Category: Family Friendly

2nd Annual Sandhills Celebration

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Founded in the Bay County, Sandhills Native Nursery is hosting their 2nd Annual Sandhills Celebration! It’s an event focused on education and conservation taking place on April 12th &13th. Join them for two family-friendly days of scheduled educational talks, local community organizations, animal ambassadors, local artists, food, trails, and more! The event is free to attend but bring cash for art vendors, food and drinks from local cafe Wild Root, plant purchases, and more. Parking is limited, please carpool. 

 

Coastal Plant Giveaways

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Escambia County is hosting two FREE costal plant giveaways for the public this April. The giveaways will take place at Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key. The plants will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Additionally, there will be a limit of one plant grouping per household. Participating citizens will receive a small grouping of several species to encourage diversity and resiliency within the coastal ecosystem. The giveaway plant species include sea oats, blue stem, dune sunflower, blazing star, blanket flower, beach morning glory, and other coastal natives. The plants are being donated by Gulf Coast Fencing and Dune Restoration following local seed collection as part of the Pensacola Beach Dune Restoration Project. Please bring small boxes or baskets to transport plants.

Plant giveaways will take place at the following locations at the following times:

April 25: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Perdido Key Community Center, 15500 Perdido Key Drive
April 26: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Pensacola Beach Community Church, 920 Panferio Drive

 

Firework Displays

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 Do you enjoy fireworks? Want to see them more than once a year in July? HarborWalk Village has you covered! They are putting on firework displays multiple time this year; March, May, June, July, and more! Click the image to see specific dates or visit their website for more information.

Snow Much Fun Day

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Northstar Church invites you and yours to a Snow Much Fun Day on Sunday, December 22 from 10am-1pm! Open to all Bay County residents, there will be fun for all ages. With real snow, inflatables, food, Christmas photo ops, and much more! The event is being thrown in collaboration with FOR Bay County, so if you would like to volunteer to help create holiday joy, visit the FOR website here. Want to learn more about upcoming Northstar Church events? Visit their website here. 

Opossum Claus & Holiday Shopping

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Have you met Opossum Claus?!

Tallahassee Native Nursery says “Opossum Claus loves relaxing by the cider station, lounging in the swing, greeting everyone as they enter the gift shop, and taking pictures with people. If he doesn’t talk or move, don’t worry — he’s probably just playing dead.”

Opossum Claus only sticks around until December 24th, when he heads off to help Santa deliver gifts. So come see him while you can! The Nursery also has a gorgeous gift shop called The Wren’s Nest. It offers gardening goods like tools, seeds, fertilizers, and more. Holiday gifts such as ornaments, books, shirts, gift certificates, and more are also available. Visit them to find the perfect gift for the plant lover in your life!

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. 

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!