What Are You Doing This Weekend? May 11-13

What’s happening on the Emerald Coast this weekend?

Happy Mother’s Day weekend! It’s going to be a big weekend here on the Emerald Coast with a little something for everybody! Take in an art show or two, get a new wardrobe at a great price, help the community, enjoy fabulous wine and great atmosphere as you paint with your mom, play a little poker, take in an awesome concert and more!!! This weekend is brimming with options for those who love to get out there and experience the Emerald Coast lifestyle. Browse through the list of amazing events taking place right here along our beautiful shoreline this weekend!

Multi-Day Events

24^thAnnual ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival featuring 130 international artists exhibiting over a dozen mediums will fill downtown Seaside, FL for two and a half days, (May 11-13) along with great live music, artist workshops, KidZone and fabulous food & beverage options. 

CulturalArtsAssociation.com

 

Talk about an event the ladies won’t want to miss! The Women’s Resale Clothing Event features over 4,800 square feet of brand name fashions, with all items being only $2. No men, no children, CASH ONLY. Event will be held Friday, May 11 from 3-7 p.m. and Saturday, May 12 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. $5 entrance fee applies both days. Proceeds of this event will benefit Head Start.

 

Friday, May 11

Treat your mom (and yourself) to the Mother’s Day Paint and Wine Party at Chautauqua Vineyards and Winery in Defuniak Springs from 5-8:30 p.m. Spend a fun-filled evening painting with your mother. Don’t miss out on the door prizes!

ChautauquaWinery.com

Saturday, May 12

Billy Bowlegs Poker Run sponsored by the American Business Women’s Association is now open to all types of vehicles, (boats, jet skis, motorcycles, automobiles, bicycles, etc.) The event will feature food, live entertainment, grand prizes for the top three hands, and lots of door prizes. All proceeds go into the scholarship fund for local high school seniors.

ABWA-ecc.org

The Shelter House Princess and Pirate Ball will be held at Linkside Conference Center in Sandestin from 5-8 p.m. Your entire family is invited to wear their best princess and pirate costumes for an evening of dinner, dancing, treasure hunts, character pictures and more. Advance tickets may be purchased online.

ShelterHouseNWFL.org

Come spend a free day at the beautiful Henderson Beach State Park for the 5th Annual Family Fun Arts Fest hosted by the Okaloosa Arts Alliance from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Finish your Mother's Day shopping with the many arts and crafts vendors, get something to eat & drink while enjoying performances by local artists like Act4Murder, have fun doing multiple free family activities, and bid on fantastic silent auction items.

OkaloosaArts.org

The Norriego Point Sea Oat Planting Event will be held at Norriego Point in Destin beginning at 8 a.m. Donations and volunteers are still needed for this public/private project to vegetate the new dune on Norriego Point.

CityoOfDestin.com/index.php?src=news&srctype=detail&category=News&refno=716

The 20^th Annual Letter Carriers Food Drive is the largest one-day food drive in the nation. Place your non-expired, non-perishable food items near your mailbox this Saturday and letter carriers from Fort Walton Beach, Shalimar, Mary Esther, Eglin AFB, Destin, Niceville, DeFuniak Springs and other post offices will pick them up for distribution to community food banks.

NALC.org/Commun/Foodrive

Rotolo’s Restaurant will be sponsoring a Blood Drive from 4-7 p.m. Free T-shirts will be provided to all donors! If you would like to make an appointment online visit NFBSDonor.org and use sponsor code W4212.

The 5K Run to Benefit JR Lifeguards starts at Beasley Park on Okaloosa Island at 5 p.m. T-shirt provided at registration and prizes awarded to the top runners. For more information about the run, visit Active.com. For more information on the JR Lifeguards program, visit OkaloosaBeachSafety.org.

Check out the 6^th Ranger Training Battalion Open House with demonstrations at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. featuring snake and reptile shows, ranger squad demonstrations, parachute demo and spot jumps, down pilot/hoist demonstrations, and combative demonstrations. All proceeds benefit Gator Activity Fund and Emerald Coast Fisher House.

Sunday, May 13 HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Darius Rucker Headlines at the ANNIKA & Friends Concert at Grand Boulevard in Sandestin beginning at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the concert and from ANNIKA & Friends at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort will go to the ANNIKA Foundation, to help kids in Northwest Florida live better lives through fitness, nutrition, and life skills.

Sandestin.com

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there! Have a beautiful and beachy weekend!

            -The Life’s A Beach crew

Sea Oat Planting on Norriego Point May 12: Saving the Dunes One Plant at a Time

Norriego Point is a place all locals and many visitors know and love. For those of us who are familiar, many of us hold special memories of this place near and dear to our hearts. It’s  place where we can enjoy a peaceful walk, watch the fishing boats come in, watch the sun set over the water with that special someone, or teach the kids to swim; beautiful place where lifelong memories are made.

Over the years, Mother Nature has wreaked havoc on the point, starting back in 1995 with a near direct hit from Hurricane Opal, and with subsequent hurricanes and tropical storms thereafter. The city has just completed an emergency dredge project to open up the entrance to the harbor for safer boat traffic. Plans are underway at this time for a more permanent solution in the future. In the meantime, we must keep the harbor open, and the point stable and accessible for recreational beach goers and boaters alike, so that they may create their own memories of this beautiful place.

In order to keep Norriego Point beautiful, now and in the future, we must roll up our sleeves and help this place we all know and love. Every effort should be taken to help restore the natural habitat by adding vegetation and sand fencing to keep the newly placed sand firmly in place. The city is doing what we can, but we need the community’s assistance. On Saturday, May 12, beginning at 8 a.m., the city is sponsoring a major sea oat planting project. We are asking for donations to help in purchasing sea oats as well as volunteers to aid in installing 36,000 of them along Norriego Point. If you are unable to donate time on that day, any donation will be helpful.

This event is about restoring a place that we as a community hold dear, and as such we want to make this a fun project for everyone involved. Food and beverages will be provided for volunteers and the first 100 volunteers will receive a T-shirt showing your community support. Remember to bring sunscreen and a hat.

Event sponsors will have their logo printed on event t-shirts, as well as on the banner which will be prominently displayed throughout the event. Anyone who is willing and able to help out should contact Joe Bodi at Destin City Hall at 837-4242

Donations can be sent to Destin City Hall, 4200 Indian Bayou Trail, Destin, FL 32541. Make checks payable to the City of Destin – Norriego Point Project.

We have been given a tremendous gift over the years and we can’t take it for granted. I look forward to seeing so many members of this world-class community out doing what we do best, coming together as a community for the greater good. I know that future generations will enjoy the fruit of our efforts.