Emerald Coast Magazine • April/May 2023

Gnarly Harley

DESTIN GYOTAKU ARTIST MAKES GREAT IMPRESSIONS

ABE PARTRIDGE IS RIDING A WAVE OF CREATIVITY

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Contents

ABE PARTRIDGE

The multimedia artist Abe Partridge of Mobile, Alabama, has an active mind, buddy. As part of an EP he released in November 2022, Partridge recorded a song, kind of a talking blues number, titled Abe Partridge’s 403rd Freakout, which is intended to give listeners clues in humorous fashion as to how his creative process works — for sure, it considers possibilities that would not occur to most people. All kidding aside, Partridge is a remarkably prolific talent as a singer/ songwriter, a visual artist and even a documentarian/podcaster. He’s a lot.

FEATURES 84

GNARLY HARLEY

Without intending to be, Harley Van Hyning sometimes finds himself in the role of performance artist. He has become an expert in the Japanese art of gyotaku, a printmaking process originally developed by commercial fishermen who wanted to document their catches. Van Hyning finds himself making prints of fish for anglers who want to be able to back up their fish stories while enjoying a lifesize image far more dramatic than a snapshot on a telephone camera roll. When he arrives at the docks, crowds gather round to watch the artist at work.

THE WAVE

21 CHAMPIONS Pensacola’s

First City Art Center is headed for an expressive year with Bart Hudson at the wheel. At the center, artists of varying skill levels gain handson experience painting, drawing, glass-blowing and throwing pots.

26 RECREATION Pickleball is surging in popularity among all age groups. The sport involves more finesse than power and appeals to many given its social aspects. Just stay out of the kitchen!

30 PERSONALITY Bob

Gilmore of Panama City was in high school when he joined a friend in volunteering time at a hospital. Ever since, he has found good cause to lend his heart and hands to worthy causes and marginalized communities.

PANACHE

35 CITIZEN OF STYLE There is no pigeonholing Anna “AJ” Johnson of Pensacola. As soon

104 GREEN SCENE

Indiscriminate winds deliver dandelion seeds to places where they are not welcome, but the plant is not without fans. Pollinators love them.

DESTINATIONS

as you think you have a handle on who she is, some new aspect of her life emerges. Among other pursuits, she is a dancer, playwright and research coordinator.

38 BEAUTY There is an art to arriving at your perfect hair color, one that will complement rather than compete with your face and overall look.

44 WHAT’S IN STORE

Learn about a fashion outlet for pets, a new shoe store for runners in Pensacola and a seller of croissant-style doughnuts.

GASTRO & GUSTO

56 LIBATIONS The very word, moonshine, connotes a guilty pleasure. Today’s makers of commercial moonshine are OK with that but have arrived at

63

flavors that bootleggers never thought about.

EXPRESSION

63 PHOTOGRAPHY Joseph Viktor Stefanchik worked as a news photographer at the Dallas Morning News and later contributed images to The Washington Post’s Sunday magazine. Nowadays, he’s hugging the Emerald Coast.

68 ART Dan Anderson left a job at a veterinary clinic to pursue the art of sandcastle making. Known to people in Panama City Beach as Dan in the Sand, he is a man whose creations turn heads faster than leaping dolphins.

72 BOOKS Author Deborah Rine of Freeport sets her novels along Walton County’s Scenic Highway 30A. In her latest book, a

woman gets to know her husband better after he is murdered.

ABODES

95 INTERIORS Coastal Grandmother tolerates no kitsch, no clutter. It turns its nose up at lighthouses, anchors and whales. The style has been likened to an unpretentious relative who is senior to beach-house and farmhouse looks.

98 EXTERIORS Pressure washing is a relatively inexpensive way to freshen the appearance of a house and outdoor furnishings. The equipment used varies in intensity, so make sure that it matches the surfaces being cleaned.

DINING IN While they may not be recommended for folks concerned about cholesterol levels, butter boards are emerging as a popular alternative to meat-and-cheese trays.

107 GETAWAYS Writer Liesel Schmidt travels solo to the Emerald Isle where she deals with an amorous cabbie, gets lost on a hike in cliffs country and takes a turn at drums once used by Metallica.

IN EVERY ISSUE

14 FROM THE ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

16 EDITOR'S LETTER

122 SOCIAL STUDIES

125 DINING GUIDE

130 POSTSCRIPT

Gnarly Harley

ON THE COVER:

Harley Van Hyning learned much about the art world from his mother, an accomplished realist painter, but never thought that he would make his living as an artist. His discovery of gyotaku, an art form that united his interests in marine environments, fishing and creative pursuits, changed all of that.

42 SUN CARE Dermatology

Specialists of Florida makes it a priority of the practice to encourage annual skin care examinations. Throughout the month of May, select offices are offering free screenings.

48 COASTAL CARTING

In the spring and summer months, drive and arrive in style. Dixielectricar provides the hottest, top-quality products in the street-legal golf cart industry.

46

→ IN BLOOM Rose & Co. at Grand Boulevard is a European-style flower market and shop that’s ideal for gift buying. Have a bouquet created, select a few blooms for someone special or assemble a gift basket.

“We all need a bit of luck. Mixed with effort, persistence, good decisions and, of course, hard work.”

That is a favorite line of mine from Downton Abbey

60

FINE FOOD For 55 years, Capt. Dave’s in Destin has maintained high standards as a purveyor of the freshest seafood available. In Miramar Beach, Fat Clemenza’s serves authentic Italian food made from family recipes.

102 AMERICAN

74 ↑ PHOTO FANATIC Wayne Simpson has taken his love for the lens from studio spaces to safaris. Specializing in wildlife photography, Simpson hosts yearly photography safaris in Tanzania.

90

← BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST BALLOT Simply the best! Support the businesses and service providers that you most admire and rely

NEXT ISSUE

DREAMERS

Since 1985, ERA American Real Estate has planted American flags throughout Emerald Coast neighborhoods to commemorate the Fourth of July.

114 CALENDAR

Hit the sand during the day and a local theater by night as spring bursts forth with activities and events that take place from dawn until dark.

120

→ TARGETING TOURISM

The Walton County Tourism Department has begun a new initiative titled “Beyond the Beach” to continue to attract new visitors to the area.

In our Medical Profiles section, we introduce you to leading practitioners along the Emerald Coast.

Well, it was certainly a “bit of luck” or more when you asked to review my book, Against the Glass. It was trepidatious, at first, to have a man review a book whose intended audience is women. I wasn’t sure how you would receive it.

However, as I began to read your article, all fears were allayed. Your reading of the novel was thorough, your comments incisive, your writing, as always, exquisite. I especially loved the section in which I would be teaching my novel to my students.

I loved how you turned “The Birth of Venus” to “The Birth of a Woman,” all about birth or the absence of.

I love how you chose to enter the book in a middle scene — a “Me Too” one at that.

I love how you ended on a note of love.

Never has someone I barely know done anything so generous for me.

Thank you!

EMERALD COAST MAGAZINE

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER

BRIAN E. ROWLAND

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

MCKENZIE BURLEIGH

EDITORIAL

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Steve Bornhoft

SENIOR STAFF WRITER Emma Witmer

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Raemi Creteur

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kari C. Barlow, Hannah Burke, Kayla Connick, Les Harrison, Lis King, Rebecca Padgett Frett, Thomas J. Monigan, Wynn Parks, Liesel Schmidt, Emilee Mae Struss

CREATIVE

VICE PRESIDENT / PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY Daniel Vitter

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Ekrut

LEAD DESIGNER Saige Roberts

SENIOR PUBLICATION DESIGNERS Sarah Burger, Scott Schiller, Shruti Shah

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Sierra Thomas

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Booini, Lynn Crow, Rick Diamond, Mike Fender, Will Hepburn, Brian Morrison, Sean Murphy, Jessica Plowden/That Girl Media, Saige Roberts, Shelly Swanger Photography, Joseph Victor Stefanchik, Wayne A. Simpson Photography, Chase Yakaboski, Nathan Zucker

SALES, MARKETING AND EVENTS

SALES MANAGER, WESTERN DIVISION Rhonda Lynn Murray

SALES MANAGER, EASTERN DIVISION Lori Magee Yeaton

DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, WESTERN DIVISION Dan Parker

DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, EASTERN DIVISION Daniel Parisi

ADVERTISING SERVICES SPECIALIST Tracy Mulligan

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Julie Dorr

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Darla Harrison

MARKETING MANAGER Javis Ogden

SALES AND MARKETING WRITER Rebecca Padgett Frett

ADMINISTRATIVE & CUSTOMER SERVICE SPECIALIST Renee Johnson

OPERATIONS

CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER Sara Goldfarb

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE/AD SERVICE COORDINATOR Sarah Coven

PRODUCTION EDITOR Paige Aigret

PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION SPECIALIST Melinda Lanigan

STAFF BOOKKEEPER Amber Dennard

DIGITAL SERVICES

DIGITAL EDITOR/MARKETING SPECIALIST Alix Black

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EDITORIAL OFFICE 1932 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. (850) 878-0554

SUBSCRIPTIONS One year (6 issues) is $30. Call (850) 878-0554 or go online to  emeraldcoastmagazine.com. Single copies are $3.95. Purchase at Barnes and Noble in Destin and Pensacola and Books-A-Million in Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Panama City and Pensacola. Availability may change subject to COVID-19 restrictions.

CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUBMISSIONS Emerald Coast Magazine and Rowland Publishing, Inc. are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photography or artwork. Editorial contributions are welcomed and encouraged but will not be returned. Emerald Coast Magazine reserves the right to publish any letters to the editor.

Copyright April 2023 Emerald Coast Magazine Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

LESSONS IN GRATITUDE

Grammy inspired me to appreciate the little things in life

Grammy broke the glass ceiling long before the term was coined, not that she thought of herself as breaking barriers; she didn’t see life that way.

A Jeopardy! whiz, she was born Oct. 16, 1919, and launched her own business, a beauty parlor, 16 years later. She was one of the smartest and wisest women I have known. And while she was one of the younger siblings in her family, she in many ways raised the others.

I have always been fascinated by stories about my maternal grandmother, Ruth Black Banks. She was a resilient, positive, ambitious woman with a deep reservoir of unconditional love.

Grammy once told me about seeing a car for the first time as a little girl. Her entire neighborhood was astonished to see what seemed like a locomotive coming down the street. Within her lifetime, Grammy went from riding in horse-drawn carriages to FaceTiming with family on her iPhone. She was undaunted by technology and grateful for it. Without bitterness or regret, she shared with me the challenges she had to overcome in the vastly different era of her youth.

I used to call Grammy every Sunday to see how she was doing. She had 16 grandchildren and had a way of making each of us feel like we were her favorite. We knew otherwise, of course. She loved us all equally. Thank goodness for FaceTime and the opportunity it gave me to see her sweet smile from afar.

Especially living in Florida, as I have for the past 19 years, I expect to find the freshest of oranges whenever I go to the produce aisle. For Grammy, growing up in Utah, oranges were a luxury. She didn’t taste her first one until she was a teenager. A truck had come from California to sell oranges in her neighborhood, and Grammy was all but overwhelmed by its sweet, exotic flavor.

I take little things like fresh oranges for granted at times and find it helpful to adopt Grammy’s perspective. When I eat an orange, I savor every bite just as she did when that produce truck arrived in her neighborhood.

Gratitude is one of the greatest lessons Grammy taught me. I am grateful today for the ability to see and talk to all my friends and family, no matter where they are on the globe.

Grammy’s time on this earth ended Feb. 16, 2017, but her legacy is with me, and she lives in my heart.

In May, we pay tribute to mothers. Set aside some time to spend time with your mother or grandmother. Have them tell you stories about their lives, their mothers and the women who supported, encouraged and inspired them to become who they are today. Knowing about the women who came before you, raised you and whose DNA is a part of you, may give you a new perspective on your life.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who nurture and love others. I am grateful for you and especially for my mother, my grandmother, my aunts, my lady mentors — and Grammy.

Much love,

mburleigh@rowlandpublishing.com

THE REBBE, THE RABBI AND ME

At the Chabad house, a meeting grounded in goodness

By invitation, I stopped by the Chabad house, a Jewish synagogue/ community center in Destin. There, Rabbi Shaya Tenenboim was happy to see me and was ready to discuss anything regarding the Chabad center and the Jewish community on the Emerald Coast.

Throughout a 90-minute conversation, we were overlooked by a portrait of the Rebbe or grand rabbi, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who led the Lubavitch Hasidic Movement and pioneered Jewish outreach for decades, from the early 1950s until his death in 1994. Rabbi Shaya explained to me that although the Rebbe has passed on, his inspiration and blessings are what brought him, his wife and children to the Emerald Coast to help and serve the Jewish community.

Rabbi Shaya was born in Israel and his wife Rochel in New York, both cities home to huge Jewish populations. Still, when they heard about Destin and the Emerald Coast, they knew it was their place. A Jewish community without a Rabbi, and a lack of Jewish resources, needs them.

They enjoy the support of the Destin community. Walking from home to Saturday services, they entertain friendly waves and well wishes. The Chabad center is growing as a product of word of mouth, its highly visible activities and events and the new southerly migration supercharged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thoroughly, Rabbi Shaya described for me events on the Chabad of the Emerald Coast calendar, including Chabad 30A events conducted on the sandy beach. In March, the Chabad house celebrates Purim, an occasion that commemorates a time when Jews living in Persia were saved from extermination. Passover brings a ceremonial dinner known as the Seder.

On every Jewish holiday, Chabad invites the Jewish community to celebrate a fun and educational event. Almost all such occasions are sponsored by

generous donors and are free for the community to enjoy. The events take place at the Chabad center or in public locations around the Emerald Coast.

Chabad houses are also located in Pensacola and Panama City Beach, having been established, respectively, by Rabbi Mendel and Nechama Danow and Rabbi Mendy and Chaya Havlin. They, like Rabbi Shaya and Rochel, spurred by the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s inspiration and blessings, moved with their children to help a small Jewish community.

Remarkably, a new Chabad center opens every three to five days on average, somewhere around the globe.

Rabbi Shaya impressed upon me tenets of Chabad including the belief that all persons on Earth have been assigned a role to play by G-d, and thus it is not appropriate for one person to judge another. (I employ here the Jewish convention of avoiding writing the name of the Creator so as to avoid any risk of defacing the Name.)

I remarked to the rabbi that surely people become separated from their intended purpose.

He agreed that some do and referred me to a website, asknoah.com, where I found this helpful passage from an address given by the Rebbe in 1990.

In explaining the purpose of Creation, our sages say that G-d, the Essence of all good, created the world as a result of His desire to do good. As it says in Psalms 145, “The L-rd is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.” For as it is the nature of good to do good unto others, the creation of the universe was a Divine expression of goodness. In this way, the universe and all life are recipients and objects of Divine goodness. Hence, everything that occurs in the world, even the apparent bad, such as natural disasters, must

ultimately have redeeming good. Similarly, the negative inclination within human beings, who essentially desire to do good, is but a “mechanism” by G-d’s design, to establish free choice. For had G-d created a world that is totally and exclusively good, without any efforts on the part of mankind to achieve it, there would be no or little appreciation of goodness. In light of this, it is important to realize that in the individual’s struggle with evil, within the world at large or within one’s self, the approach should not be one of confrontation. Rather, by emphasizing that which is good in people and in the world, and by bringing the positive to the fore, the evil is superseded by the good, until it eventually disappears. We are free agents who struggle, it seems increasingly these days, to find the redeeming good in tragedies, disasters, war and violence. Rabbi Shaya has invited me to stop by a Chabad house event and to learn more. That I will do.

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SKIN AND SUN SEASON

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CENTER OF ACTIVITY

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Paradise has arrived

ON THE EMERALD COAST

LIVE THE LIFE YOU’VE DREAMED AT LATITUDE MARGARITAVILLE WATERSOUND!

