The idea behind the Seafood Wine and Music Festival is simple – a celebration of the wonderful array of local area seafood prepared by local chefs merged with local and area wines, entertainment and vendors with a special focus on families. The event will be loaded with retail vendors, wine tastings, chef exhibitions, rides for the family, car show, live music from local musicians plus Grand Funk Railroad, Julianne Hough, John Anderson and Styx!

Let the Festivities Begin!

8. Family Fun Day – Saturday and Sunday there will be a special focus on family activities and events from 11am-3pm both days – 2008’s festival included a “Kids Lunch With Spongebob Squarepants” & special Kid’s Concerts, Gallagher’s Gymnastics Team, Creole For Kids with Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, Steve’s Kazoo Crew Band, there will also be face painting, special appearances by your favorite cartoon characters, plus other activities designed especially for the family and children. 2008 was the first year for the special family budget friendly daytime only ticket – and it is available again for the 2009 festival.

7. Emerald Coast Cruzin Car Show – Panama City Beach favorite car show, filled with hundreds of classic cars, hot rods, custom cars and trucks will line Frank Brown Park on Saturday and Sunday giving you a free sneak peak at this year’s hottest rides.

6. Bouncer Village & Family Yoga - Brought to you by Beach Bouncers on Panama City Beach, kids get to enjoy a full Bouncer Village, featuring over a dozen giant bouncy experiences for them to bounce themselves silly. For those looking to relax, family yoga classes and exercises will be available Saturday and Sunday.

5. Frank Brown Park – There is simply no better venue to host Panama City Beach’s signature event than Frank Brown Park. With loads of space, on site restrooms, power and wi-fi and even a world-class pool if you need to cool off. If you’ve never been to the festival, you’ll love every second and want to come back to enjoy what is an expansive and beautiful park.

4. Arts, Crafts, Antique Vendors – The Panama City Beach Festival will feature select arts & crafts vendors, retail vendors, antique dealers, and various community/charity vendors. Specialty jewelry, wood crafts, wine racks, pottery sales & demonstrations, glass art & demonstrations, stained glass, ceramics, quilts, folk art, and more.

3. Daily Wine Tastings – Wine? Yes, pleas. The festival offers three full-bodied days of wining, dining and socializing amid several local, domestic and international wines.  Florida’s own Republic National will serve as the exclusive wine partner. They will host rare wine auctions, present celebrity winemakers, top vineyards, wine tastings each day and more. Beginners will have an opportunity to sample the wines, learning about the make-up and the regions they come from while wine experts will have an opportunity to sample some of the rarer wines they might not otherwise get a chance to try. Wine Tastings are Included with General Admission & VIP tickets, for adults 21+. Beer and wine will be available for sale from gates open to gates close.

2. Celebrity Chef Exhibitions – Local and area celebrity chef’s from some of the legendary Panama City Beach restaurants including Breakers, Saltwater Grill, Firefly, Hammerhead Fred’s, Boatyard, and more will perform special exhibitions over the 3 day event. You’ll see and taste some of the most creative and delicious seafood dishes in America all paired with the various (and copious) amounts of wine. Come hungry.

1. The Food, The Wine and, well, The Music – The Panama City Beach Seafood, Wine & Music Festival is designed to reflect a true taste of the coast, a true toast to the coast and some of the world’s best entertainment. What you get then is the coast’s best array of food, never-ending glasses of wine and awesome family entertainment. How good is the entertainment? From the beginning of the festival on Friday to the very end on Sunday, the music and entertainment will never end. 2009’s festival headliner entertainment is bigger and better than ever: Young & Classic Country Friday Oct 9th with Florida’s own country legend JOHN ANDERSON with special guest ACM New Country Artist of the Year Julianne Hough in support of her self-titled country album, see one of the top rock bands of all time, STYX, performing Saturday Oct 10th, and Celebrating 40 Years of Rock Sunday Oct 11th with GRAND FUNK RAILROAD The American Band!

More Information:  www.panamacitybeachfest.com

Frank Brown Park – on Hwy 98 (Back Beach Rd) across from Pier Park
Tickets on sale now. Save time (avoid the lines) and save money when you buy online in advance. Full price gate admission will go into effect @4pm Friday October 9, 2009. click here to purchase advance discount tickets now
Children & Pets

ALL NEW FOR 2009 – Kids 12 and under admitted FREE
No pets allowed inside venue.
Seating

Bring a lawn chair or a blanket as festival area is grass field.

