Author: Debbie Roney Smith

Mid-South Harbor Farmers Market

Debbie Roney Smith on

Mid-South Harbor Farmers Market is hosting their monthly Farm, Garden, Craft & Animal Swap next Saturday, September 9th from 8AM – 2PM. This is a FREE event for both vendors and the community. Meet with local vendors and creators supplying fresh produce, baked items, canned goods, hand-made arts & crafts, plants, and small animals. Interested in being a vendor? Email: youngstown@midsouthlumberco.com or midsouthlumber@knology.net for a vendor application. Visit the event’s Facebook page to stay up-to-date with event announcements and more. 

 

National Beach Day

Debbie Roney Smith on

Enjoy a Florida summer beach day to celebrate National Beach Day today! National Beach Day was created in 2014 to raise public awareness of the beauty of beaches while also calling attention to keeping them clean and safe. To celebrate yet honor beaches, remember: enjoy the beach, leave nothing behind. See the list below for some suggestions of Pandhandle beaches you could visit:

  • Navarre Beach
  • Henderson Beach State Park
  • Pensacola Beach
  • St. Andrews State Park
  • Seagrove Beach
  • Grayton Beach State Park
  • Okaloosa Island

Tallahassee Film Festival 2023

Debbie Roney Smith on

The 15th annual Tallahassee Film Festival is happening September 2-3 at multiple venues downtown and in the Railroad Square arts district. The event will feature over 70 films and scores, over 40 shorts, and a dozen feature films. The fest has partnered with Sunshine State Biodiversity for a curated short film program titled ‘Environment in Focus.’ Visitors can purchase a weekend pass OR tickets for individual screenings. Learn more or purchase tickets in advance by visiting the event website here. 

 

How Did Two Egg Get its Name?

Debbie Roney Smith on

Two Egg is a small Florida gem of a town located at the intersection of State Road 69 and State Road 69A. A few local fables are discussing how the town got its name. The most prevalent is that, during the Depression in the 1930s, cash was very hard to come by so locals began to trade farm products for other staples in store. It is believed that two boys used to come in with two eggs from their family farm to trade for sugar. It essentially became a local joke to refer to the store as the “two egg store” and the name stuck.

FL Scallop, Music, & Arts Festival

Debbie Roney Smith on

Celebrate Labor Day weekend by feasting on freshly harvested St. Joseph’s Bay scallops with the ambiance of two days of live music. The Florida Scallop, Music, and Arts Festival is happening September 2-3 at George Core Park.

The festival lineup includes John Del Toro Richardson, Memphis Lightning, the Bo Spring Band, Damon Fowler, and more! The festival kicks off the Port St. Joe scallop season which runs from August 16 through September 24. If you have a fishing license, you can dive for your own dinner! Make sure to bring your mask, snorkeling gear, and eagle eyes because most finds are hidden in seagrasses in four to six feet of water.

Learn more by visiting the event website HERE. 

National Dog Day 2023

Debbie Roney Smith on
Duke, one of Debbie’s furry family members.

National Dog Day was first established in 2004 by pet advocate Colleen Paige. Now, it is an annual celebration of our beloved pets and a day of advocacy for those who are waiting for their forever homes in shelters or foster homes. In honor of our four-legged friends, let’s look at some quick dog facts!

JD, another of Debbie’s dogs.
  • A dog’s nose print is unique, much like a person’s fingerprint.
  • Speaking of noses, a dog’s nose has as many as 300 million receptors! For reference, a human nose has about 5 million.
  • Dogs curl up in a ball when sleeping to protect their organs — a genetic instinct that lingers from their days in the wild when they were vulnerable to predator attacks during sleeping hours.
  • Dogs are not actually color-blind. They can see blue and yellow! 
  • When dogs kick backward after they go to the bathroom, they are not covering their excrement but marking their territory using scent glands in their feet. 

Two Egg: Home of a Hollywood Star

Debbie Roney Smith on

Faye Dunaway, a renowned stage and film actress, was born in Two Egg, Florida. Many accounts list the nearby town of Bascom as her hometown. However, this is because Two Egg was too small to have a post office so mail was delivered out of Bascom. Dunaway spent most of her younger years in the now-crumbling Two Egg farmhouse that she called home. When speaking about her first big Hollywood hit, Dunaway had this to say:

“That movie touched the core of my being. Never have I felt so close to a character as I felt to Bonnie. She was a yearning, edgy, ambitious southern girl who wanted to get out of wherever she was. I knew everything about wanting to get out, and the getting out doesn’t come easy.” 

Dunaway’s works include the infamously controversial Mommie Dearest (1981), the blockbuster film Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), The Arrangement (1969), the neo-noir mystery Chinatown (1974), The Towering Inferno (1974), the political thriller Three Days of the Condor (1975), and the Network (1976) – amongst many other films and Broadway performances. 

Taco & Tequila Fest

Debbie Roney Smith on

The annual Jax Taco and Tequila Fest is coming soon! From September 2-3, visit the Metropolitan Park from 3-11pm. The annual event is most famous for its Grand Sampling Experience which includes over 40 craft tequila distillers pouring samples twice each day. Is Tequila not to your taste? The Fest includes two days of live music headlined by Big Boi, Gym Class Heroes, Iration, and Lupe Fiasco. There will also be immersive art performances, complimentary dance lessons, cultural music, and a silent disco party featuring dueling DJS and an immersive light experience. And, of course, tacos! Get your tickets HERE or learn more at the event website. 

Celebrate Ice Cream

Debbie Roney Smith on

Today is National Soft Ice Cream Day! This annual event celebrates ice cream and all the happy memories it has facilitated. Remember late-night ice cream runs with friends? Enjoying the first cone of the summer? The joy of dippin’ dots when visiting NASA? Ice cream pops up in the happiest of places. 

Ice cream wasn’t available to the general public until the 1800s thanks to the creation of ice houses and other cold storage constructions. Nowadays, it’s a lot easier to enjoy your favorite soft serve. Looking for a creamery to visit today in celebration? While you can find chain creameries such as Baskin Robbins and Dairy Queen almost anywhere, visiting locally-owned ice cream parlors is worthy of a special occasion. See the list below for some suggestions across the Florida Panhandle.