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ENRICHING PEOPLE’S LIVES

Growing arts center is creating memories →

Bart Hudson can’t help but laugh when he recalls his first spin on the potter’s wheel at First City Art Center (FCAC) in Pensacola.

“There was clay on the ceiling by the time I was done,” he said. “I’m not an artist. I dream about being an artist. And I try a lot, but I’m more of an administrator.”

In fact, Hudson recently marked his first year as FCAC’s executive director. It’s a role he didn’t see coming but one he has enjoyed taking on.

“Everybody who is here wants to be here,” he said of the center, which opened at 1060 N. Guillemard St.

in 2012. “And I’m fascinated by what drives them to do it. Everyone has busy lives, so what made you take time out of that busy life to come sink your hands in clay or blow glass or draw or paint?”

Before landing at FCAC, Hudson ran Florida House, a nonprofit that functions like an embassy for Floridians in Washington, D.C. A few years ago, he and his husband, architect Dean DuBois, planned to move to Pensacola. When DuBois died unexpectedly in August 2019, Hudson carried on with the move, even building the house that DuBois had designed for the two of them.

“We believe that art informs every aspect of a person’s life, whether they’re sitting at that (potter’s) wheel or enjoying a sunset.”

— Bart Hudson

For Hudson, who was born in Pensacola at the old Sacred Heart Hospital on 12th Avenue and raised in Fort Walton Beach, the opportunity to lead FCAC has turned into a delightful way to reconnect with the city as well as his lifelong love of art.

“Dean and I were art collectors,” he said. “One of the things we focused on years ago was glass art. And now I’ve got these glassblowers here who make the stuff, and just to watch them do that is spellbinding.”

Hudson, who is color blind, has experienced a spectrum of a different sort, even trying his hand at blowing glass. “Six months ago, the idea that I could blow glass — I would have told you that you were crazy.”

But using art to engage people’s imagination and expose them to new experiences is FCAC’s specialty. “We believe that art informs every aspect of a person’s life,” Hudson said, “whether they’re sitting

at that (potter’s) wheel or enjoying a sunset. Every time we unlock that gate, it’s our goal for somebody to come through it and have an experience they’re going to remember.”

Just as the center stretches people, he adds, visitors stretch the center. “If there are enough people who want to experience an art form, we’ll give a try. If you want to do it and it makes sense, we’ll try to invite an instructor and create a curriculum.”

The center offers classes in painting and drawing, hot glass, pottery on the wheel and off, sculpture, sewing, stained glass and more. Its youth program brings about 1,200 children through the center each year. The staff is small but is creative in its fundraising as well as its media, operating on grants, donations, annual fundraisers and revenue generated from classes and camps.

“Anytime you are doing something like this and on this scale, it’s a challenge to raise the funding,”

Hudson acknowledged. “But we have generous folks. We just received a grant for a new kiln … There are folks who believe, like we do, that art is fundamental.”

One of FCAC’s most popular fundraisers is its annual pumpkin patch at the Blue Wahoos Stadium, where roughly 6,000 ceramic and glass pumpkins, crafted by dozens of local artists, are sold in just five hours.

“This was our 16th year and my first,” Hudson said, “and, boy, was that an eye-opener. It was something else to watch the excitement of the people.”

Another popular event is the Hot Glass Cold Brew.

“Our ceramics department and our glass department make vessels — cups, glasses, anything that will hold a beverage — and three times a year you come onto campus, purchase a ticket to the event and you get to pick out your vessel. We fill it twice with beer, and there are food trucks. And we average between 600 and 700 people at each of those.”

Hudson is excited about the year ahead, which will include a new ceramics studio, a small plaza and more, made possible by a local couple’s “campus-changing” contribution.

“There’s a lot on our plate for 2023,” he said. EC

EXPERIENCE

Upscale shopping, sophisticated dining options and South Walton’s premier events and entertainment await you Along the Boulevard.

SHOP

Altar’d State

Anthropologie

Arhaus (Now Open)

Arula

The Beaufort Bonnet Company

Billabong

Bluemercury

Hemline

J.Ji l l

J.McLaughlin

johnnie-O (Now Open)

The Jewel

Kendra Scott (Now Open)

KREWE

La Luna

Lilly Pulitzer

lululemon (Now Open)

Ophelia Swimwear

Orvis

Peter Millar

Pottery Barn

Pure Collective Salon (Now Open)

Rose & Co (Now Open )

Seabags (Now Open)

Southern Tide

Sunset Shoes & Lifestyles

Vineyard Vines

Williams Sonoma

Courtyard by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

Hyatt Place Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

AMC CLASSIC Boulevard 10

grandboulevard.com

#GrandBlvd

DINE

Another Broken Egg Café

The Bistro (Located in Courtyard by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard)

Black Bear Bread Co. (Now Open)

Cantina Laredo Modern Mexican

The Craft Bar

Emeril’s Coastal

everkrisp

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven

Pizzeria

Kilwins

PF Chang’s China Bistro

Starbucks

Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar

Vin’tij Food & Wine

The Wine Bar

Residence Inn by Marriott Sandestin at Grand Boulevard

Grand Fitness

Emerald Coast Theatre Company

PICKLEBALL FOR ALL

Pickleball. It’s simple. It’s fun. It’s accessible. It’s sociable. And it’s widely recognized as the fastestgrowing sport in the country.

The USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) has reported that the sport has grown nearly 40% since 2018, with 4.8 million players across the U.S. in 2022.

The game combines elements of tennis, badminton and pingpong, according to the USAPA, and is played — singles or doubles — on a badminton-size court with a modified tennis net. Paddles, larger than those for pingpong but smaller than a tennis racquet, are used to strike a plastic, perforated ball similar to a Wiffle ball. Players serve underhand and cross court. The serve must bounce once but never twice, and the “kitchen,” or the non-volley zone, is off limits. The game is typically played to a score of 11 or 15.

Although new to many, pickleball got its start over half a century ago in Bainbridge, Washington, as a backyard game created by a few dads with bored children.

So what accounts for its widespread popularity now?

In Panama City Beach, they first implemented open play at Frank Brown Park’s indoor facility, where they convert the basketball courts for indoor open play three times weekly.

Cheryl Joyner, director of parks and recreation of Panama City Beach said that “for a long time … it was more of the retired community, but now we are definitely seeing a shift.”

She noted that celebrity influence has bolstered the sport’s platform, pointing out Drew Brees’ recent acquisition of a major pickleball league, contributing to a growing interest for college-aged community members.

Lenin Mongerie, the tennis and pickleball operations supervisor for the City of Tallahassee, agrees, noting that celebrity influencers including Serena Williams and LeBron James have been a factor; both have invested in their own leagues.

“If all of a sudden a pro football, tennis or any player or person that has stature

does something, everybody sees it, right? And you want to try it,” Mongerie said. “That has played a huge role in pushing the sport forward.”

When pickleball was elevated via celebrity platforms, younger people became interested. But the sport first started gaining traction among the 55-plus crowd. Its ease of play and accessibility appealed to players as a healthy form of exercise that presented less risk of injury than games like tennis.

Requests have since grown in such demand that Panama City Beach expanded to the community center on Lyndell Lane, replacing parking space with four permanent courts. The courts have been in place for several years now and are scheduled for updates and repaving this year.

Players of all ages can handle the heat as long as they stay out of the kitchen

↑→ Covering the court is much easier in pickleball than in tennis, especially in doubles matches. Players tap one another’s racquets in a show of sportsmanship or congratulations on a good game.

And Joyner said the demand increases in the winter months as snowbirds flock to the shores to escape the harsh winters of the North.

“I think the socialness that goes with it is just a wonderful thing for the older population,” she said, noting the difference in style from tennis. You can show up solo for pickleball open play and be sure to hit the courts in rotation.

“It’s fast paced, and I definitely think a little bit smaller court is a little easier, but it’s still a very physical sport,” said Joyner.

The sport may offer an ease of play, but it certainly has its health benefits in terms of exercise as well as socialization.

“I think anything active recreation is just so important, and the socialness combined with it I think just makes it such a dynamic sport,” said Joyner. “I think anything that brings people together and is fun and physical activity, that’s just a win.”

“Very few people play singles in pickleball; the majority of the game is doubles,” said

PICKLEBALL STATS

Pickleball grew in 2021 to 4.8 million players in the U.S., according to the 2022 Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Single Sport Report on Pickleball. SFIA is a trade association for top brands, manufacturers, retailers and marketers in the American sporting goods and fitness industry.

➸ 60% of total participants are men and 40% are women; with a slightly faster rate of growth among women.

➸ The average age for all players continues to drop, to 38.1 years old in 2021, a decrease of 2.9 years from 2020.

➸ The average age of core players is 47.9 and casual players 34.3 years old.

➸ 52% of core players are 55 or older while 79% of casual players are 54 or younger.

Mongerie. “The socializing is a lot more in the sport than in tennis right now.”

In Panama City Beach, demand begs further expansion.

“With our indoor facility, in the last four or five years, we’ve had to do sessions in the indoor play to make sure that people have time and can get rotated through,” said Joyner.

The city will begin hosting free clinics and lessons starting in February on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Lyndell Center.

Plans for a redesign of Frank Brown park are under discussion but not yet finalized. The redesign will include an expansion of pickleball with outdoor permanent courts at the park. Joyner hopes to host tournaments for the city upon expansion.

“They are a lively group … they’re pretty competitive,” she said. EC

➸ Growth of total participants from 2020 to 2021 was the fastest among players under 24 years of age (21%).

➸ Annual growth among players 55 and older was a more modest 10%.

Source: USAPickleball.org

PERSONALITY

HAPPY GILMORE

Career volunteer won’t lie down

Asmallish man with baby blue eyes, tendrils of raggedy gray hair crawling down his back and a newsboy hat, Bob Gilmore is unbothered and imperturbable.

There are reasons for this. He doesn’t trade in gossip, he says, and he doesn’t tote grudges.

“People are as they are and do as they do,” he said, sipping tea purchased at a coffee shop in the St. Andrews neighborhood of Panama City. “And sometimes, there isn’t much that I can do about that.”

What Gilmore, 74, does tote is a boatload of good karma, accumulated throughout his adult life. He’s a career volunteer.

Gilmore paraphrased a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville about Americans and social capital and said, “I believe in it; I live it.” He is devoted to advancing causes, people and organizations he cares about.

He started young. In high school, Gilmore had a friend who volunteered as an aide at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, and he decided to do likewise.

Today, he is the president of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bay County and an active member of the Bay County Audubon Society. He works to drum up support for efforts by the local chapter of the NAACP to combat racism. Forever, it seems, he has been a promoter of peace and a valuable ally of the LGBTQ community. He has been seen waving signs on Panama City’s Hathaway Bridge in opposition to wars and in favor of reproductive rights for women.

“There is great satisfaction in trying to make the world a better place,” Gilmore said, “even if it’s on a personal level, working with Cub Scouts or helping out a stranger in a wheelchair.”

Setbacks — the slow pace of progress and the nature of group work — can be frustrating, but Gilmore stays resilient.

“Inevitably in volunteer organizations, there is angst,” he said. “There are people who want to go one way and people who want to go another way. People judge others because they are not doing enough. I find myself to be very forgiving. If all someone can do is pass out a flier or sign a petition, good enough. That’s all they can do. I don’t take things personally, and I have never carried judgment on people. So, when things start to fall apart, I tend not to get into the fray. I know there’s a job to be done.”

Anyone seeking inspiration, Gilmore said, can find it by looking at the “jaw-dropping” history of Blacks in America.

“They are not gonna stop. They are gonna get back up,” he said. “They are going to sit in that diner even if people spit on them.”

Twice in conversation, Gilmore mentions an Irish song, Croppies Lie Down, written in 1798. It dismisses Catholic rebels (with close-cropped hair) as cowards and calls upon them to suspend their opposition to Protestant rule. For Gilmore, Blacks are croppies who won’t lie down. That is a spirit he admires and peaceably emulates.

For 17 years, Gilmore worked as a registered nurse in Connecticut,

Ohio, and finally, in Florida. In Panama City, he worked for a home care agency and the Bay County Health Department.

“A big part of my nursing career was in public health,” Gilmore said, “and some of the most significant changes in our health care have been about public health. Sanitation, immunizations. I’m a big believer in immunizations.”

Gilmore departed nursing not out of disappointment, but given an opportunity to get into the motel business in Panama City Beach. His brother, Doug, had sold a property to a man who developed financial problems when an “entanglement of loans and mortgages was untangled.” Gilmore and his wife, Arlene, wound up with the Impala Motel.

They didn’t have much money to invest in the place, but they enlisted the help of their two sons and infused it with a lot of sweat equity.

“People warned us about a husband and wife trying to run a business together, but we did well,” Gilmore said. “We had a good run.”

Well, there was that one time when Arlene and Bob had a disagreement, the basis for which he no longer recalls.

“My brother-in-law Lenny and I were doing maid services, and at some point, we realized that Arlene wasn’t around,” Gilmore recalled. “She had gotten in her car and driven to DeFuniak Springs.”

Her disappearance didn’t last long — she was back in five hours — but from that day forward, whenever the least tension has developed between Bob and

Arlene, he has defused the moment by asking, “Are we about to have a DeFuniak Springs?”

Gilmore at heart is a pacifist. As a boy, he killed a robin with a BB gun and so regretted doing so that he has never taken aim at a living thing since. He was an anti-war crusader during the Vietnam Era and thus alienated his brother, Doug, who was in the Air Force Reserves, and another brother, Rick, who was an active-duty Marine.

Doug would get around to telling Gilmore that he had been right about the war, and Gilmore and Rick would grow close.

Toward the end of his military service, Rick started to come out as a gay man. Among members of his family, Rick came out first to Bob.

“That was good for him and for me, too,” Gilmore said. “I made so

↑ It’s not that Bob Gilmore has entered upon a delayed midlife crisis. Rather, he never fully exited a boyhood that he has prolonged by refraining from gossip and not taking criticism personally. Unabashedly, then, he opts not just for a Mazda Miata convertible, but a brilliant yellow one.

“There is great satisfaction in trying to make the world a better place. Even if it’s on a personal level, working with Cub Scouts or helping out a stranger in a wheelchair.” — Bob Gilmore

many friends that were Rick’s friends. We would go out to clubs and dance the night away.”

Rick would contract HIV and help found the Bay AIDS Service and Information Coalition in Panama City. He died of AIDS after failing to qualify for an experimental treatment program in Birmingham, Alabama, because his T-cell count, a measure of white blood cells, had already crashed.

“He just missed the cocktail,” Gilmore said.

“Crazy, huh?”

Rick’s death further motivated Gilmore’s activism. He aligned himself with the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) and the woman-initiated, anti-militarism organization Code Pink.

Now, he has begun to talk about scaling back his volunteer involvement. He wants to spend more time with aging family members in Ohio and has plans to travel to a park in Utah, a place free of air and light pollution, to watch a solar eclipse this October. He kiddingly says that he has already greatly curtailed his womanizing.

But don’t look for this cropper to lie down. There’s a lot of fire left in him.

Gilmore leaves the coffee shop, lowers the top on his two-seater, bright yellow Mazda convertible — a car that might properly be named Goldfinch — and is on his way.

It turns out that the newsboy hat was actually a roadster cap. EC

panache

Anna Johnson relishes silence. A theater and dance instructor as well as an actor and playwright, Johnson says that even in her written compositions, the moments of silence are the most powerful.

“I love the challenge of seeing how much you can say without actually saying anything,” Johnson said. “It brings the storytelling out of your hands to where the actors, the dancers and the audience control their own interpretations.”

Johnson, who goes by “AJ,” believes her affinity for the unspoken stems from her nine years with Ballet Pensacola, where stories are shared through music, movement and unspoken emotion. It was an environment not unlike theater, she said, but shifting from a ballet brain to that of a thespian was “tricky.”