Gates

Open Friday at 4pm-11pm
Saturday 11am-11pm
Sunday 11am-11pm

Parking

Parking available at the Frank Brown Festival site directly north of Pier Park. Parking is $5 per car, per day. Special VIP Parking is included with VIP tickets.
Coolers

NO COOLERS ALLOWED. Water, soft drinks, juice, beer & wine are available for sale. Please note a cash bar will be available inside the venue along with a variety of food vendors.
Umbrellas

NO UMBRELLAS ALLOWED. Please wear a hat and bring sunscreen. Shade is available under various entertainment and food tents throughout the festival grounds.
Smoking

No smoking will be allowed under the tented areas. Smoking is allowed in designated areas only – these areas will be well marked. Please be considerate of your non-smoking colleagues.
CD Sales and Merchandise

Each national headliner entertainers cds will be on sale the night they perform in the Merchandise Tent near the stage. Festival shirts, and other festival items will be available in the marketplace area.
Food Vendors / Beer & Wine Sales

A variety of food vendors will be located the the Food Court area. Beer, wine & soda will also be available at designated beverage tents only.
Arts & Crafts Vendors

A wide variety of vendors will be on site for shopping all weekend.
ATM Available on site

Alys Beach

Alys Beach came as a total surprise to me. In fact, you could drive through the entire city in 10 minutes and not realize you just missed a diamond sparkling in the Florida sun. As you meander through Rosemary enjoying the Bavarian-style architecture, rising out of the dunes comes gleaming white, alfresco buildings seeming something out of a film about Spanish Royalty. The place isn’t in its final form and yet it is striking.

Peaceful and charming, the white buildings balance an luxury you will not see again in this state until you reach South Beach. Actually, Caliza, Aly’s little oasis for its guests, may quietly outshine even Miami’s most popular beach resorts. With private cabanas, beautiful colonnades, hammocks sagging between palm trees and beach views from the second story terrace, this place has no equal. And the food at the restaurant hidden in the luxurious escape serves fresh seafood and juicy grilled steaks prepared by famed French chef Olivier Gaupin.

Touring Alys Beach, I was almost overwhelmed by the beauty and the solitude. No place I’ve ever been, and I’ve been lots of places, has ever made me feel so comfortable. If you’re on 30A don’t let Alys Beach slip by you because it may very well be the one place you will never forget.

-Cebo Campbell

Alys Beach is an idyllic little spot that you can literally drive through in seconds – however it is actually home to two fantastic restaurants, the casual yet upscale George’s, and Caliza, an uber elegant dining paradise. The whole feel of Alys Beach is very Spanish, think white-washed buildings, cobblestone walkways and remarkable architecture. It’s stunning, peaceful and unlike anything else on scenic 30a. Roaming around the interior of Caliza’s, I felt like I was in a South Beach resort, there were take-your-breath-away swimming pools, private cabanas, swaying palms and opulent furnishings. It was all utterly spectacular. Alys Beach still has some more developing to do – but it’s most definitely worth spending some time there, either strolling around and taking in the atmosphere, or dining at one of its great restaurants.

- Ellie Cominos

Inlet Beach, only minutes from Panama City Beach, makes one instantly feel detached, separated from the hustle of the city to lay alone on a perfect strip of gulf. It feels a bit like going back in time, like stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting and being sent back to a slower age. Inlet becomes yours, your place and your beach.

What I found the most startling was the overall preservation. The place looked as though no one had ever set foot on it. The high, green dunes towered into the air, untouched as they broke the salty breeze. If ever Panama City Beach residents wanted to get away from the tourists and the “City” all they need do is take a short trip to Inlet. It’ll feel like a vacation, trust me.

- Cebo Campbell

There’s just one word that came to my mind as we slowly absorbed the natural, unspoiled beauty of Inlet Beach. WOW. This rustic community sits on the beach and is so close to Panama City Beach, but I felt like I was a million miles away. The beach was spectacular, empty but for a lone fisherman wading out in the turquoise, crystal-clear water. I just discovered my new favorite beach spot.

-Ellie Cominos

Just minutes away from our pristine beaches lies a hidden gem that is as magical as Disney itself, the 30A corridor. I’ve talked to so many of you that utilize this well kept secret for family outings, stay-cations, Friday-night events or bar-hopping flossy-style and this week we’re going to tell you all about it. Well, almost all about it, maybe we’ll leave out the bar-hopping, because I don’t drink.

