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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:
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The Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville is turning 100!!! Join the centennial celebration and enjoy a lineup of special exhibits and programs that embrace its past and recognize the local women who founded the museum.
From now through November 3rd, visit Project Atrium: Frank Stella. As the MOCA website states, “For six decades, Frank Stella has been a renowned painter, printmaker and sculptor. To mark the 100th anniversary, Stella was commissioned to create a sculpture for the museum. The finished work, “Jacksonville Stacked Stars” rises two stories in the museum’s atrium.” The museum will have a collection of Stella’s prints on display; the display is partly pulled from their permanent collection and partly on loan from local collectors.
There are endless other opportunities offered by MOCA; check out their website to learn more about the centennial celebration exhibits and programs as well as their standard offerings of kids classes and more.
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Dogs & Drinks is a relatively new membership-based dog park and bar. Located in downtown Panama City, it’s a community opportunity for dogs and their human companions. In order to visit, you must purchase a day, month, or annual membership. The membership includes all the dog amenities and access to the human bar – pet friends for the dog, refreshing beer, wine, or cocktails for the human! Dogs & Drinks frequently hosts food trucks and scheduled events such as Paint Your Pet, Puppy Day, and Foam parties. Call (850) 215-4522 to learn more or email dogsndrinks@gmail.com. You can also visit their website HERE.
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The Gulf Coast’s annual ren fair is back! Come out to the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds on March 2nd & 3rd to enjoy all things yo ho ho, ye olde, and ye haw! This year’s festival is open to those who enjoy renaissance fun like turkey legs and jousting, pirate antics such as excessive drinking and sword fights, AND cowboy culture with lassos and tales of the Wild West. This year also features a Roaring 20s stage that will showcase Irish step dancers, belly dancers, and a swing band. The Renaissance Fair and Pirate Festival encourages visitors of all ages and all costumes. Learn more HERE.
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Little Village & FINNS is hosting a Mardi Gras 2024 Party! Come out all weekend long (February 2-4) to enjoy live music, Mardi Gras food specials, and more. The waterfront property features indoor seating, a side deck, and a front-covered pavilion. See the live music schedule below:
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Today’s local business spotlight is Milk & Honey!
Located in Marianna, the shop is a multi-purpose shop that serves coffee, fro-yo, soft serve, and more. They also function as a community center where individuals can hang out doing computer work, catch up with friends, and more. They even rent out their rooms for organizations and groups to host meetings and events.
Visit the Milk & Honey Facebook page to stay up-to-date.
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Walmart’s across the United States and Puerto Rico are implementing semi-permanent sensory hours. The hours will take place every day from 8-10 a.m. Depending on how things go, these hours could become permanent.
Sensory hours are designed for those who are easily overwhelmed by external stimulation. During as typical Walmart visit, highly-sensitive individuals have to handle an influx of stimuli including stranger’s conversations, accidental touch, bright overhead lights, store music, and more. This can cause irritability, stress, agitation, insomnia, loss of focus, overwhelming feelings and thoughts, and anxiety. Some individuals even experience physical symptoms such as tight, itchy skin or buzzing nerves.
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Did you know that the Panhandle is home to a butterfly house? No, not the world-famous Gainesville Butterfly Rainforest and McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity. The Panhandle Butterfly House had it’s grand reopening this spring and has been slowly improving it’s grounds throughout the year. It was originally located in Navarre but recently relocated to Milton.
The Panhandle Butterfly House is committed to displaying exclusively Florida-native butterflies; this allows visitors to learn about the butterflies they may encounter in their backyards and throughout nature in their area. Additionally, the House raises native butterflies, allowing volunteers and visitors to witness the full butterfly life cycle from egg to hatching to caterpillar to chrysalis and then – the emerging of adult butterflies!
Learn more by visiting the official Panhandle Butterfly House website.
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The 2023 Right Whale Festival will take place on November 4-5 at Main Beach Park in Fernandina. The festival is part of a regional effort to educate and protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Every year in late fall, these endangered whales return to the warmer waters off the coast of northeast Florida to give birth and nurse their young. There are fewer than 350 right whales left.
The festival features family-friendly education, marine exhibits, animal ‘ambassadors,’ a beach clean-up, live music, kids activities, food, and more. Learn more about the event by visiting the festival website.
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Marianna families: come one, come all to Chipola College! On October 31st from 4:30-6:30 pm, the college will be hosting a community Trunk or Treat around Indian Circle. Individuals of all ages are encouraged to show up in costume for a fun afternoon.