“I didn’t get into theater until I went to college at Samford,” she recalled. “I had some great mentors who showed me acting techniques that were specifically for dancers, to help them transition to theater. It was lots of Laban method — exercises in movement that made me feel comfortable enough to explore a new performance mode.”

While pursuing a degree in theater for youth at the Birmingham-based university, an emboldened Johnson further stretched her creativity when she began writing original works. She began with 10-minute scripts for her classmates to direct and, through the school’s Underground Theatre, produced her first full-length, original play, Love Isn’t Real

The play, which was named Original Script of the Decade by the theater news site BroadwayWorld, centers around a would-be scientist who concludes that love is nothing more than a blend of chemicals and psychological trickery.

“It’s cheesy, fun and packed full of romcom references,” Johnson laughed.

She doesn’t take herself seriously either, admitting to being a walking cliche. She can often be found writing in coffee shops across downtown Pensacola and jokes that her fashion sense is the result of an “across the board” personality.

“Sometimes I’m dark academia — patterned pants, dark shirts and my favorite leather jacket. Other days it’s colorful and bright, ’70s-era things. There’s a pair of white, Mamma Mia!-style go-go boots I wear almost

every day. I just like to have fun, bring a little bit of the stage to everyday life.”

That range is nowhere more apparent than in her work as a research coordinator in the robotics lab of the Institute for Human & Machine Cognition, a nonprofit affiliated with multiple Florida universities.

“Right now, we’re doing some work with exoskeletons in humanoid robots, so yeah, it’s kind of different from the other half of my life,” Johnson laughed. “My dad’s a scientist here, and I’ve been around this type of work my whole life. I never thought I would find myself in this line of work. But when I read about the position they had open, I realized it was basically everything that I do with stage managing in theater that I love: coordinating between projects, making sure everything’s on track and that the lab doesn’t burn down — things like that.”

That’s Johnson’s 9-to-5, but the flexibility allows her to teach drama to children and adults at Pensacola Little Theatre and Neighborhood Children’s Theatre, as well as grow her acting

repertoire. Currently, she’s performing in the Little Theatre production of The Addams Family, plus attending rehearsals for her original play Evidence

The murder mystery is an examination of the true-crime phenomena and the media’s sensationalizing of cold cases, Johnson said, acknowledging that there is a “delicate balance” between raising concern about such cases, while simultaneously turning victims into entertainment.

Debuting this March at Pensacola Little Theatre, Evidence is the first of Johnson’s plays to be produced in her hometown, a prospect that she said is as “exciting as it is scary.”

“You never know how people are going to react to your writing,” she added. “But I’ve completely turned my script over to my friend Megan, who has made it her pet project and will be directing the play. I recently got to hear the cast dissect their characters and the story, and they found things even I haven’t thought of. I didn’t think that was possible, because I went over that script with a fine-tooth comb.”

But Johnson tried to follow the advice she often shares with her theater students: “You can’t perfect something unless you have something to work with. You have to let yourself fail and be bad at something, and know that you can fix it later. If you’re so frozen in fear of being perfect, you’ll never achieve anything.” EC

“Sometimes I’m dark academia — patterned pants, dark shirts and my favorite leather jacket. Other days it’s colorful and bright, ’70s-era things."

— Anna Johnson

From Root to End A Guide to Haircoloring

You might be a once-a-year maintenance color or a monthly chameleon. No matter your preference, you’re seeking the boost that a salon visit provides. Salons and stylists throughout the Emerald Coast are on the cutting edge of what’s trending while acknowledging the ever timeless.

Things are warming up in 2023. Cool and icy tones are getting the cold shoulder while — no matter the base color — warmth is being added.

“The 2023 statement-making tones are a continuation of an existing palette, a want of rich and warm threaded through with softer options,” said Adrianne Brackett, owner, licensed stylist and educator at Pure & Couture Salon in Destin and Pure Collective Salon in Miramar Beach.

Warm blondes evoke an other era, often referred to as Hollywood blonde or ’90s yellow-blonde.

Brunettes are finding warmth with a rich brown base accentu ated by creamy, golden high lights to add dimension. Hailey Bieber, who has become a bit of a hair and beauty icon, is often seen styled in this look.

Redheads embrace warmth through strawberry blonde or copper highlights. Red hair is having a major moment with darker shades, such as deep burgundy or cherry cola — a delicious merging of brunette and red.

Stylists say warm tones are in, hot tools are out in 2023

Pink is making its way out of the early 2000s finding inspiration in Avril Lavigne’s iconic cotton candy pink dip-dyed hair and her face-framing, chunky hotpink highlights.

Many are happy to be back in salon chairs, experimenting with colors and styles. Others are going back to their roots.

“We are seeing a lot of embracing natural color and texture in 2023,” said Mary Patterson, stylist and marketing coordinator for VolumeONE Salon in Pensacola. “I think the motivation behind these trends trails on from COVID shutdowns and people being forced to embrace what their hair naturally did and then realizing they actually liked it.”

Brackett agrees. An increasingly popular color technique clients ask for is lived-in hair, a dying and highlighting process that allows the hair to grow out without leaving visible roots that require touch-ups.

Trends come and go, but proper hair care is always in style. When investing in haircolor, consider investing in quality products to protect and maintain your hair.

Brackett and Patterson advise a maintenance plan with personalized goals and needs.

“Hair is an investment, and you get a better result that lasts longer and looks better when you use high-end, salon-quality products,” said Patterson.

Your hairstylist is your confidante and confidence booster and possibly the only person who could convince you to rock those baby-pink highlights you’ve wanted since 2004. EC

Respect the Sun; Take Care of Your Skin

Dermatology Specialists of Florida offers free screenings

The skin care professionals at Dermatology Specialists of Florida & Aqua Medical Spa use Skin Cancer Awareness Month each May to emphasize the importance of skin cancer education and annual skin cancer examinations.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, one in five people in the United States is diagnosed with skin cancer at some point in their lifetime. Skin cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer but is the most preventable and treatable when detected early. The nationally recognized Skin Cancer Awareness Month serves as a reminder that annual skin cancer screenings can potentially save lives.

Throughout the month of May, select Dermatology Specialists locations host free skin exams. Whether in May or any month of the year, skin cancer screenings are essential in early detection. In addition, the professionals at Dermatology Specialists recommend you make an appointment to see a dermatologist if you notice a spot that changes color, size or shape — particularly if the spot bleeds, itches or is tender or painful. To be safe, whenever you have concerns about your skin or have noticeable changes, see a professional.

Dr. Haley Lewis, a dermatologist at Dermatology Specialists of Florida, notes that some people don’t make appointments because they don’t notice any visible signs of trouble and don’t know what to expect from an exam if they’ve never been.

“While some forms of skin cancer can be found by assessing asymmetry, border irregularity, color uniformity and diameter, (also

know as the ABC’s of Melanoma), other forms of skin cancer are not as easily detectable,” says Dr. Lewis.

Dr. Lewis goes on to explain that during a skin exam, patients are asked to remove clothing to the extent they are comfortable so that the doctor can easily exam all areas. Many medical professionals advise removing all clothing for the most accurate assessment.

Should any abnormalities be detected, there are a variety of treatment options depending on the severity of the issue: liquid nitrogen freezing, topical chemotherapy therapeutic creams, surgical removal, superficial radiation therapy and even oncology referrals should more aggressive treatment be needed.

Although those who have immune compromised systems, genetic syndromes or have fair skin are more at risk, anyone living in Florida should take extra sun exposure cautions such as wearing sunscreen daily.

“Wearing sunscreen is the best step you can take for protecting your skin,” said Dr. Lewis. “On average, 50% of people don’t apply enough sunscreen or apply it

properly. Doing so correctly is your best bet against combatting skin cancer caused by sun exposure.”

Dr. Lewis advises applying SPF 30+ sunscreen from head to toe at least every two hours, and more often if swimming or sweating.

Additionally, wearing SPF clothing and wide-brim hats is a wise precaution. When possible, avoid exposure between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the sun is at its hottest and highest. A sunburn can be developed in as little as 15 minutes.

“Even if you are diligent about sun protection and you have not seen any visible signs of changes in your skin, you should still have an annual skin exam for peace of mind,” Lewis said.

To schedule an appointment with Dermatology Specialists of Florida, please call (850) 233DERM (3376) or visit mydermspecialists.com

*Free screenings are available in select Dermatology Specialists of Florida locations during the month of May for those individuals 18 years or older who have not had a professional skin cancer examination in the last 12 months.

WHAT’S IN STORE?

A roundup of retail happenings throughout the Emerald Coast

They say that pets resemble their people. Pawspace, a Pensacola-based fashion business, leans into that idea with clothes for both you and your furry companion. Now you can wear a matching shirt with your cat, dog or rabbit. A cute bandana can be turned toward the back of your pup to provide protection from the Florida sun; that’s functional fashion!

Pawspace

PENSACOLA-BASED BUSINESS HANDCRAFTS MATCHING FASHION FOR YOU AND YOUR PETS

➸ SMALL CITIES – BIG HEARTS is the newest collection at Pawspace. The owner, a graphic designer, has created a fabric print featuring illustrations of a dozen landmarks and famous family-owned businesses local to 10 Emerald Coast cities. These prints are available for pet food bowls, food mats, kerchiefs and more!

➸ Purchases can be made online at PAWSPACE.US, or you can find them in person at craft fairs, markets and festivals in Pensacola.

Fleet Feet

FLEET FEET OPENS NEW LOCATION IN DOWNTOWN PENSACOLA

The popular athletic store Fleet Feet is now easily accessible to Pensacola residents at its new downtown location. Owners Micaiah and Marjorie Rockwell are excited to become an intrinsic part of the running community as they play host to weekly training sessions for 5ks and 15ks, inclusive to both runners and walkers.

➸ Before donning your new running kicks, Fleet Feet’s FIT ID uses 3D scanning technology to measure arch height, foot size and every other measurement for a custom fit. The entire process takes five seconds, and then a Fleet Feet partner will help find the best shoe for you.

➸ The NEW BALANCE FRESH FOAM X 1080 V12 shoe provides a comfortable foundation for a standing shift at work or an everyday stroll around the neighborhood. The fun and fashionable color options include vibrant canary, peach with lime accents and, my personal favorite, soft white with majestic lavender.

↑

BITES BY THE BAY

Parlor Doughnuts is known for its layered, croissant-style doughnuts. These flaky pastries are available in 23 flavors, an additional three keto, one gluten-friendly/vegan and a doughnut for your dog! The local favorite SANDY BEACH is a cinnamon sugar-layered doughnut with a vanilla glaze. // The coffee at Parlor Doughnuts — available hot, iced and cold brewed — is a perfect pairing to the sweet treats. The MAYAN MOCHA is a delicious harmony of sweet chocolate and roasty espresso. I like hot coffee all year-round, but this creamy delight is just as tasty iced.

ROSE & CO.

at Grand Blvd.

Amidst the shops at Grand Boulevard is a true gem, Rose & Co., a concept that curates beauty and intention. Step inside Rose & Co. to experience a Europeaninspired flower market and shop brimming with fragrant florals from around the world and gifts, including candles, home goods, body care, décor and more. Customers can have a customized bouquet created, or select a few stems for that special someone. Personalized gift baskets are a popular option, allowing the customer to hand-select products that are best tailored to the person or event. Stop and smell the roses while strolling to fill your basket with life’s simple, beautiful treasures.

3. GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCE FOREVER FLORENCE Step into a Tuscan flower market and submerge yourself in the scents of wild peonies, lily, jasmine and a hint of peach when you light the Glasshouse Fragrance Forever Florence candle. $69

4. PARIS IN BLOOM See the sites of the world’s most romantic city from the comforts of your own home through Georgiana Lane’s photography book Paris in Bloom. The reader is taken on a tour of the city, providing recommendations to the best flower markets. $24.99

5. FLORAL THROW BLANKET The Pink Exotic floral throw is as versatile as it is beautiful. Made from 100% cotton and artisan hand screenprinted and hand stitched, the throw makes for lovely bedding, a tablecloth, a couch accent or seating for an elevated picnic. $89

6. VOTIVE GLASS Add a little sparkle and shine to your home design with a votive glass by Glitterville. Pop in your favorite candle and light up any space. $9.50

7. GAL COLLECTION PEACH LIP BALM Indulge in lip treats by Kala and Tinte. The product is silky smooth and sweetly scented all while being packaged in a vintage-inspired tin meant to be displayed. $9.95 and $12.50

8. TAHAA AFFAIR DEVOTION EAU DE PARFUM Presented in an eyecatching glass bottle designed by iconic French designer Pierre Dinand, the Tahaa Affair Devotion Eau de Parfum deliciously blends scents of sea salt, jasmine sambac, caramel, butterscotch and cedarwood. $159

9. FAUX VELVET BRANCH Vintage Velvet leaf branches would make the ideal addition to any tablescape. From a holiday gathering to a Saturday brunch or even as wedding décor, these textured, statement-making pieces won’t go unnoticed. $36

DIXIELECTRICAR

Golf carts are a way of life here along the Emerald Coast. They guarantee that sunshine and fresh air are all part of the ride. Escape the ordinary, and start a journey down a path where freedom and adventure await. Dixielectricar is ready to answer all your questions and help you choose the best golf cart for your lifestyle. Stop by one of their three locations so they can create a carting experience customized to you.

gastro&gusto

APR/MAY 2023

SPREAD THE WORD

Butter boards stake claim as the new charcuterie →

Dessert Board

A dairy butter alternative, coconut almond butter is topped with dark chocolate chips, strawberries, vanilla wafers and apple slices.

While reading a review for one of my favorite horror author’s latest works, I came across the word “wynorrific.”

Google failed me as I researched the word’s etymology, but unfailingly, the Urban Dictionary was there to save the day.

Its entry describes the adjective as suitable for something both lovely or pleasurable, yet simultaneously horrifying. “You can say something is ‘wynorrific’ when something is visually beautiful, but you are scared of that very thing,” it reads. “You are scared not because of its scale or size, but simply due to its horrific characteristic.”

An erupting volcano, for example, is wynorrific. The macabre works of early 19th-century painter Francisco Goya often depict wynorrific, nightmarish scenes.

And then there’s the butter board. The internet’s latest take on the party platter, butter boards replace the cured meats, artisanal cheeses and the often-neglected dried fruit of a traditional charcuterie board with — you guessed it — calorific slabs of butter.

But butter is just the pallid yellow canvas for elaborate smatterings of verdant herbs and veggies and bright jams and seasonings designed to elevate your next bite of bread into art.

The craze took off shortly after TikTok user and recipe connoisseur Justine Doiron (@Justine_Snacks) posted a clip of herself in what she called “a silly,

goofy butter mood,” as she spread two sticks of butter across a small wooden slab. Doiron then accents the spread with “tons” of flakey sea salt, lemon zest, slivers of shallot and bright pops of pink and purple edible flowers.

A finishing drizzle of coriander-infused honey made it almost too pretty to eat, but the influencer shamelessly dunked a hunk of warm rye into her creation and claimed, “I love it … it just feels, like, really communal.”

The butter board is, undoubtedly, the conversation piece you’ll want at your next get-together. For once your guests are over the initial shock and horror of god-knows-how-much lard spread across a plank, they’ll take that first bite and bond over their heightened cholesterol and the vacation their taste buds are taking to Flavortown.

Of course, I had to try this phenomenon for myself. But, as a consequence of “going viral,” butter board recipes are a dime a dozen, with hundreds of would-be chefs determined to put their own spin on the trend.

One formula spices things up with Sichuan peppercorns, chili oil, scallions and crunchy bits of fried garlic and nuts for texture. Another is suited to the sweet tooth, with rivulets of honey, maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Then, there’s the best of both worlds: trays featuring figgy jam, goat cheese and freshly chopped sprigs of mint and basil.