What we are going to do is a TooCreative first, and hopefully a regular event for the staff. On Thursday at 1:30 pm, we will embark on an adventure to our neighboring tourist attraction, 30A – to share snippets of what makes life so magical over there. This is an area that is known around the world as a high-end, unique and charming haven for vacationers and property owners alike.

This jaunt will be broken into 7 sections: Inlet Beach, Rosemary, Alys Beach, Seaside, Watercolor, Grayton Beach, and Blue Mountain Beach. We’ll be doing this on pcbdaily AND on seepcb, looking at the “newsy” stuff and the “touristy” stuff, respectively. The goal is to have a guerrilla style series of articles that give you an update and tell you about the area as we find it on Thursday. As we experience, we will write and take pictures. Then, when we find a place that has internet, we’ll publish right to the sites.

UPDATE

Wow, we spent an entire afternoon taking in 30A, a place so packed with fun stuff we made it Alys Beach just as the sun set. Over the next three weeks, we will return to this spectacular area to report on Seaside, Watercolor, Grayton Beach, and Blue Mountain Beach each deserving their very own large post due to the sheer size and amount of things to do. It was a blast. To catch up on the sites we’ve visited please see the links below:

Discover Inlet Beach

Discover Rosemary Beach

Discover Alys Beach

The Most Beautiful Beach Anywhere…

Perennially listed on America’s Top Ten Beaches, St. Andrews State Park is a beach-lover’s dream. A perfect combination of uncrowded beach and true natural settings, St. Andrews State Park allows the Panama City Beach visitor to get out of the city and get into nature. And truly, “beautiful” doesn’t fully describe this majestic place. It’s just a short drive east and away from the city street, but its well worth the trip.

As I drove in, the various species of trees and lushness of, well, so many trees, I suddenly realized I was no longer in the city. All around me are natural treasures. Sounds of birds and nearby tides quiet the air. Everywhere, in every direction, are various species of animals. In fact, I learned over 2,100 marine dependent species have been recorded within the park, all of which are surprisingly visible. Birds like the Southeastern Snowy Plovers, Piping Plovers, Arctic peregrine Falcons, American Oystercatcher, Bald Eagles, Brown Pelicans and others are easily seen. At your first stop you hit a crossroads. You can head to the beach, to the nature trails or the campsite and boat-ramp. These options actually provide you with a myriad of things to do. You can go to the beach and enjoy swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, and canoeing. Two fishing piers, a jetty, and a boat-ramp provide ample fishing opportunities for anglers. Or you can exchange the sandals for shoes and take a trip down one of two nature trails that wind through a rich diversity of coastal plant communities – a place made for birdwatching. If you are a fearless one, you can head to Gator Lake and get up close and personal with some of the most dangerous animals on the planet – the American alligator (I saw several of them and got within 5 terrifying feet). Those looking to just relax can sunbathe while enjoying a leisurely lunch under the shade of a picnic pavilion. Full-facility campsites, as well as primitive youth group camping, make this park an awesome overnight destination.

What most people come to see is the reason Panama City Beach is called, “The World’s Most Beautiful Beach.” St. Andrew’s State Park has a beach unlike any other. Well-kept pearly sand, high dunes and a rock jetty that stretches out into the pass, keeps this beach on many top ten lists for the best beach in America. Its beauty is one thing, its fun is another. There is just so much to do. Offered by the State Park staff, you can hop the shuttle and take a tour to shell island where snorkeling and kayaking is the norm. Or take a guided Waverunner tour to swim with the many dolphins splashing in the pass. Dolphins are everywhere but what surprised me were the many Manatees swimming the pass with them.

If fishing is your thing, you can grab bait from the concessions store and walk out onto the rock jetty where all sorts of fish swim. One of the best times I ever had at the park was during Pompano Season. I fished right from the shore and caught huge Pompano. But make sure you get a fishing license. Get more info on that here.

Camping at the State Park is some of the best camping you can have. Many of the sites are steps away from the water and offer full facilities. But if you’re only visiting for a day, I’d suggest bringing a bike and cruising around the park. Make sure you bring a camera though because the views are worth keeping.

Pricing:

Camping: $24.00 plus tax per night

Shell Island Shuttle: $14.95 for adults $6.95 for children 12 – 2. Infants are free.

Snorkel Package: $21.95 (includes shuttle ride)

Kayak Rentals: $55.00 single $60.00 double (includes shuttle ride) $20.00 w/o shuttle

State Park Located at 4607 State Park Ln Panama City, FL 32408

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