Honoring Our Heroes: Welcome Home, a tribute to Vietnam veterans with a three-day event that brought together…

Theatre for all

For 10 years, the Southern Shakespeare Company (SSC) has been bringing the beloved works of Shakespeare to life in Tallahassee. “We are devoted to making his work accessible and exciting for all,” says SSC Artistic Director James Bond. “We do…

Zooming Out On Zen

Zen.  That is how freelance photographer Romona Robbins Reynolds describes the feeling she gets when she dons her goggles and takes to the saltwater with her camera. Above sea level, Reynolds juggles a small business, a home, a husband, a…

Snow-Kissed

“Sun-kissed” is a phrase often used here in our beach paradise. Our winters are brief and mild, and on sunnier days, we can even bask on the shore in swimwear during the colder months. However, on January 21 and 22…

Baker’s Brush Paints Legacy

“I’m not a fan of blank walls,”says artist and teacher Terry Baker. Thanks to him, you won’t find many empty walls throughout Freeport High School. He’s painted the school’s bulldog mascot, which hangs in the main hallway, and several of…

Making of a Mural

One resin artist, two mixed media sculptors, and three painters teamed up in fall 2024 to bring Emerald Coast Magazine’s Love EC signature hashtag to life.  The result—a one-of-a-kind mural fit for the best night of the year.  “The colorful,…

A New Tattooing Era

The tattoo industry has long thrived in Pensacola where a perfect combination of military members, locals, and tourists have kept books full at shops throughout town for decades.  “I think it’s just a really good, supportive community,” says Carrie Daniels,…

Pulling the Strings

At just 8 years old, Jessica Murphy saw something on television that would ignite a lifelong passion.  “There was a child on TV, I want to say Oprah, who performed violin for the audience,” Murphy recalls. “I remember wanting to be…

The Menina of the Reef

The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA) is excited to announce a groundbreaking collaboration between the Underwater Museum of Art (UMA) and the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation (FCSF) that will introduce a unique addition to the UMA’s seventh annual…

Academics Meet Académie

Success is often found when preparation meets opportunity.   Northwest Florida Ballet’s (NFB) Académie and Pre-Professional Program give both to its students.   The success of both programs is owed in great part to NFB’s artistic director and CEO Todd…

En Plein Air

It was the sand dunes that artist Michelle Held focused on as she looked out at the calm Gulf waters off Mexico Beach. She knew about Hurricane Michael and the devastation it brought to the town in 2018. But it…

Enzo Coats the Emerald Coast

This time we got much more than we bargained for, or more than we expected at least. It was more than the minor flurries that a few of us have been lucky enough to catch falling onto car windshields in…