↑

COCONUT ALMOND BUTTER DESSERT BOARD

A sweet treat for 2–4 people

INGREDIENTS

➸ ½ cup almond butter

➸ ¼ cup powdered sugar

➸ ¼ cup heavy coconut cream

➸ 2 tablespoons coconut flakes

➸ strawberries

➸ apple slices

➸ vanilla wafers or favorite cookie

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine almond butter, powdered sugar and heavy coconut cream until smooth. Spread onto board like frosting on a cake. Top with shredded coconut, chocolate chips and diced strawberries. Serve with your choice of sliced apples and crunchy cookies such as vanilla wafers.

↖ CALORIFIC The foundation for Hot Honey Garlic Butter Boards is two sticks of salted butter. Online platforms have fueled the butter board craze, which is giving meat-and-cheese boards a run for their money.

I opted for that happy medium, combining several methods for the sweet ’n spicy spread of my dreams with garlic, red pepper flakes, Parmesan and honey, then pulled out all the stops for this one and splurged on two sticks of Kerrygold Pure Irish Salted Butter.

Before you get to sculpting, you’ll want to make sure your butter is soft and malleable. My extensive research suggested the best way to lay the foundation was by cutting off around a tablespoon at a time. Then, using a cheese knife or the back of a spoon, smoosh little “petals” across your board. It’s aesthetically pleasing, and your accoutrements can pool into the little craters you created to bring on that dip factor.

I heated a thin layer of olive oil on the stove and sauteed my garlic, red pepper flakes, honey and cheese into a thick sauce. Finishing my board was as simple as distributing the blend across the butter, sprinkling an extra layer of Parmesan over the top for good measure and toasting a pre-baked French baguette until it was nice and crunchy.

Remember, whether you choose pita chips, naan, crusty bread or crackers to accompany your masterpiece, it is only a vehicle for that sweet, sweet butter.

It was upon grabbing my third slice of bread that I conceded, “Maybe TikTok was right this time.”

Partly disgusted, but mostly delighted, I embraced the wynorrific. EC

HOT HONEY GARLIC BUTTER BOARD

Serves 1–6, depending on how self-destructive you’re feeling

INGREDIENTS

➸ 2 sticks salted butter

➸ 2 tablespoons olive oil

➸ 2 to 3 tablespoons minced garlic

➸ 1 to 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes

➸ 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

➸ 2 tablespoons honey

➸ 1 spring onion, green tops finely chopped (optional)

➸ 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, crushed (optional)

➸ Crusty bread or crackers

INSTRUCTIONS

Allow butter to soften to room temperature. Distribute, one tablespoon at a time, into even “petals” across a standard wood cutting board or mini charcuterie board. Heat skillet of olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, and saute for a minute, then add crushed red pepper, Parmesan and honey. Mix until thickened and saucy. Drizzle mixture over butter. Top with more Parmesan, roasted peanuts and scallions if desired. Serve with choice of bread, crostini or artisanal cracker. Enjoy!

LIBATIONS

MOONSHINE GOES LEGIT

Flavored varieties prove to be hot sellers

Americans living in remote places making their own alcoholic beverages have long figured in history and folklore.

From the Prohibition era forward, they have been known as moonshiners, that is, people engaged in producing homebrews variously called mountain dew, choop, hooch, mulekick, shine, white lightning, white-corn liquor, white-corn whiskey, pass around, firewater or bootleg. The illegality of such intoxicants added a certain romance about them.

Less dodgy but far more available are legal variations of moonshine — produced by Ole Smoky and Murder Creek — that are now commonly found in liquor stores.

Ole Smoky was founded in 2010, according to Sydney Holsclaw, its senior public relations manager.

“Ole Smoky is the first federally licensed distillery in the history of East Tennessee,” Holsclaw said. “Due to the overwhelming success of our original moonshine flavors, we began crafting new flavors within the first few years of our company’s founding.”

OLE SMOKY MOONSHINE FLAVORS

➸ Original Moonshine

➸ Some Beach

➸ Strawberry

➸ Butter Pecan

➸ Strawberry Mango Margarita

Ole Smoky’s whiskey line first appeared in 2016, coinciding with the creation of The Barrelhouse distillery in Gatlinburg. There are 16 different Ole Smoky whiskeys today.

Ole Smoky introduced canned moonshine cocktails in 2020 and began marketing James Ownby Reserve Bourbon Whiskey in 2021.

There are three other Ole Smoky distilleries in Tennessee: The Holler in Gatlinburg, The Barn in Pigeon Forge and 6th & Peabody in Nashville.

“Ole Smoky is the leading distiller of premium moonshine in the world and the leading craft distiller in the U.S.,” Holsclaw said.

Shaun Brown, director of sales for Chan’s Wine World, commented about legal moonshine’s popularity.

➸ Mountain Java

➸ Margarita

➸ Shine Nog

➸ Pumpkin Pie

➸ Blackberry

➸ Apple Pie

“I think because it is associated with bootlegging, it is an alluring option for people. It sounds exciting,” Brown said. “Moonshine has traditionally been viewed as high octane and tough to drink, but now the flavored stuff that is so popular is often lower proof than most whiskeys.”

Alcohol content in Ole Smoky products ranges from 35 to 100 proof.

“I have tasted the flavored ones, and they are delicious,” said Mike Kelley, one of the owners of Kelley’s Beach Liquors.

Stephen Matthews of Navarre is Murder Creek’s founder and distiller.

“Stephen started making his own moonshine, just playing with it in 2017,” said Charity Blazek, the company’s production manager. “In 2018, they

➸ Hunch Punch Lightnin’

➸ Moonshine Peaches

➸ Blue Flame

➸ White Lightnin’

➸ Moonshine Cherries

➸ Moonshine Pickles

➸ White Chocolate

Strawberry Cream

➸ Banana Pudding Cream

➸ Sour Lime

➸ Hot & Spicy Moonshine Pickles

➸ Moonshine Pineapples with Pina Colada

➸ Key Lime

Family Owned

applied for a license and they started in Riverview, just outside Brewton, Alabama, in 2019.”

There is also a large Murder Creek Distillery in the OWA theme park, located in Foley, Alabama.

“We started with very basic flavors,” Blazek said. “Then as we started branching out, we made some based on old family recipes. Blueberry is from his great grandmother’s ice cream sauce recipe.”

There are 14 flavors available now, sold throughout the Emerald Coast and all over Alabama. Murder Creek’s products range between 40 and 50 proof.

“Our moonshine is distilled to a high purity with no flavors of the mash coming through,” Matthews said. “We don’t use corn, so we don’t have that corn aftertaste. We also hand make every batch, hand bottle and hand label each product.”

MURDER CREEK MOONSHINE FLAVORS

➸ Peach Cobbler

➸ Orange Dreamcicle

➸ Strawberry Cream

➸ Hot Shot

➸ Pecan Praline

➸ Alabama Apple Pie

➸ Southern Cherry Bombs

➸ Watermelon

➸ Blueberry

➸ Banana Pudding

➸ Dixie Dizzy Pickle

➸ Dixie Honey

➸ Dixie Chocolate

➸ Dixie Chocolate Mint

According to Matthews, “Banana tastes like banana taffy, chocolate tastes like Tootsie Rolls, blueberry mixes well with lemonade, and pickle and Hot Shot make a good bloody mary.”

Tours are conducted at both the Brewton and Foley distilleries, and Foley features a large bar and tasting room with events most weekends.

“We’re looking to open a third distillery; we’ve tossed around the idea of another location in Alabama,” Blazek said. EC

JUAN C. ZARATE, MD, FACC, FSCAI Interventional Cardiologist

ANTHONY S. AL-DEHNEH, DO, FACC, FSCAI Interventional Cardiologist

GEORGE A. YOUSSEF, MD, FACC, FSCAI Interventional Cardiologist

SHADY HENIEN, MD, MBA, FACC, FSCAI Interventional Cardiologist

ANGEL D. MORROBEL, MD, FACC Invasive Cardiologist

IAN L. WEISBERG, MD, FACC, FHRS, Cardiac Electrophysiology

PROVIDING EXPERTISE AND PATIENT TAILORED THERAPY IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY

Diagnostic coronary angiogram | Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) with coronary stents

High risk PCI with Impella and intravascular lithotripsy balloon | Stress tests | Nuclear cardiology

STRUCTURAL

Transcatheter mitral valve replacement | Tranacatheter mitral valve edge-to-edge repair (i.e. MitraClip)

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) | Watchman for stroke reduction risk

Atrial septal defect (ASD) closure | Patent forman ovale (PFO) closure

PERIPHERAL & ENDOVASCULAR

Carotid angiogram and stents | Peripheral stents in leg vasculature

Aneurysm repair | Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for abdominal aortic aneurysm

Capt. Dave’s Celebrates 55 Years of Feeding Families

When Capt. Dave’s opened its doors 55 years ago, dining out was often seen as a special treat, an occasion for sitting back and enjoying the work of skilled chefs and attentive service. In a world of counter service and predictable menus, Capt. Dave’s holds true to that model.

“Capt. Dave’s is a piece of Destin history, and being the oldest restaurant here, we’ve set standards of dining that generations of families have come to expect,” said Austin Marler, kitchen manager of Capt. Dave’s. “Our staff thrives on providing customized customer service, something you don’t find very often anymore.”

When dining at Capt. Dave’s, customers have a dedicated server who handles every aspect from taking orders to running the food. As a result, fewer errors occur, and each table receives thorough attention from employees, many of whom have been with the restaurant for over 40 years.

Capt. Dave’s, throughout its history, has served the freshest seafood available obtained from local sources.

The fried seafood offerings have long remained popular, but the Stuffed Shrimp Parmesan and the Mahi Parmesan steal the show. Both dishes are topped with crab-meat stuffing in a homemade Italian Parmesan cream sauce. The Snapper Jane, named after the restaurant’s owner and family matriarch, is topped with crab meat, broiled shrimp and a seafood cream sauce.

Marler describes the restaurant as beach casual, but it’s a classy place, given its indoor-only seating with floor-to-ceiling windows offering scenic views of the Gulf.

As a member of the third generation serving this family-owned and operated business, Marler finds the most rewarding part of the job is seeing the dining room filled with new and old faces.

“It brings me great satisfaction to see customers going out to dinner, enjoying food and drink while spending time with

friends or family,” he said. “It’s special to see each generation and meet those who have been dining here even before I was born and hearing them say it’s the same as it was back then.”

Fat Clemenza’s — A Taste of the Old World

For Dominic Damiano, life on the Emerald Coast in 2008 was almost perfect except for one thing. He couldn’t find good Italian food.

He wasn’t alone in that. His group of friends and family who had moved from different parts of Italy to Destin also missed the flavors of home. They decided to open their own restaurant, Fat Clemenza’s, and do what they do best — serve up recipes passed down for generations.

Fat Clemenza’s in Miramar Beach has an Old World feeling — ambient lighting, a warm glow from the wood pizza oven, black-and-white family photos on the wall, fragrant garlic and rich tomato aromas wafting through the air. Damiano created a place where visitors feels like they are guests in his home.

In many ways, the restaurant is modeled after one he owned in an Italian neighborhood in Chicago. Just like Tufano’s in Chicago, a blackboard out front displays the day’s specials. As for the restaurant’s name, it stems from Peter Clemenza — nicknamed Fat Clemenza — from The Godfather.

Fat Clemenza’s is the perfect place to congregate with friends, knowing that all will enjoy fine food and wine to go along with great company. Many of the staff have worked there since its opening, navigating the cozy 16-table space with ease.

Staff members know the menu and its flavors forward and backward. When asked for recommendations, they will likely lead you toward the eggplant parmigiana, made from Damiano’s grandmother’s recipe, the clam linguine, veal, a wood-fired pizza and if it’s Friday, the Friday Night Fresh Fish special, caught locally and prepared with whatever touches the chef has in mind that day.

“It’s important to me to stay true to tradition and heritage, which is why we import a lot of ingredients,” said Damiano. “I want customers to experience these dishes as my family would, to feel like part of the family when here.”

The olive oils, pasta, tomatoes, flour and seasonings are imported from Italy. Twice a week, a shipment of sausage arrives from Chicago. All other ingredients, especially seafood, is sourced locally.

Where many businesses are constantly seeking the next big thing, Damiano holds to tradition. Customers are happy, they know what to expect and volume has only increased throughout the years.

“We’ve endured, and business has remained strong over the last 14 years because of our dedicated customers to which I’m grateful,” Damiano said. “We must be doing something right, so why not just keep a good thing going?”

APR/MAY 2023

CREATIVE WORKS LAND ON PAGES, CANVASES AND STAGES

COMBAT ZONES TO KITCHENS

Joseph Victor Stefanchik has seen much of the world through a viewfinder ↓

As a photographer with the Dallas Morning News, Joseph Victor Stefanchik had it going on. He’d photographed the results of civil war and the collateral damage of landmines in Angola in Africa. He’d “frozen his butt off” at the Nagano Winter Olympics and traversed the Panama Canal on a Panamax ship built specifically to fit through the canal locks.

From the first, he’d set out to shoot “impact” pictures. In photojournalism, it was something that often led to hospital rooms in ravaged countries. And in the midst of all that anxiety-promoting fun, he ended up getting a Robert F. Kennedy Award for International Photojournalism, and in 1997, he was a top-three finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.

So the question is, after the exciting, sometimes hazardous life of a photojournalist, how did he come to choose the relatively tame life of squeaking around our sugar-sand beaches? Did he change course after some trauma encountered in the course of his adventurous photojournalistic pursuits?

Stefanchik thought about that and concluded there was no one triggering incident.

“With photojournalism, I was jumping on planes sometimes 200 days out of the year,” he said. “After a while, making that miserable and lonely way up the Pulitzer Prize ladder, I realized there’s no top to it. There was always another rung, and I just wanted to work on happier subjects. Now I’ve got a home and business on the Emerald Coast with my girlfriend and business partner, who shoots great portraits, and a daughter that I’m crazy about. There’s nothing I can think of that would suck me away again to

some dangerous situation where there are bullets flying.”

Stefanchik was born a Hoosier from Connersville, Indiana, with a Czech surname. Early on, his family moved to Princeton, New Jersey. As a high school kid, skateboarding was his jam, and it was on the halfpipe and the rails that his love affair with photography and his fascination with its “off-camera” lighting grew — perhaps also his currently eschewed penchant for risky undertakings.

As a journeyman photographer, Stefanchik followed a path that took him briefly to the School of Visual Arts in New York City and then to Western Kentucky University. The latter was a bit of a culture shock for a Jersey boy “but ended up being some of the best times of my life,” he said, implying there’s nothing like a shock to open one’s eyes.

His final internship while a student at Western Kentucky was at the Dallas Morning News, which later hired him as a fulltime employee.

“There’s no way to forget the day I started that job,” Stefanchik said, “the day of the Oklahoma City bombing.”

Though he feels that his skill at sensing the exact moment to capture an image is innate, over the years, he evolved a style he describes as “clean.” That, of course, would seem to imply a sharp focus on an uncluttered subject, but it involves contrasts between light and shadow and an intensity that somehow wavers between two and three dimensions.

Stefanchik’s portrait of Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin offers an intense, steady, sculpted gaze that one could never politely sustain up close. Likewise, his portraits of Oliver Stone, jazz

organist Jackie Hairston and the ethereal “lady in white gossamer,” a Stefanchik Galadriel.

Today, in Inlet Beach on Highway 30A’s east end, Stefanchik and his girlfriend, Candice, own and operate a photo studio, Modernmade Photography. Online, Stefanchik offers his services as an “editorial and advertising photographer.” He was a regular contributor to The Washington Post’s Sunday magazine, which was published for the last time on Dec. 25, 2022, but his raison d’être is food photography. He’s currently working on creating a library of images for 30Avenue, an upscale shopping center in Inlet Beach.

In a 2021 online interview with Stefanchik, accomplished photographer Tony Corbell profoundly opined, “Foodstuff (photography) is stellar, but it’s not as easy as you would think!”

“Getting the camera in the right place is the key for food,” Stefanchik said.

Based on the seductive “chow shots” he’s done, Stefanchik certainly seems to know that place.

