PENSACOLA, Fla. – Nestled in the corner of the Florida Panhandle hides Pensacola: the western gate to the sunshine state. Aside from “the World’s whitest beaches”, Pensacola offers a variety of experiences that cater to art seekers, culture enthusiasts and entertainment lovers during its fourth annual Foo Foo Festival, Nov. 2 – 13. This highly anticipated line-up of events presented by Arts, Culture and Entertainment, Inc. (ACE) brings glowing character back to the Emerald Coast.
Foo Foo Festival’s12-day roster of events celebrate cuisine, music, art and theater with programming from 19 grant recipients, throughout the city of Pensacola. The 2017 ACE grant recipients will host individual experiences specific to their craft throughout the festival. Returning, marquee events include the US Navy’s Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show at NAS Pensacola, the Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival and the Pensacola Marathon, among other uniquely exciting events in the area.
During the first weekend of the festival, the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival, one of the best regarded and most popular arts festivals in the United States, hosts more than 200 of the nation’s praised painters, potters, sculptors, jewelers, graphic artists, craftsmen and other artists. Festival goers will have the opportunity to browse, buy and speak to the artists behind the work.
This year’s musical highlight offers Awakenings, a concert celebrating the vibrant culture, rich historic roots and thriving downtown of Pensacola portrayed through stunning imagery and moving music. Pensacola Symphony Orchestra’s mind-bending performance will feature Pensacola: Then & Now, a stunning sensory experience as pictures from Pensacola’s celebrated past and present are projected just above the orchestra to a symphonic photochoreography (a blend of panoramic photography with live classical music) on Nov. 4. This one of a kind performance is not one to miss.
Public art takes on a new level of interactivity at the Pensacola Museum of Art at the University of West Florida’s, “CUBED” exhibit invites viewers to witness live painting as artists create murals on a cube, with an individual painting on each side. Festival goers will then be able to walk through the streets of Downtown Pensacola shaded by hundreds of colorful umbrellas suspended in the air — appearing to be floating. Inspired by the Umbrella Sky Project first exhibited in Agueda, Portugal, the Friends of Downtown Pensacola will bring the enchanting event to Intendencia Street. These unique artistic demonstrations are sure to inspire social media fanatics to record their best Snap or Instagram story to share this captivating experience with their followers.
Pensacola turns up the heat with this year’s María de Buenos Aires, a surreal, genre-bending tango opera, complete with dancers, opera singers and an orchestra take the stage. Hailed as a “can’t miss” by the Los Angeles Times, the seductive Argentinean tango will give sizzling performances on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12.
Foodies unite on Sunday, Nov. 12, as the best BBQ party on the coast takes over the Blue Wahoos’ Stadium for the annual Pensacola EggFest. Nearly 100 Big Green Eggs® line up inside the stadium overlooking the beautiful Pensacola Bay where diners sample every delicious smoked and BBQ’ed bite that is being cooked by the Big Green Egg masters and judged by Chefs John Besh and Big Moe Cason.
And when it’s time to unwind, the white sandy beaches create a charming aura of tranquility enhanced by the November breeze. So, forget the frustration and irony of crowded beaches and truly relax. This November, Pensacola is the ideal location for paradise, art, culture and entertainment.
For more information about the 2017 Pensacola Foo Foo Festival visit FooFooFest.com or follow Foo Foo Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Media Contact
Brittany Cruickshank
DEVENEY on behalf of Foo Foo Fest
504.949.3999, ext. 211
[email protected]
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About Art, Culture and Entertainment, Inc. (ACE)
ACE is a nonprofit organization that receives Federal, State of Florida, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, corporate, foundation and personal funds to disperse through an equitable granting process to nonprofit arts, culture and entertainment organizations throughout Escambia County, Fla., and promote Escambia County as an arts and cultural destination through the annual Foo Foo Festival and other marketing efforts. For more information about ACE, visit www.acepensacola.org.