Pensacola Winterfest

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The Pensacola Winterfest is here! This annual event features three live action Christmas-themed train tours are leaving the station even earlier this year. The options include: Polar Express, The Grinch’s Merry Match, and Christmas Tree Heist. Each adventure includes special guests along with musical performances, live readings, and other entertainment. For an additional fee, you can have your holiday photos taken with Santa or Grinch! 

Tickets are $16-26 for adults and $10-17 for kids. Open select dates: Dec. 6-8, 13, 15, 20-24. Learn more or purchase your tickets by visiting the Winterfest website.

National Hiking Day

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Ocala National Forest

Today is National Hiking Day! This is an excellent time of year to go out and explore the wilderness around you. Here in the Florida Panhandle and surrounding areas, there’s a number of unique ecosystems to explore at local, state, and national parks. Here’s a list of just a few of the beautiful places to explore today:

Flutterby Arts Festival

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Come out to Inlet Beach on 30A to help celebrate the monarch butterflies’ 2,000-mile fall migration from North America to Central America! The Flutterby Arts Festival is Walton County’s annual art, craft, and science fest all about butterflies. This is a family-friendly event that includes live entertainment, hands-on youth art activities, self-guided tours of the Watersound Monarch Art Trail, a butterfly parade, and more. The event runs on November 10th from 9am to 4pm. Learn more by visiting the Cultural Arts Alliance event page here. 

Fall Home Maintenance: Gutter Cleaning

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Fall is great time to clean your gutters! Over the year, sticks, leaves, dirt, and other debris have been falling into your gutters. Debris can build up, restricting the flow of water and potentially leading to home damage if not taken care of While you can find someone to take care of the job for you, cleaning the gutters yourself can save you a nice chunk of money. So, what do you need to keep in mind while tackling this task?

  1.  Follow proper safety protocol! This means wearing the appropriate safety gear, including long pants, a long-sleeve shirt, closed-toe shoes, gardening gloves, and safety glasses. This will help you avoid scratches, pest bites, and more. You never know when a wet clump of leaves contains an ant nest! Safety protocol also means being smart when getting up to your gutters; DO NOT climb on the roof to clean the gutters – use a ladder. 
  2. Follow the right procedure! Start by removing any material near the downspout and clearing any downspout strainers. Then clear out the upper gutters by the handful, removing any large debris collections. Then, using a water hose, flush the gutters and downspouts. At this point, any clogs should reveal themselves. Feed your water hose down the pipe and turn the water on full blast; be sure not to stand at the end of the gutter least you get a face full of gutter gunk! Make sure to give your gutters one last flush.
  3. Repair any leaks! During the last flush, keep an eye out for any leaks or drips. Repair the area if possible. If not, be sure to replace the gutter piece within a few weeks. Leaks can lead to system shut down, gutter collapse, and other issues. 

Tallahassee Museum Halloween FUN-raiser

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The Tallahassee Museum is once again hosting an adults-only Halloween party as a fundraiser for the museum. The FUN-raiser features live music from the Tobacco Road Band, gourmet eats by local chefs, and an open bar! The theme of this year’s Zoobilee FUN-raiser is Witches and Warlocks. Costumes are encouraged! Come out to the Tallahassee Museum on October 25th from 7-10pm. You can purchase your ticket in advance HERE for only $50 OR buy at the door for $55; proceeds support the Museum’s education, preservation, and conservation services to the community. You must be 21+yrs old to attend. 

Pirates of the High Seas and Renaissance Fest

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Panama City Beach is throwing a mega party to celebrate the history of Florida Panhandle swashbuckling sea adventurers. Just in time for the holiday weekend, the Pirates of the High Seas and Renaissance Festival is three days of family fun! People of all ages will enjoy being wowed by the fire circus and live mermaid shows, the fireworks extravaganza, and the Medieval-themed Knights at the Beach Tournament. The Renaissance Fest activities may not have anything to do with pirates historically but it sure makes for a great time, good food, and fun entertainment. Ren Fest activities include chess tournaments, Dungeons and Dragons, knight training, and more! 

So come out to Pier Park in Panama City Beach this weekend, October 11th-13th, to enjoy! Click here to learn more. 

Pumpkins in the Park

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The Marianna City Farmers Market invites you to celebrate the month with Pumpkins in the Park! This fall festival will feature vendors, games for kids, a photo booth, fall basket giveaway, and an amazing pumpkin patch. Pumpkins in the Park will take place 9am-2pm at 2844 Madison Street. This event is FREE for the community but be sure to bring money to get a head start on holiday shopping with the vendors!

Hurricane Helene Relief

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Hurricane Helene hit landfall as a Category 4 Thursday evening. Shortly after making landfall, it weakened to a tropical storm but the damage was still widespread. Today, relief efforts and first responders are already making headway in the affected areas. If you’re in need of help, try contacting the following services:

  • 911; for medical emergencies or in case of dangerous situations such as downed but active power lines.
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) (TTY: 1-800-462-7585); this is a toll-free line that helps individuals and businesses needing to apply for assistance.
  • Reach out to your local law enforcement department. 

If you’re interested in assisting others during this time, here are some resources to help you get started:

  • The Florida Disaster Fund; Florida’s official private fundraiser for disaster relief. It provides financial assistance to communities as they respond to and recover from emergencies or disasters like Hurricane Helene. Visit The Florida Disaster Fund website for more information or to contribute.

  • The United Way; assists in disaster-related evacuations, shelters, food/clothing distributions, volunteer opportunities and other resources. Monetary contributions can be made to the United Way of Florida Disaster Fund.

  • The American Red Cross; has deployed hundreds of trained disaster workers and will continue assisting through cleanup and recovery. Learn more or donate by visiting redcross.org or calling 800-RED-CROSS. You can also become a Red Cross volunteer or sign up to give blood.

Bays Estuary Program Fundraiser

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The St. Andrew and St. Joseph Bay Estuary Program is celebrating National Estuaries Week on September 28th! They will be hosting a 5k through the scenic wetlands of Conservation Park in Panama City. There will be a Kids’ 1K Fun Run will begin at 8:30am CDT with the 5k following at 9:00am CDT.

The event directly benefits the St. Andrew & St. Joseph Bay Estuary Program with all proceeds going towards their efforts to protect and restore the beautiful and vital estuarine ecosystems of the local Bays. The Kids Run will be $20 and the 5K is $25. *There will be a price increase after 9/21*

Interested in registering as a runner or sponsoring? CLICK HERE!

Paint and Sip at Chautauqua Vineyards

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Chautauqua Vineyards and Winery will be hosting a Paint and Sip class every Saturday in September! The upcoming class will take place on September 14th at 11am. There will be two artwork options to choose from designed by Rachel Kurtz: a pumpkin door hanger or flamingo door hanger. The tickets cost $55 each and includes your art supplies AND a glass of wine.

Learn more by visiting the winery’s event page here.