→ FOOD AND DRINK

From top: A photo taken for Master Chef Richard Rosendale’s website; grilled squid, photographed at Fiola Mare in Washington, D.C.; an Old Fashioned, shot at Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia; a seafood spread from Goatfeathers Market & Cafe in Inlet Beach.

It’s where a viewer imagines the taste of cherry-red or lime-green gelato; burgers wider than a human mouth, dripping with beef and bacon fat, cheesy, with a flounce of romaine; the brown and black of mushroom and sausage focaccia singed just right in an earthen oven; fusion creations with alfalfa sprigs and squiggles of brown sauce, like a bento box special. It’s where that viewer experiences synesthetic visions of crunch, of smooth, of sweet or savory, that make one want to bite the picture.

So, despite Stefanchik’s swearing off of life’s risky paths, he doesn’t seem to be able to kick the habit. Now there’s a big risk of complimentary meals, rich food carrying the threat of busting one’s belt or, heaven forbid, the gout! Yep, he still has it going on, he’s still on the risky path, only with those happier, safer things. EC

FINALIST

21 ANNUAL

EMERALD COAST BLUE MARLIN CLASSIC AT SANDESTIN®

JUNE 21-25, 2023

With a name like the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, there’s really no questioning the ultimate catch Blue Marlin are the top billfish prize in the Gulf, and teams bet on boating the heaviest one to earn the largest payout. The three game fish categories tuna, dolphin and wahoo are typically bycatch in the pursuit of blues Boats that focus on the alternates can earn hefty five-figure payouts! The event and all of the fun, including a golf tournament, daily weigh-ins, vendor village and more, happen within the gates of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort®!

ART

BUILT ON THE SAND

Dan Anderson’s creations are both ephemeral and fun

Dan Anderson’s life took a drastic turn when he found an ad on Craigslist offering sandcastle training. He was working at an animal hospital at the time and loved animals — still does — but it wasn’t fueling his passion the way he desired. In short, he was open to new opportunities, even far-fetched ones.

“I thought it sounded like something fun to do,” he says now, “so, I just went for it. I signed up to learn how to make a really good sandcastle.”

As most 5-year-olds can tell you, making sandcastles has few

requirements: a plastic bucket, a few toy shovels, sand and water. Perhaps a sifter and cut-out shapes for the more serious sand architects.

Known as Dan in the Sand, Anderson prides himself on using ordinary tools to make extraordinary sandcastles. In the compact cart he wheels around on the beach are several 5-gallon buckets, some 3-gallon buckets, paintbrushes, metal scrapers, a small scooper ordinarily used to make cantaloupe balls and his most trusted item: a “sandblaster 3000.” That might sound fancy and expensive, but it’s just a metal straw.

Anderson’s sandcastle instruction sessions last anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours, but time seems to melt away, he will tell you, when you’re having fun along the shorelines of the Emerald Coast.

“Everyone loves a good sandcastle,” he said, “and that’s why I find so much joy in what I do: I get to watch people of all ages remember how much fun it is to build a sandcastle.”

It’s not all fun and games, though. There is a science behind Anderson’s immaculate constructions.

“Once you know the science of sandcastle building, the possibilities are endless,” he said. “I teach the basics and let my clients have at it, giving them ample space to create.”

Here is the science: “Soupy” is the ideal consistency, starting out, Anderson said.

He puts sand into a 5-gallon bucket with no bottom. That allows him to easily remove the bucket, creating a freestanding tower. But first he adds water, using his hand — nay, his entire arm — to whisk around the contents, which he allows to settle into a concrete-looking unit.

Then comes “verbal encouragement.”

Anderson smacks the bucket’s sides, water soaking deeper into the sand mixture, then exhorts it: “You got it, sand!” Young participants follow his lead: “Yeah, sand! You can do it!” The cheering section grows as curious onlookers walking the beach stop and join in.

For larger sandcastles, which can take up to eight hours to complete, Anderson uses 100 to 200 gallons of water. “I stay skinny working this job,” he said, laughing. “I promise I eat — a lot. I’m just constantly hauling heavy buckets of water back and forth on the sand. It’s a workout.”

His most prized creation was one of his first: an 8-foot-tall replica of the Eiffel Tower.

“Once you know the science of sandcastle building, the possibilities are endless.” — Dan Anderson

“I built that one right around the time of the Paris attacks in 2015,” said Anderson, who has operated his business since 2020. “It was my favorite because I was still a new builder, and it turned out better than I imagined it would.”

A close second are the ones he creates for marriage proposals.

“I get goosebumps and tear up every single time,” he said. “(The woman) never expects it, and it’s such a romantic and beautiful experience. There’s more planning that goes into those because it must be set up just right, so she’ll see it.”

With each one, Anderson carves “Will you marry me?” and the prospective bride’s name into a heart, then places a GoPro camera nearby to capture the special moment. A few nervous fiances-to-be have walked right by the grainy sculptures and Anderson smoothly, discreetly guides them back, though it’s hard to imagine anyone overlooking his work or turning down such a gorgeous proposal.

If we’ve earned your VOTE choose EFCU for

If we’ve earned your vote, choose EFCU for Best of the Emerald Coast for 2022! Best of the Emerald Coast!

BEACHY MURDER MYSTERY

Deborah Rine delivers intrigue

Deborah Rine’s sixth Emerald Coast Mystery book, Riptide on 30A, is a quick, undemanding read for the sugar-sand beach ladies, its opening lines a brilliant but serendipitous foreshadowing:

“Claire giggled as she stepped over Hobbs. He was dead to the world.”

Claire and Hobbs Scranton are flying home from their honeymoon — spent doing photo-ops with elephants in Thailand — to their chic digs on trendy Lemon Cove Drive.

Yes, Claire’s two-week-old marriage to Hobbs is happily putting the quietus to her long days of widowhood. But by the time Claire and Hobbs land at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Hobbs too is dead!

Initially, Claire is thrown into a state of shock by the calamity, which carries within its own incongruity: being the belle of the whole horrible ball — attended by a contingent of law dogs from sheriffs to FBI.

From Claire’s jogging, cycling or zumbaing acquaintances comes the oft-repeated astonishment, “But Hobbs was so fit and healthy!” Even after the Fort Walton medical examiner’s report reveals that Hobbs has been poisoned!

Claire’s shock doesn’t last long. In tallying up her husband’s personal effects, she discovers a hidden portfolio of passports under a portfolio of aliases and, on top of that, finds that Hobbs’s occupation as a successful 30A landscaper conceals a mysterious past. It is a barrage of revelations that Claire struggles to reconcile with the man she’s just married.

Predictably, engaging her people skills as a real estate agent, and perhaps to distract herself from the loss of another husband, Claire goes into Nancy Drew

mode. Her keen sleuthing skills inevitably bring her to the attention of very bad, unknown people — forcing her to go on the lam, replete with narrow escapes and hiding in her own luxurious home and the Rose Room suite in the home of a friend away in Italy.

She endures the Rose Room’s grinding anonymity, aided by an edgy, computersavvy half sister and the comforting attentions of Hobbs’s boyhood friend. Her Italophilic friend’s house features a collection of theater makeup, and the

pair’s surreptitious excursions for food and wine follow a strict protocol of wigs, putty noses and square, oversized sunglasses to blend in on 30A.

Nothing can deter Claire Scranton, determined to not only solve the mystery of her husband’s murder but find out who he really was. The more she investigates, the more shocks she encounters. Yet, clue by clue, she gradually lays bare the outlines of a deadly international struggle for a terrifying artifact.

Not wishing to play spoiler, the writer here retires, but it’s safe to reveal that it’s a world where everything, of course, turns out hunky-dory in the end!

Author Deborah Rine comes originally from San Francisco but grew up in Illinois and has covered a lot of terrain since then. Early on, she studied in France. With her first husband, a French business executive, she domiciled in Italy and then Belgium.

Later, as a French instructor, she lived outside Chicago, enrolling there in a $99 writing course that made writing actually seem an attractive vocation and which today has evolved into her writing stories slanted toward the reading tastes of the birds who live on 30A, or wish they did.

She now resides in Freeport.

“In my 30A stories, I try to mention all the places readers might recognize,” Rine said, then mimics, “‘Oh, I’ve eaten there,’ or ‘Oh, my BFFs and I do that, too!’”

Despite Riptide’s endemic but enterprising place-name dropping, plus breaks in narrative flow resulting from detailed descriptions of characters’ wardrobes, the story has a familiar arc that makes it a windfall for those seeking a leisurely reading experience at Bud & Alley’s or a shiny aluminum sushi bar. EC

Life Through the Lens

To Wayne Simpson, life is a delicate balance of preserving a moment forever and living in the moment. When behind the lens, he is attuned to what will make for a quality photo while reminding himself to stop and take in what’s right in front of him. Many times, that’s an exotic animal.

When Simpson was handed his first camera at the age of 12, it changed the way he viewed the world. A passion developed into a career, which over six decades evolved from weddings and portraiture to travel and nature photography.

Simpson calls Northwest Florida home, but he’d rather live out of a suitcase than a closet. He’s traveled the world but has a particular affection for Africa and Tanzania, specifically. Simpson has long been interested in conservation and is keenly aware that wildlife photography not only transports viewers, but it also can educate them.

“When they see my photography, I hope people gain a greater appreciation of wildlife and the world’s natural beauty,” Simpson said. “There’s a great need to preserve our wildlife and ecology, and in my way I hope to be part of that.”

For years, Simpson has sold his wildlife photography on his website, where patrons can use the augmented reality feature to see just how a photo of a majestic lion might look in their living room or whether zebra stripes would work in their office. From there, a variety of print materials and framing options are available.

Recently, Simpson has decided to help others capture their own wildlife art by hosting safaris in partnership with Vianney’s Untamed Expeditions in Tanzania. Vianney, an experienced wildlife guide, and Simpson have been friends for years and are devoted to providing people with extraordinary animal viewing experiences.

The safaris are primarily geared toward photographers but are open to anyone who wants to see wildlife up close. Safaris include transportation once in the country, lodging, meals and photography advice. Air travel is not included.

“It gives me a great sense of accomplishment being able to introduce people to animals in their natural settings, where they should be,” said Simpson. “I will never tire of seeing people’s faces when they see an elephant

or a giraffe for the first time. Then, as the safari progresses and they observe, they begin to understand the animal’s body language and their presence in nature.”

Astronaut Alabama

ABE PARTRIDGE SWEETENS SONGWRITERS FEST WITH SOAL MUSIC

Partridge holds serpent handlers in high regard.

A singer-songwriter, visual artist and podcaster, Partridge attended Bible colleges in Tennessee after graduating high school in Mobile, Alabama, and went on to preach for a few years, serving small congregations in Appalachia.

A “religious experience” led him to pursue preaching, he told me, and he remains a man of faith, but he isn’t much for organized, wishing-well religion anymore.

“Now, the only churches I go to are serpent-handling churches,” Partridge said. There is a selflessness and authenticity about them that he admires.

“The thing about Western Christianity is it’s presented in a way that benefits you in the end,” Partridge said. “You don’t want to go to hell, so Jesus will help you not go to hell. You don’t want to be unhappy, so Jesus will help you be happy. You want to be rich, or whatever. It’s like a means-to-an-end kind of gospel. With serpent handlers, it’s the complete opposite of that. I found that to be very powerful and meaningful. It’s faith not as a benefit, but faith at a possible cost. It’s Jesus as an end instead of just the means. I share that faith now. I don’t handle snakes, but I understand.”

For Partridge, music and art have been ends. He doesn’t think in terms of goals or aspirations.

“I just try to live one day to the next, doin’ what I love,” he said. “Fortunately, I am able to do that. I am always creating. I quit my job in 2019, and that was a big moment, buddy.”

Partridge had been supporting his family — he and his wife Cathy have three kids — as a civilian avionics technician servicing C-130Js for the U.S. Air Force. Leaving that steady paycheck behind was a “huge leap of faith,” he said.

“When I did that and we didn’t file bankruptcy, that was a success. I always said that if I could ever get to a point in my life where I was creating art and music and telling stories for a living, then I would have made it. Now, every bit it grows from here is icing on the cake.”

His outlook is one of humility and genuineness, qualities that come through when Partridge greets an audience with his unrestrained drawl. He ain’t pretendin’ up there. Taking the stage at the Rosemary Town Hall for an exclusive 30A Songwriters Festival performance reserved for VIPs, he gawks at the building’s cathedral ceilings. He’s lived much of his life in trailers. To this day, he wears base-model Levi jeans. No flair, no flare. He appears never to have gained complete command over his rangy body. He’s real. Sometimes, he forgets the words.

To get to know Partridge even a little bit is to wonder how he could ever manage to quiet and focus his mind sufficiently to work on military transport aircraft. His Town Hall set included a song, Abe Partridge’s 403rd Freakout, which he intends as a window on his inner workings and in which he sings, “Turn off your mind, because an active mind is a devil’s playground.”

In that playground, so the song goes, he ponders how the world might have been different had Albert Einstein met Paul McCartney while John Lennon was studying the world’s great wonders. He ponders if, then, “a little boy from Nagasaki coulda married a young girl from Hiroshima

“I just try to live one day to the next, doin’ what I love. Fortunately, I am able to do that. I am always creating.”

and they coulda sang Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da together, their favorite song by the Beatles.”

The 403rd is a little bit butterfly effect, a little bit time machine, and it makes it clear that Partridge’s thinking isn’t the least bit linear. But devil’s playground? Nah. Partridge is far more angelic than demonic.

His voice is a little less ashtray, but Partridge brings Tom Waits to mind. In Hope I Don’t Fall in Love, Waits sings about the inevitability of love late at night in a barroom. In White Trash Lipstick, Partridge sings about a tomgirl’s power over a boy whose truck she comes off her porch to revive. Both visit life’s underbelly, but Partridge does so with adoration.

Partridge just might be an amalgam of Randy Newman, John Prine, David Allen Coe and comedian Steven Wright. And Woody Guthrie — Partridge listens to a lot of Woody Guthrie.

But it is Bob Dylan who saved Partridge from the depths of despair. That, and the arrival in 2007 of high-speed internet in rural Middlesboro, Kentucky, where he was preaching.

Partridge was a college student in Chattanooga when he was first exposed to bluegrass music. He bought a banjo and taught himself to play. He carried his newfound obsession to Knoxville, home to his second college and where, on Tuesday nights, he would report to a record store to hear a “bunch of old men pick old bluegrass songs.” He became aware of the music of Roscoe Holcomb and Dock Boggs and wanted to play the banjo just like them.

When the internet arrived in Middlesboro, Partridge, who was stuck outside of Mobile with the Kentucky blues again, discovered decades-old Holcomb videos on YouTube, including one in which the banjo man appeared on stage with a young Bob Dylan.

“I had heard of Dylan, but I had never listened to him,” Partridge said. “I was like ‘Who is this?’ I was going through the darkest time in my life, and Dylan’s lyrics spoke to me. Then, through Dylan, I found John Prine, Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark and other songwriters, and that’s when I started to try to write my own songs.” He was 26.

“Music pulled me out of depression. It got me here today. Some people it hits, buddy.”

You can stop by in the morning

You can stop by late at night

You can stop by if you’re ugly friend

Or if you look all right.

I will confess that I had secured a media pass for the Songwriters Festival mostly because I wanted to see Lyle Lovett, a man whose music always has hit me. I remember well the night — it must have been in 1987 — when a man named Ron, who used to manage the waterfront No Name Lounge just east of the Hathaway Bridge in Panama City, turned me on to the novels of Carl Hiaasen and to Lovett, who sang about riding a pony on a boat and about that “stop-and-do-it girl.”

From the festival’s grand stage at Grand Boulevard, Lovett performed That’s Right (You’re Not from Texas). He recorded the song about his home state’s capacity to welcome wannabe Texans in 1996. Today, it kinda depends. You might wind up in Martha’s Vineyard.

