Author: Debbie Roney Smith

The Amelia: Automobile Show

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Formerly known as the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance, The Amelia is an annual beauty pageant for restored automobiles.

This year’s show includes a new Cars & Community series of events, the renamed Cars & Caffeine, a RADwood display, a new Kids Zone, and the cheeky Concours d’Lemons. The Concours d’Lemons is cheekily designed to allow owners to show off their ugliest, saddest vehicles. The event will be held March 3rd-6th and culminates Sunday with a chance to walk among beautiful cars parked on the fairways of the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island’s beachfront golf course. Learn more at the newly designed Amelia website.

Panama City Beach Scottish Festival

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2018 PANAMA CITY SCOTTISH FESTIVAL & HIGHLAND GAMES

Tomorrow is the Panama City Beach Scottish Festival. This one-day event is hosted by the Celtic Cultural Alliance and held at Frank Brown Park. The event includes Highland Games, premium scotch whisky tasting, Irish Step dancing performances, a British car show, Scottish Bagpipe bands, kids play area, and vendors selling Celtic-inspired goods. The Highland Games include a Stone Throw, Scottish Heavy Hammer Throw, and the Sheaf Toss. Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for kids aged 6-14, and free for children 5 and younger. Please note that the premium scotch whisky tasting requires a special ticket costing $35. Learn more about the Scottish Festival and the Celtic Cultural Alliance by visiting their website here. 

Chipley Craft Fair

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Coming to Chipley this Saturday, March 5th, is the Boat Lake Spring Craft Fair and Yard Sale. From 9am – 5pm, this free event will be hosting a multitude of vendors selling a variety of crafts and goods. If you or someone you know is interested in taking part as a vendor, booth spots are $10.00 per booth spot with set-up beginning at 8am. To sign up as a vendor or to learn more about the event, please call 850-832-4771 or email boatlakedirector@gmail.com. Visit the Facebook event page here to stay up-to-date with event announcements. 

State of Florida Speciality Plate

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The State of Florida is giving car owners a special opportunity to help save the bees by pre-ordering a license plate! The annual use fees from the sale of the Florida State Beekeepers license plate will be distributed to the Florida State Beekeepers Association. The money will be put towards funding outreach and education to raise awareness of the importance of beekeeping to Florida agriculture. Additionally, the funds will help honeybee research and husbandry. The State has until October 2022 to get 3,000 pre-orders for the license plate to become a reality. Please pre-order yours today at the following link for $40: https://myfloridaspecialtyplate.com/beesvoucherorder.html 

Community Yard Sale

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Coming this weekend, March 5th, is the community yard sale at Magnolia Square Park in Blountstown. It will be held from 9am-12pm. Currently, there are 15 people signed up to sell at this event. If you are interested in selling, there are more spots available. Contact Main Street Blountstown, Inc on Facebook or call 850-841-0359.

News about Torreya State Park

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The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced that Torreya State Park has been designated a State Geological Site. The agency describes State Geological Sites as “areas the Florida Geological Survey has determined to be significant to scientific study and the public’s understanding of Florida’s geological history.” source This is especially important for Torreya as the park is still in recovery from Hurricane Michael, and State Geological Sites receive more support and interest. 

Torreya State Park Trail by @nonsensicalnoah

The agency explained that “Torreya State Park was chosen for this designation in part because of the park’s Rock Bluff, a steep, tall, limestone bluff that has been exposed by erosion from the Apalachicola River. Rock Bluff is part of the Torreya Formation and is about 18 million years old. Marine fossils (…) are found in the limestone formations exposed along the Apalachicola River and in the streambeds within the park.”

Palindrome Week

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A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of characters which reads the same backward as forward. The first palindrome was written in Latin and traced back to ancient Rome; they have also been found in ancient Sanskrit and Greek. Additionally, palindromes have been found as graffiti in the remains of the city of Herculaneum. Herculaneum was buried in volcanic ash circa AD 79 by Mount Vesuvius, Italy. The last week of February is a week of palindromes:

 

Benefitting the PCB Senior Center

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The Panama City Beach Senior Center counts on donations to keep its lights on and to continue serving the community. Consider supporting this keystone of the community by visiting its upcoming craft fairs. Today, from 9am to 2pm, the PCBSC will be hosting the Winter Craft Fair. The fair will be held at the Lyndell Conference Center right next door to the PCBSC. The Craft Fair will have crafts, jewelry, local goods, lunch items, baked goods, and more!

The second fair will also be held at the Lyndell Conference Center. On March 5th, PSBSC will be hosting an Everything Sale. It will have everything available at the Craft Fair and more! For more information about either event, call the PCBSC at 850-233-5065 or email sue@pcbsc.com. 

Mardi Gras Barkus Parade

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    Tomorrow is the 11th annual Mardi Gras Barkus Parade. This is a special Mardi Gras parade hosted by the Mystic Krewe of Salty Barkers, a Krewe of dogs and their humans.

    The Krewe is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and the parade proceeds will go towards the benefit of local animal charities. The theme of this year’s parade is Pirates of Oyster City; the event will include live music, local food and drink, and arts and crafts vendors. Festivities will start at 11am at Riverfront Park. The parade of costumed dogs, people, golf carts, boats, and floats will begin at 1pm. As always, the King and Queen of the Apalachicola Mardi Gras parade are shelter animals who are up for adoption; they have a place of honor in the parade. Learn more at the Mystic Krewe website here. 

    Mardi Gras GRAND Parade

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      The annual Pensacola Mardi Gras Grand Parade is coming up this February 26th!

      The Grand Parade is the city’s largest parade; it includes more than 6,000 participants and 10,000 viewers. The parade features local Krewes, marching bands, organizations, and Scout Groups. Additionally, there are a number of out-of-town Krewes and organizations that visit specifically for this event. Interested in attending? The parade takes place on Palafox and Garden Streets in historic downtown Pensacola. It will start on February 26th at 2pm and lasts until 6pm. There will be a dedicated children’s viewing area free of alcohol and tobacco to ensure families can have a good time during the high-energy parade. Learn more about the parade at the Pensacola Mardi Gras website here.