Lovett is generous with praise. He followed to the stage Rickie Lee Jones about whom he said, “Nobody sings and writes songs like her.”

Snappily attired in a sharp, gray suit, he was joined by Viktor Krauss (upright bass), Luke Bulla (fiddle), Jeff White (guitar) and Jim Cox (piano). “It’s truly an honor to play with these men, some of the finest musicians in the world,” Lovett said.

The festival crowd was in for a treat. It had been a while since Lovett had toured, and he was glad to be back on the road. He smiled his crooked smile through a chilly January afternoon and made his old songs new.

And if I had a boat

I’d go out on the ocean And if I had a pony

I’d ride him on my boat And we could all together Go out on the ocean

I said me upon my pony on my boat

Lovett, a la Abe Partridge, acknowledged his great good fortune in being able to do what he most loves to do, now some 36 years after his debut album. As he played his double encore, his audience picked up its lawn chairs and bunched up near the stage to get a better look, sure, and to huddle for warmth.

Lovett, in response, grinned as broadly as he can.

It’s been a big day for Partridge. The VIP concert, performed with sisters Amanda Donald (mandolin) and Katrina Kolb (the most animated upright bass player you’re ever gonna see), has gone well. Shows of Partridge’s art are newly underway — watercolors at the University of South Alabama and acrylic on roofing cement at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center in Mobile. And Partridge’s latest single, Alabama Astronauts, has dropped.

The spoken song and its accompanying video and comic book lovingly prey upon an Alabama mobile home community, the Back 40 Trailer Park, that is visited by aliens.

I was feeling alright

Mixin’ whiskey with my Sprite And toasting all those ghosts Of the lost Southern pines

When I heard a lurkin’ In the night and I knew

Somethin’ wasn’t right And I was covered in the white Of an otherworldly light.

The aliens abduct neighbor lady Wanda, but Abe and Bubba, a heavily tattooed big fella, strike back. With a shotgun and an AR-15, they dispatch the invaders, commandeer their flying saucer (and paint it in camo) and locate Wanda whose only regret is that the green men had seen her with “her hair still in rollers, her nightie bustin’ at the seams.”

It may be that Partridge is defining his own genre. Call it South Alabama Camp. Better yet, call it SOAL Music.

“I have never met an alien that I know of,” Partridge said. “But I may have met some angels.”

Me, too, Partridge among them. Alabama peach of a guy, really. The kind of guy you pull for, buddy. EC

CANVASING THE FISH WORLD

Destin artist’s paintings are to scale

←

Harley Van Hyning earned a marketing degree at the University of West Florida after a high school guidance counselor told him that artists don’t make any money. He is proving that counselor wrong.

HARLEY VAN HYNING IS A FISH RESPONDER.

Along the waterfront in Destin and in nearby communities, Van Hyning is known as that tall dude who practices the Japanese art of gyotaku — an aesthetic means by which fish catches can be documented.

When the fishing is good, Van Hyning is effectively on call. Captains dial him up — his ring tone is a screaming cat that interrupts the deepest of thoughts — on their way to the docks when they have a fish that is printworthy.

There was that time, for example, when Jordan Whiteman, the mate aboard restaurateur and chef Emeril Lagasse’s sportfishing yacht, Alente, notified Van Hyning that they were headed in with a big tuna onboard.

Van Hyning, with canvas and paint, sped to the Sandestin marina to meet the boat. He knows that he has little time to make a good impression.

“Most people are late these days, but you can’t be late,” Van Hyning said. “Guys don’t like to wait around. I don’t want to inconvenience the client or the deckhand who has been fishing and working his tail off for 12 or 24 hours. Plus, the acrylics I use dry quickly; I’ve gotta work super fast.”

Van Hyning won’t disclose specifics but said his process basically involves prepping a fish, slathering it with paint, covering it with a sheet of canvas and rubbing the material into the fish’s every nook and cranny. When the canvas is removed, Van Hyning has a print of the fish that he may choose to leave in raw form or enhance with detailing work.

There are times when Van Hyning’s gyotaku becomes performance art. He tends to draw onlookers — the bigger the fish, the bigger the crowd.

Lagasse closely watched as Van Hyning made a print of both the hefty yellowfin and a mahi-mahi. The day was hot, and the chef offered the artist a Yuengling. He was impressed by the impressions.

Van Hyning would sell the rights to the tuna to Lagasse, who used the image on T-shirts sold at Emeril’s Coastal seafood restaurant at Grand Boulevard. And, since 2019, Van Hyning has been the event artist at an annual sailfish tournament hosted by Lagasse in Fort Lauderdale.

The artist is a member of a small, international gyotaku community. Via Instagram, he stays in touch with artists in Hawaii, California, the Eastern U.S., Italy, South Africa and Australia.

Van Hyning first became aware of what he calls the “first form of fish mounting” in middle school and high school art classes. His mother, Anna Salter, is an artist — a realist — who studied art at the Royal Academy in London and made a point of taking her son to art shows and galleries when he was young.

“She encouraged my interest in painting, and I thought about going to the Savannah School of Art and Design,” Van Hyning said. “But a guidance counselor (at Fort Walton Beach High School) told me that artists don’t make any money.”

Van Hyning instead went to the University of West Florida, where he earned a degree in marketing and public relations, thinking that the field would afford him creative outlets. He got into podcasting and thought about creating a lifestyle brand.

In 2015, he started experimenting with gyotaku. That exploration turned into an obsession.

“The first fish I painted were fish that I caught,” Van Hyning recalled. “I told my mom that I was going to paint fish and transfer them to shirts. She told me in her British accent to ‘Screw the bloody T-shirt’ and to do more of what I was doing.”

In 2016, Van Hyning, at the encouragement of a friend, participated in a space reserved for local artists at the Destin Seafood Festival and sold his first painting.

“One of my best friends, Justin Lyons, is an artist, and I used to go to his shows and hang out at his little studio and watch him paint,” Van Hyning said. “A few hours before I was supposed to have my work set up at the Seafood Festival, he showed me how to stain wood and make frames. But I never once thought about becoming an artist, myself.

“I didn’t pursue art. It happened to me.”

Commissions account for the lionfish’s share of the work Van Hyning does, and he has entertained some odd requests. One client wanted a psychedelic triggerfish. He did a Grateful Dead snapper. He’s not a taxidermist; he’s an impressionist. He can choose to make a redfish blue.

“Almost everything I have been doing has been about somebody’s fish story, and it’s great to be preserving memories for people and to give them something they can reminisce on,” Van Hyning said.

But he has stories of his own he wants to tell. He grew up fishing inshore waters for trout and redfish. Without much prompting, he will tell you about catching his biggest flounder ever on a 6-pound test line and a bucktail jig he made himself. He’s a surfer. A short stack of books in his studio includes William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life. He made a surfing trip to the Maldives and painted a few fish there.

“I am a lover of the oceans, and I want to create work in which the oceans tell their story,” Van Hyning said.

He painted a warsaw grouper at the Destin Fishing Rodeo, the first that had been seen there in 10 years. He hears captains talk about diminished cobia numbers and other disturbing trends.

“A couple of buddies of mine from Utah and I went fishing and kept a 40-pound amberjack,” Van Hyning said. “We had plenty

of fish for three big guys and three women. I see people at the dock with four or five 70- to 80-pound amberjacks, not to mention all the other bottom fish. Do people really need that much? Are people even thinking about sustainability?”

Van Hyning is working toward exhibitions that he may call “Ocean Speaks.” He plans to add new elements to his paintings, to somehow infuse paint with vibrations that reflect a fish’s story. One such show might focus on the Indian Ocean, another on the Pacific.

They are sure to be the product of Van Hyning’s passions.

“My mother says I have two mistresses,” he said. “When the surf’s up, I don’t paint. When the surf’s not good, I paint.” EC

“I DIDN’T PURSUE ART. IT HAPPENED TO ME.”

2023 OFFICIAL BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST CATEGORIES

RULES To preserve the integrity of the voting process, the following contest rules must be observed in order to cast a ballot and ensure it is included in the voting tabulation process:

• Voting for 2023 Best of Emerald Coast honors will take place online starting April 2023.

• All votes must be for locally owned Emerald Coast area businesses. Locally owned and operated companies are defined as the owner or managing partner living in the Emerald Coast area or within a 30-mile radius of the Emerald Coast.

• No incentives, prizes, goods or services may be offered in exchange for votes.

• Ballots must be submitted by April 30, 2023, at 11:59 P.M.

• Each vote must be submitted by one verified email address. (The spirit of voting is one vote per person.)

• Obvious attempts at ballot stuffing or cheating will be disqualified.

• A business can win the “Best” award in no more than two categories. If a business is the leading vote-getter in more than two categories, that business will win only the “Best” award for the two categories in which it received the most votes.

• Any winning business must be in good standing with Rowland Publishing, Inc. and still in operation by the date of the results printed in the magazine to be promoted as a “Best of” winner.

Once ballots are counted, all tabulations are final.

2023 OFFICIAL BEST OF THE EMERALD COAST CATEGORIES

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Appetizer

Asian Fusion

Atmosphere

Bakery

Bar/Tavern

Barbecue

Beer Selection/ Craft Beer

Bloody Mary

Breakfast Brewery

Brunch

Cajun/Creole

Chef Chinese

Crab Cakes

Crawfish

Dessert

Distillery

Fine Dining

French Frozen Treat (Ice Cream, Yogurt, Gelato, Snow Cones)

Gluten Free

Gourmet/Food Shop/ Specialty Food Store

Grouper Sandwich

Gumbo

Hamburger

Happy Hour

Hard Seltzer

Hibachi

Italian

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Margarita

Martini

Mediterranean

Mexican/Latin American

Nachos

New Restaurant (6-12 months)

On-site Catering

Outdoor Bar

Outdoor Dining

Oysters

Pizza Restaurant in Bay County

Restaurant in Escambia County

Restaurant in Okaloosa County

Restaurant in Walton County

Romantic/Special

Occasion Restaurant

Seafood Market

Seafood Restaurant

Seafood Steamer

Shrimp Dish

Sports Bar

Steakhouse

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Thai

Tuna Dip

Vegan

Waterfront Restaurant

Wedding Caterer

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Wings

SERVICE PROVIDERS

Accounting Firm

Acupuncture Clinic

Aesthetician

Architecture Firm

Audio/Visual Provider

Automobile Dealership

Bank

Barber Shop

Builder/Contractor

Cabinets and Countertops

Car/Limo/Shuttle

Service

Cardiology Practice

Charity/Nonprofit

Charter Boat Service (Fishing, Diving, etc.)

Cheerleading/ Gymnastics Facility

Chiropractic Practice

Cleaning Company

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Cosmetic/Plastic Surgery Practice

Cosmetic Services (Eyelash Extensions, Nails, Permanent Makeup)

Credit Union

Custom Closets

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Golf Cart Dealership

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Investment Firm

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Group

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Company

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Venue

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Locally Owned Retailer

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Retailer

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Retailer

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Women’s Shoes

ENTERTA I NMENT/ PEOPLE

Artist/Art Gallery

DJ Event

Golf Course

Musician/Vocalist/ Band

Nightlife/Live Music

Venue

Place for a Date

Place for Kids

Birthday Party

Place to Take the Kids

Place to Watch a Sunset

Radio Personality Resort

Tennis Facility

Staycation Property/ Resort

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS ON THE EMERALD COAST

Living the Sandestin® lifestyle, whether on vacation or as a permanent or part-time resident means access to championship golf and tennis, award-winning dining, elevated clubs offerings, shopping, seasonal events and of course the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico, all found from the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico to the shorelines of the Choctawhatchee Bay within the gates of this 2,400 acre legendary resort.

Whether you've chosen to vacation with us at Sandestin® in one of over 1,000 vacation rentals, booked a luxury getaway at Hotel Effie or are working with the Sandestin® Real Estate team to purchase an investment home or full-time residence, Sandestin® offers it all. We appreciate your vote for Best of the Emerald Coast to help us celebrate 50 years of Sandestin®

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APR/MAY 2023

TRENDS FROM FLOOR TO CEILING, FRONT TO BACK

Coastal Style INTERIORS

With a Twist

A classic approach is updated with touches of function and the familiar → by LIS

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Coastal design, that evolving, elegantly curated aesthetic dubbed “coastal grandmother” by TikToker Lex Nicoleta, is suddenly everywhere. Nicoleta felt inspired by such movies as Something’s Gotta Give, It’s Complicated and The Holiday and, in one fell swoop, distilled the aura of Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton and Cameron Diaz baking chocolate croissants in gorgeously appointed homes. From there, the drumbeat continued via Vogue, HGTV and Instagram.

Cindy McCarley, an award-winning kitchen and bath designer in Santa Rosa Beach, likes the style. She describes it as the elegant aunt of beach house and farmhouse looks and applauds its lack of pretense. Literal references such as mini

lighthouses, anchors or whales are no-no’s, she warns. No kitsch, no clutter.

“One of its assets is that it works on so many budget levels,” she explains. “You can put the homeowner’s personality into the design, making it truly unique, but still faithful to what this trend speaks about: flawless function but also warmth and comfort. And, by the way, you needn’t be a grandma or even live by the sea to embrace this style.”

A VILLA BY THE SEA

It’s hard to imagine a finer example of the coastal grandmother style than one sevenbedroom, nine-bath Sea Sunsets home in Seacrest. When interior designers Lindsay Cannon and Karen Kerns of Lovelace Interiors in Miramar Beach created the

home’s interiors, the label had not yet been coined, but as it turned out, many of the villa’s elements and overall vibe were coastal grandmother personified.

“Our inspiration was a transitional look, designed with tone-on-tone neutrals and Gulf hues,” Cannon says. “High ceilinged, white painted, large spaced and many windowed with glorious Gulf views beyond — the home is incredibly airy and breezy, but we also made sure to incorporate warm and natural elements such as rattan stools, Capiz lighting pendants, loads of pillows and throws to cozy up the many sofas and chairs, pottery and art. Watercolor seascapes are everywhere. These are all refined accessories, and the closest we come to beach style is a clutch of weathered driftwood working as a dining table centerpiece.”

She calls it a romantic look as well: four-poster beds, marbled baths, slubby-textured knit throws, white linens romanticizing a thousand old plantation movies. They’re all part of the picture.

“Heirlooms are at home with this style,” adds Cannon. “Think your grandma’s collection of creamware or oyster plates, a vintage silver basket piled high with fruit. Just don’t clutter up the space.”

FAMILY KITCHEN

Coastal grandmother elements are plentiful in Cindy McCarley’s own kitchen, making it both a comfortable hub for family and friends and a design studio where she demonstrates cabinetry ideas and the beauty of countertop marble. “Many clients are afraid of marble,” she says, “but I would hands down choose marble again. It’s such a classic. So are my white cabinets. They’ll never go out of style. And my custom pecky cypress hood provides a one-of-a-kind look that embodies the coastal grandmother look. So do my built-in dish cabinet and the many personal pieces, such as the wall clock, a vintage item from my mom’s kitchen, and a little blue lunch box that was my grandmother’s. Special pieces like that add personality and warmth to otherwise airy and streamlined coastal interiors.”

But does coastal grandma have staying power? McCarley says she isn’t sure that’s what the look will always be called, but that its clean, sophisticated appearance, with a soft coastal palette and personal items will always be desired. “Mixing and matching creates a lovely, lived-in place, and I think this perfectly sums up the coastal grandmother look.”

Lindsay Cannon is on the same page: “Like all styles, it will probably evolve over the years,” she says, “but its elements are such classics that it will always be relevant.” EC

When only the best will do.

Specialty Roofers, Inc., is one of the fastest growing roofing companies in Northwest Florida. Our company specializes in residential and commercial projects and takes pride in our commitment to quality workmanship.

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WHAT A BLAST

Mother Nature takes its toll on a house.

“Dirt, pollen, leaves and seeds blow against its siding, roof and deck,” said Devarion Sieg of Emerald Clear Pressure Washing in Fort Walton Beach. “Stuff gets trapped in gutters and seams, and in humid climates like ours, mildew, algae and mold are common.”

It’s not just a matter of curb appeal, though.

“It’s sensible maintenance,” Sieg said. “Clean surfaces last longer than grimy, algae-covered ones.”

It may be time for a pressure washing. Or power washing. Or soft washing. Which is best depends on the kind of siding or roof your house has, how your driveway and deck are constructed and the type of fence you have.

HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER

Pressure washers are powered by electric motors or gas engines that run a pump that pressurizes the water from your garden hose to 1,000 pounds or more, then forces it through a spray wand. The higher the pressure — measured in pounds per square inch (psi) — the tougher the cleaning jobs it can handle. A steady supply of water — measured in gallons per minute, (gpm) — is needed.

Electric pressure washers aren’t as powerful as gas-powered ones, said Holly Kornegay, a Home Depot store manager in Tallahassee. So they’re the

best choice for light jobs, like washing cars or outdoor grills or furniture. Make sure to plug the electric washer into a grounded outlet, Kornegay warns.

Gas-powered pressure washers are best for big jobs like preparing siding for painting, deep-cleaning concrete or getting rid of old stains.

If you’re buying or renting a pressure washer, select one that will dispense cleaning solutions in addition to water. A little bit of chlorine can go a long way in cleaning concrete and preventing the buildup of mildew and mold.

FOR SAFETY’S SAKE

The spray from a pressure washer can cause serious injury, both Kornegay and Sieg point out. Plus, the spray can propel objects that could strike someone. Before turning on the machine, make sure no one is around who could be hit by the spray. The spray alone can, with some machines, cut skin. To prevent that, grip the machine with both

hands, and don’t make any sudden movement. Also don’t undertake the task on a windy day, and wear goggles, ear protection, boots and gloves.

In general, watch where you spray. Your roses might not look so gorgeous after they’re hit by a blast of chlorine. Consider covering plants next to the foundation if you’re using cleaning solutions on the siding, roof or deck.

TYPES OF WASHING

Sieg is an advocate for soft washing.

“Pressure washing is great for durable materials such as concrete, pressure-treated decks, stone pathways and sidewalks,” he said, “but for more fragile surfaces, such as those involving adhesives, soft washing is best.”

He also recommends it for cedar shakes, vinyl, wood siding, roofs, stucco, pavers, brick and tile.

SOFT WASH

→ Cedar shakes, vinyl, wood siding, roofs, stucco, pavers, brick and tile

A soft wash involves the use of a special low-pressure nozzle or wand. A biodegradable chemical is used to remove biological elements like mold, algae, pollen dirt and moss without damaging surfaces or killing plants.

The third type is power washing, which is identical to pressure washing except the water is heated.

“Extremely powerful” is how Sieg describes it.

“It’s hard to think of a more dynamic grime fighter than a blast of high-pressure heated water,” he said. “It’ll break down organic matter in a flash.”

IS IT A DIY JOB?

PRESSURE WASH

→ Concrete, pressuretreated decks, stone pathways and sidewalks

POWER WASH

→ Identical to pressure washing except the water is heated

Can you do the job yourself? Probably, if the project is modest and you are reasonably handy. But even confident DIYers should make sure they have the processes down pat before starting out.

Better leave the roof to the pros, Sieg and Kornegay agree. Climbing up on a ladder with a pressure washer is not a good idea for a DIYer, Sieg said, especially since roof cleaning requires extra skill and finesse, as well as moving on a sloping, wet surface.

The cost of hiring a pro depends on the size of the house and many other circumstances, of course, but Sieg said pressure washing a house in the Emerald Coast area can run as high as $800. EC

ERA American Real Estate Believes in the American Dream

For the team at ERA American Real Estate, the American flag symbolizes the freedom and liberty that enable everyone to pursue and live their American Dream. With five offices and 145 real estate professionals, ERA American Real Estate is a leading real estate firm, an active community partner, and a stalwart promoter of the American flag.

In 1985, ERA American Real Estate’s founder, Gloria Frazier, initiated a community outreach project whereby she and her agents and staff planted American flags in local neighborhoods to commemorate the Fourth of July. In the project’s first year, ERA American Real Estate planted 5,000 American flags at the curbs of homes in Fort Walton Beach. Since then, the project has grown and expanded into neighboring counties and communities they serve. Today, the company distributes over 30,000 American flags annually from Highway 30A to Pensacola.

“This longstanding tradition of distributing the American flag has become synonymous with our company,

and is a heartfelt way for us to connect with our community and honor our military neighbors and friends,” said Linde Bowman, Vice President and Head of Brokerage.

In the weeks leading up to July 4, ERA American Real Estate agents and staff will volunteer to plant American flags in various neighborhoods. They will canvas streets, place large flag displays at the entrances of communities, convert their offices into American flag distribution centers, and hand out American flags at busy intersections.

Current ERA American Real Estate Realtor and United States Air Force Col. (Ret’d) Paula Sherman has been part of the company’s American flag tradition for decades. Sherman remarks, “We strive to support our community’s growth and development through our work as real estate professionals while also honoring the American Spirit through this longstanding tradition.” ERA American Real Estate President/CEO Tony Lombardo notes that the company will surpass a historic milestone in 2023 as they distribute their millionth American flag in the company’s history.

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ARRIVING ON THE WIND

Opportunistic flora finds a home

Dandelions are a cool-season, hardy vegetable capable of handling North Florida’s winters with little negative effect. This time of year, after its blooming has finished, the dandelion’s flower head dries out for a few days. The bloom petals and stamens sluff off, and the parachute ball opens into a full sphere.

The big negative is dandelions’ ability to turn up in lawns and landscapes uninvited. Lawns’ uniform turf is often “marred” by such random invasions. The seeds are scattered on the slightest breeze or when a child plays with the cotton ball-sized collection of seeds. The tiny seeds lazily float away, suspended under the intricate silky fluff.

They commonly lie unnoticed until growing conditions are ideal. Then they germinate and grow aggressively. The following autumn, the deeply notched leaves form a rosette pattern as they emerge from a weak central taproot.

The hollow flower stalks form a single compound flower of many bright goldencolored florets. Individual species have different leaf shapes, ranging from very curly to broad leaved.

Mowing the blooms will control seed production, and warmer days will end this annual’s life. But keep in mind that European honeybees and many native pollinators use dandelions as a source of pollen and nectar.

A Weed for a Wet Landscape – Dollarweed

Plentiful precipitation usually lowers the water bill that results from lawn irrigation. This silver cloud of nature’s largess has a dark green lining in the form of dollarweed.

Hydrocotyle umbellata, the scientific name for dollarweed, is a species commonly found locally, both in the wild and on lawns, where it plagues turfgrass.

The species is a native perennial found in damp to very wet sites. This low-growing plant produces erect, bright green, shiny leaves with scalloped margins.

The petiole, or leaf stem, is located in the center of the leaf. It forms an umbrella shape. Leaves range in size from that of a dime to a silver dollar.

In the wild, dollarweed can be found growing on pond or stream edges, where it delivers several beneficial features. In thick clusters, its sinewy root system stabilizes shorelines by producing a thick mat that minimizes erosion.

It also produces copious quantities of seed for wildlife. Fish benefit from the thick water-seeking roots, which serve as a protective maze next to the water’s edge. Restricting moisture levels is the first step toward controlling dollarweed. There are herbicides that will control, but not eliminate, this plant.

ANTLIONS

Antlions inhabit the sandy soils of North Florida and patiently await clueless victims. The minuscule, cone-shaped death traps, which are commonly found in home landscape bare spots, have fascinated countless generations of children. What is known as the antlion is the larva stage of a suborder of lacewings, an insect considered beneficial. Its simple life cycle has four stages. First, eggs are laid in the sand and incubated by the warmth of the sun. Soon, the fearsome-appearing antlion emerges and begins its search for a proper trap site. This wandering will take the insect through a variety of microenvironments. As it travels on its quest, the antlion leaves tracks in the soil that appear to be doodling or scribbling. In this pre-pit trap phase, therefore, the insect is sometimes referred to as a doodlebug. Once ensconced in the sand trap, the antlion dines on any hapless insect or spider that exhausts itself on the slippery walls of the inverted cone. As the victim slows and gravitates to the bottom of the pit, the antlion grasps then dismembers and consumes its meal. Once its nutritional requirements are fulfilled, the antlion constructs a cocoon from sand and silk. It retires for a month-long reprieve as it develops into a mature lacewing. When it emerges, the ages-old cycle begins again.

Larva stage: Antlion

The antlion, aka doodlebug, is the larva stage of a suborder of lacewings.

Adult stage: Lacewing

APR/MAY 2023

VISITING NOTEWORTHY PLACES NEAR AND FAR

BLUFFS & BLARNEY

An American in Ireland resists a cabbie’s advances and with cliffs takes chances ↓

↖

The Cliffs of Moher, located in the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland, extend for about 9 miles. They are named after a fort that once stood on Hag’s Head. The fort was demolished in 1808 to provide material for a lookout tower used during the Napoleonic wars.

My love affair with Ireland began the minute I heard Delores

O’Riordan’s haunting voice singing Zombie. Her impassioned lyrics and the unmistakable sound unique to the Cranberries became part of the soundtrack of my adolescence — despite my mother constantly asking me to listen to something “less depressing.”

Twenty-odd years later, I may not be playing the Cranberries on a constant loop, but my fascination with them, and with Ireland, is as strong as ever. So when I discovered in October that round-trip airfares to Ireland were running just a smidge over $600, I couldn’t hit the “Book Now” button fast enough. Add an Airbnb for a week in Dublin, and I was set.

One layover and a seven-hour transAtlantic flight later, I landed at Dublin International Airport where, oddly, cows are pastured right alongside the runways.

Unfortunately, as my wireless carrier is not one that offers international

roaming, I was left to figure things out the old-fashioned way, largely without internet access or any semblance of phone coverage. Outside of the airport terminal, I had nothing, which meant I couldn’t book a taxi or use Google maps to navigate the public transportation system. What I could do was join the queue for taxis outside the airport.

After 10 minutes of waiting in very chilly, very damp air, I settled into the backseat of a black Mercedes. I gave the cabbie the address for my Airbnb, happy to be out of the cold drizzle and on my way to somewhere I could get my bearings. The apartment where I would be staying had internet access, which meant I could formulate some sort of game plan for my stay.

I am not one to sit silently in the back of a taxi, and I was happy when my driver struck up a conversation without prompting.

“So, what brings you to Dublin?” he asked in a thick Irish brogue.

“I’ve always wanted to come to Ireland, and I thought now would be the perfect time to do it,” I replied.

“What will you do while you’re here?”

As many times as I’d been asked this question after telling people I was taking a trip — by myself — to Ireland, I still didn’t have an answer better than, “I’m not really sure.”

His eye caught mine in the rearview mirror. “You’re winging it, then,” he said with a chuckle.

“Pretty much,” I agreed.

“My, you must be rich,” he said. “Tell me, are you married?”

I laughed because I am neither rich nor married.

“No, I am not,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well,” he said with a grin. “Would you like to be? I would make you the happiest woman in all the world.”

“I’m sure you would,” I said in jest.

“So is that a yes, then?”

← At the Irish Rock ’n’ Roll Museum Experience, visitors may get the chance to try on a drum kit once used by Metallica when the band practiced there. Tour guides address contributions made by Irish performers including Thin Lizzy, the Pogues, the Cranberries and, of course, U2.

“I’ll think about it.”

And as we sped toward the Airbnb, Seamus, as I’d come to call him, and I swapped stories and got to know one another.

When the ride came to an end, he removed my suitcase from the trunk and handed it to me with a tip of his cap.

“I’ve grown used to rejection, love,” he said. “My heart can take it. Enjoy your stay in Dublin.”

While without a plan, I did just that, exploring City Centre after dumping my bags at my Airbnb in Clongriffin and taking the bus to all the action of Dublin. I popped into a corner store for a quick bite of local cuisine — a curry chicken puff pastry. I ate it as I wandered down Dame Street, marveling at the crush of people, the insanely historic setting and the jarring presence of modern stores in such an ancient place.

Like a typical tourist, I shopped for wool scarves and hats for family members and tees emblazoned with “Dublin” before stumbling onto something absolutely marvelous: the Irish Rock ’n’ Roll Museum Experience.

I bought a ticket for a €14.99 tour of this place, which I came to discover was a combination working recording studio, music venue and museum.

For starters, I was the only person on the tour, led by a delightful little bearded and bespectacled Dubliner named Alan. The tour began with a wall of gold records that featured top-selling Irish musicians including Thin Lizzy, the Pogues and two of my favorites — Enya and, of course, the Cranberries. Alan told me stories about each band — where they’d started, how they’d risen to fame and how many of the people whose names were on the wall had met untimely ends. I learned that I was standing in the very place where the Cranberries had practiced and recorded. I was thrilled.

We were soon joined by a Brit whose interest centered on Thin Lizzy. He was in luck, as the owner of the studio had had a close personal relationship with the performer. We watched a video that described contributions made by Ireland and especially U2 to the music world. As we neared the end of the tour, we stopped in a room with a raised platform and a drum kit as well as two amps and a pair of guitars, along with a microphone.

At Alan’s behest, I sat on a stool behind the drum kit and followed his instructions: two taps of my foot on the pedal and one beat of my drumstick, to be done in a repeating loop. As I began to realize where we were going with this, Alan took the mic and began singing the opening lines of Queen’s We Will Rock You. And then came the kicker.

“You’ve just played on the very drum kit on which Metallica practiced when they were here,” Alan said.

I concluded my day with a half-pint at the famed Temple Bar, where I was seated next to a lovely couple from New Jersey. As I sipped my Guinness, I listened to threads of conversations around me and noticed that there were a number of American accents.

I spent the week taking solo excursions that included a hike along the scenic cliffs of Howth. A

little fishing village just outside of Dublin, Howth is spectacularly picturesque and a very popular place to go hiking and trail running.

I lack much of a sense of direction, but the trail, I was told, was clearly marked. All I had to do was follow the purple arrows. It was simple, my South African triathlete Airbnb host said. She dropped me off at the trailhead on her way to work one morning and bid me a nice hike.

Along the trail, I stopped frequently to take photos. The cliffs, the water, the sheer beauty of this place all had an ancient feel. It was almost overwhelming — and completely disorienting.

Past a point, I ran out of purple arrows and stopped seeing other hikers, so I turned around and tried to retrace my steps. Eventually, I gave up on my

O’Brien’s Tower marks the highest point of the Cliffs of Moher. History has recorded a couple of reasons for the tower’s construction. One version holds that it was built as an observation tower and teahouse for tourists. Another says landlord Cornellius O’Brien erected it to impress women.

planned path, turned around and hiked back to where I’d started. Even at that, I had logged 10 miles on my Apple Watch and was ready to find food.

I dined at a little restaurant, the Brass Monkey, recommended by my host. After refueling with soup and brown bread, I resumed walking and passed the home of William Butler Yeats with the Cranberries’ Yeats’ Grave playing in my head. I had enjoyed a long, adventurous day. Determined to end my trip with a bang, I booked a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway to be followed on my last day with a tour of Trinity College. Rising at 4:30 a.m. to make the Moher tour bus, I rode through the pre-dawn streets of Dublin in a cab I’d booked on FreeNow, Ireland’s version of Uber. After we boarded the bus, Peter, our tour guide, regaled us in his thick brogue with colorful commentary on the things we saw as the sun rose and we made our way to Moher. At one point, he directed our attention to a bright yellow deer crossing sign ahead.

“I recall once an American country music singer came to Dublin on tour and had a radio interview,” he said. “As she spoke to the radio host, she asked why we put our deer crossing signs in such dangerous places, as it gives the deer the mistaken impression that it’s safe to cross there.”

Later, he pointed out the window at some massive rocks strewn about a field.

“I welcome questions, and we get some very interesting ones,” Peter said. “For instance, those rocks. One tourist asked me why we have rocks like that in the fields in Ireland. I told him we just like to put them where we please. Then the tourist asked why there were sheep around the rock. ‘Oh, the sheep are guarding the rock to keep it from going anywhere,’ says I.”

We spent two hours walking the cliffs and drinking in the spectacular scenery — the cliffs, O’Brien’s Tower, the vast expanse of sea that stretched into eternity. Again, I was struck by how small and seemingly insignificant I felt in this place.

IRELAND FAST FACTS

➸ Ireland has been the most successful participant in the Eurovision Song Contest, begun in 1956.

➸ Halloween was invented in Ireland.

➸ Ireland has the highest concentration of red-haired people in the world.

➸ Ireland is the only country in the world to have a musical instrument (the harp) as its national symbol.

➸ It is estimated that there are 30,000 castles and ruins in Ireland.

Source: nordicvisitor.com

After Moher, we stopped at a field that was once one massive rock, now broken into immovable pieces that could fit together like a puzzle. From there, we visited the ruins of a castle tower near a church and graveyard with markers so old that inscriptions had been worn away. Lastly, before we made our way back to Dublin, we rode to Galway and toured the Eyre Square Shopping Centre, basically a mall where a section of the Medieval Galway Wall runs smack through the middle of things. The shopping center was permitted on the condition that the wall be incorporated into the design.

A few of us followed Peter through to the Latin Quarter and a pub where Columbus had his epiphany about sailing to the West Indies after the body of an Inuit washed ashore in the remnants of a small fishing boat.

On we walked through an intensifying rain to a cathedral with an irreverent stained-glass window that depicts Jesus as a small, redheaded boy handing Joseph a cup of tea while Mary sits knitting a traditional Aran sweater. Only in Ireland.

The next day, I rode a bus to the City Centre and legged it the rest of the way to the campus of Trinity College. There I met up with a small tour group and our guide, an affable and animated Italian named Antonio whose wild, curly hair made him stand out in a crowd. He led us through the college where we toured the Book of Kells exhibit.

The incredible work of artistry took 800 monks working over 75 years to complete, in part because certain inks used to illustrate it were highly poisonous and deadly. The book has survived 1,400 years, having been kept safe from Viking raiders as well as from Oliver Cromwell, who destroyed all of the Catholic iconography and relics he could find. To protect it, the Book of Kells was hidden at Trinity College, a Protestant institution and consequently

not a place Cromwell thought to look. There it stayed.

Next, we walked through the Long Library, the longest library in the world and home to a copy of every book ever published in Ireland. According to Antonio, we were a lucky bunch, because the library would be closing at the end of the year to begin a five-year restoration project. It was incredible

to behold, stunningly beautiful and overwhelmingly vast.

We left the campus and made our way to Dublin Castle and then through the City Centre to see memorial gardens and the bronze statue of the fabled Molly Malloy, whose ample breasts showed evidence of all the hands that have rubbed them.

Over the course of a week, I learned that my love of Ireland was not misplaced. EC

Treasure Island Marina, 3601 Thomas Drive, Panama City Beach

BEETHOVEN V. COLDPLAY

A Merging of Musical Giants

Music visionary Steve Hackman conducts this transformation of the Eroica into an oratorio weaving the melodies and lyrics of Coldplay’s Yellow, Viva La Vida and Clocks into Beethoven’s original score.

APRIL 13–16

SANDESTIN WINE FESTIVAL

→ The 36th annual Sandestin Wine Festival, held at The Village of Baytowne Wharf, has been named the “Best Annual Event” by Destin magazine. Four days of unique events provide experiences ranging from wine dinners with celebrity chefs, to participation in preview events and wine tastings that showcase hundreds of vintages. Learn more by visiting SandestinWineFestival.com.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

APR/MAY 2023

For more events in the EC, visit EmeraldCoastMagazine.com and 850tix.com compiled by ALIX BLACK, SARAH COVEN, JAVIS OGDEN and REBECCA PADGETT FRETT

APRIL 20–JUNE 22

Concerts in the Village

On Thursday evenings in the spring, the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation presents a 10-concert live music series featuring premier musicians and bands performing everything from classic rock and reggae to disco and modern pop. The Florida Travel Guide named the Concerts in the Village as one of the “Top Ten Things to Do” in Northwest Florida. Postmodern Jukebox kicks things off on April 20. Gather with family, friends and colleagues for this family-friendly fun. Bring a blanket or chair, and enjoy dinner al fresco from local restaurants and food trucks.

Tickets range from $20 to $35 per concert. Proceeds benefit MKAF and its art education community outreach initiatives. Doors open at 6 p.m. and concerts start at 7 p.m. MKAF members enjoy early admission and free admission. Learn more at MKAF.org.

Times and dates for events are subject to change. Check websites to see if the listed events will occur as scheduled.

HAVE AN EVENT YOU’D LIKE US TO CONSIDER? Send an email to sbornhoft@rowlandpublishing.com or promote an event at EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/things-to-do at no cost.

AND WOMEN UNITED

REGIONAL APRIL 17–23

TALLAHASSEE TENNIS CHALLENGER

→ For 30 years, professional tennis has found a home in Tallahassee, and the Challenger event will be held for the 23rd time this year at the Forestmeadows Tennis Center. Qualifying rounds will take place on April 16, followed by the main draw, scheduled for April 17–23. The action features professional men’s singles and doubles. Notable past participants include Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda, J.J. Wolf and Daniil Medvedev.

Weekly passes are $80, and sponsorships are available; contact Jessica Ziegler at (850) 431-5389. The tournament benefits the Dr. Mark Vogter Endowment for NeuroIntensive Care at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and the City of Tallahassee Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs.

MAY 5–14

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

→ Don’t miss the world’s most beloved musical based on the true story of the Von Trapp family. Featuring a trove of cherished songs, including Climb Ev’ry Mountain, My Favorite Things, Do Re Mi, Sixteen Going on Seventeen and the title number The Sound of Music, this inspiring musical brings joy to audiences of all ages.

Visit EmeraldCoastTheatre.org/on-stage for tickets and more information.

APRIL 29

Beethoven

V. Coldplay: A Merging of Musical Giants

Conductor/ Composer

→ Beethoven V. Coldplay transforms the Eroica into an oratorio, weaving the melodies and lyrics of Coldplay’s Yellow, Viva La Vida, Clocks and The Scientist into Beethoven’s original score. It is the alternate Eroica Beethoven may have created had he known the music of Coldplay at the time. Three vocalists join the full symphony, and conductor/ composer Steve Hackman alternates between conducting the orchestra and playing the piano.

Tickets are $20 to $55 per person. The concert will be held at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit Sinfonia Gulf Coast and its education and community engagement initiatives. Purchase tickets online at SinfoniaGulfCoast.org or by calling the box office at (850) 460-8800.

MAY 7

Women United Brunch

→ Save the date for Women United’s second annual Brunch & Bubbly fundraiser on May 7 at The Venue at Beach Weekend in Fort Walton Beach. Proceeds from the event benefit United Way Emerald Coast and Women United’s focus on mental health of women and girls.

Tickets will go on sale in mid-April at United-Way.org/ womenunited. Email “GIRLPOWER” to WomenUnited@unitedway.org to receive $5 off your ticket!

take a musical journey across the ocean, under the waves and aboard tall ships.

pensacolasaenger.com/events

THERESA CAPUTO LIVE! THE EXPERIENCE

APRIL 16

POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

APRIL 20

Sip and Splash: An Aquatic Affair

→ Delight in an elegant evening under the stars at the Second Annual Sip & Splash: An Aquatic Affair, presented by Tim Smith Acura. The event features a multi-course dinner prepared by local chefs, live music, hand-rolled sushi, craft cocktails made with local spirits, a silent auction and much more!

Tickets and tables are on sale now at ECFitnessFoundation.org. All proceeds benefit the Emerald Coast Fitness Foundation and its efforts to provide aquatic facilities and programs to Okaloosa County communities.

TRACY LAWRENCE

APRIL 1

Tracy Lawrence is one of country music’s truest traditionalists, and this year he is celebrating his 30th anniversary in the country music industry. His impressive catalog of timeless music has made Lawrence a mainstay in the genre.

pensacolasaenger.com/events

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

APRIL 5–6

Jesus Christ Superstar is an iconic musical phenomenon with a worldwide fan base. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, a mesmerizing new production comes to North America, stopping on the Pensacola Saenger stage.

pensacolasaenger.com/events

A DREAM OF AMERICA ELLIS ISLAND

APRIL 6

The Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, directed by Todd Craven, will present a new musical arrangement titled A Dream of America Ellis Island on the Mattie Kelly Arts Center stage. mattiekellyartscenter.org/events

COREY ASBURY, THE PIONEER TOUR

APRIL 7

Corey Asbury is a singersongwriter who is a leader on Christian album charts. Asbury’s seminal album Reckless Love, a 2018 project that landed on the top of the Billboard Christian Albums chart, carried Asbury to two Dove Awards and a 2019 Grammy nomination.

pensacolasaenger.com/events

WORLD BALLET SERIES: CINDERELLA

APRIL 8

A part of the World Ballet Series, Cinderella will be performed live by a multinational cast of 40 professional ballet dancers gathered to bring the most celebrated fairy tale to life. A visually stunning production accompanied by Sergei Prokofiev’s passionate, celebrated score, it features over 150 radiant, hand-sewn costumes; richly detailed, handcrafted sets; and sparkling choreography by Marina Kessler.  pensacolasaenger.com/events

PENSACOLA CIVIC BAND: SEA SONGS, LIVE THE ADVENTURE

APRIL 15

The Pensacola Civic Band and the TLC Caregivers

Caputo delivers healing messages directly to audience members, comforting them with the revelation that our deceased loved ones are still with us — just in a different way. Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience is an awe-inspiring evening. pensacolasaenger.com/events

THE PRICE IS RIGHT LIVE!

APRIL 19

The Price Is Right Live is the hit interactive stage show that gives eligible individuals the chance to hear their names called and “come on down” to win! Play classic games just like on television’s longest-running and most-popular game show, from Plinko to Cliffhangers to The Big Wheel and even the fabulous Showcase. pensacolasaenger.com/events

SEABREEZE JAZZ FESTIVAL

APRIL 20–24

The Seabreeze Jazz Festival brings together top smooth jazz artists with a full weekend of fun, sun, good times and great tunes. Performers will include Peter White, The Jacksons, Regina Belle, Richard Elliott, Jeff Lorber, Paul Jackson Jr., Lindsey Webster, Boney James and others. seabreezejazzfestival.com

One part celebration of vintage music and culture, one part Saturday Night Live for singers — a Postmodern Jukebox show is an unforgettable trip back in time sure to make pop music history in Destin.  mkaf.org

THE BOOK OF MORMON

APRIL 25–27

The highly acclaimed and celebrated musical The Book of Mormon is a comedy for the ages. The nine-time Tony Award–winning Best Musical makes its way to the Saenger stage. pensacolasaenger.com/events

MADAGASCAR

APRIL 27

This smash hit musical features all your favorite friends — Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and others — as they escape Central Park Zoo and step on stage at Mattie Kelly Arts Center. mattiekellyartscenter.org/events

ROMAN STREET PARTY BAND

APRIL 27

Get ready to get on your feet and sway to the beat. Hailing from Mobile, Alabama, Roman Street delivers a lyrical amalgamation of acoustic guitar, classical, gypsy, contemporary jazz, Latin and nuevo flamenco sounds. mkaf.org

SOUTH WALTON BEACHES WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL

APRIL 27–30

More than 800 wines, spirits and craft beers will be poured and paired with

celebrity chef cuisine and local bites during this four-day celebration benefiting the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation. Enjoy VIP and Grand Wine tastings, live music and seminars with the country’s leading winemakers and distillers as the festival marks its 11th anniversary.

sowalwine.com

PENSACOLA CRAWFISH FESTIVAL

APRIL 28–30

Peel and eat at the Fiesta of Five Flags Crawfish Festival in Seville Square and Fountain Park in Pensacola. Thousands of pounds of this Cajun favorite will be served

along with po’boys, gumbo, jambalaya, boudin, etouffee and more. Activities include crawfish-eating contests, live Cajun music and kids’ activities. fiestapensacola.org/ crawfish-festival

THUNDER BEACH SPRING MOTORCYCLE RALLY

MAY 3–7

Rev your engines for the 25th annual spring rally on Panama City Beach. Motorcycle enthusiasts will find vendors, rides, demonstrations, contests, live music, food and beverages. thunderbeachproductions. com/home

OZOMATLI

MAY 4

A cacophony of sounds melding salsa, jazz, funk, reggae and hip-hop is Ozomatli. This social-minded ensemble rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 to give a voice to Latinos, fight for workers’ rights and promote global unity.  mkaf.org

MICHAEL JACKSON: A THRILLING TRIBUTE

MAY 6

Falynne Lewing and her incredible team of professional dancers from LaBelle Performing Arts and Red Hot Productions will bring

Michael Jackson’s extraordinary moves to life in this exciting, highenergy tribute show. pensacolasaenger.com/events

LUCKY CHOPS

MAY 11

Lucky Chops has been unleashing high-energy brassy funk on the world since forming in New York City in 2006. The band’s intense energy is fueled by its desire to share the healing and inspirational power of music with others. mkaf.org

JEEP BEACH JAM

MAY 15–20

Jam in your Jeep for five days of fun with

thousands of Jeep owners while enjoying a parade, contests, vendors and a variety of Jeep obstacle courses at Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach. jeepbeachjam.com

YACHT ROCK REVUE

MAY 18

This top-notch group of musicians trademarked the term “yacht rock,” both metaphorically and literally. From humble beginnings in a basement, they’ve rocked onstage with John Oates and Eddie Money and now headline sold-out shows across the country. mkaf.org

DIGITAL GRAFFITI

MAY 19–20

The white walls of Alys Beach will serve as canvases for highly talented national and international digital projection artists. Thousands of dollars in prizes will be awarded to digital artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, photographers and producers. digitalgraffiti.com

TCHAIKOVSKY DISCOVERS AMERICA

MAY 20

Join the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra for this fun family event featuring a theatrical concert designed for all audiences followed by hands-on musical activities. Based on a momentous

historical event, Tchaikovsky Discovers America tells of the great composer’s arrival in New York for the grand opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891.

pensacolasaenger.com/events

SINFONIA GULF COAST FEATURING MORGAN JAMES AND SYMPHONIC SOUL

MAY 25

Sinfonia Gulf Coast featuring Morgan James and special guest Ryan Shaw bring the classic sounds of Memphis to life with soulful new arrangements of classics by Al Green, Otis Redding, Ann Peebles, Sam and Dave, and, of course, Elvis. mkaf.org

EMERALD COAST BLUE MARLIN CLASSIC

→ With an event name like the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, there’s really no questioning the ultimate catch. The Blue Marlin is the top billfish prize in the Gulf, and teams bet on boating the heaviest one to earn the largest payout. The three game fish categories — tuna, dolphin and wahoo — are typically by catch in the pursuit of blues.

To learn more, visit FishECBC.com. For registration, contact Julia Brakhage at julia@tournamentcontrol.com. For sponsorships, contact Jason Draughn at jasondraughn@sandestin.com.

Walton County Expands Tourism Promotion Efforts

Taxing district takes in communities north of Choctawhatchee Bay

Walton County is so much more than a beach. It is home to springs, rivers, lakes and some of the most beautiful landscapes in Northwest Florida. Residents of Walton County recognize the potential of sharing the entire county with visitors and in 2021 voted to authorize a new taxing district north of Choctawhatchee Bay, complementing the existing South Walton Tourist Development Tax (TDT) region.

From there, the tourism department undertook the expanded mission of promoting the entire county as a top-tier tourist destination. The challenge was to

build awareness of North Walton attractions while not undermining the valuable brand recognition South Walton has cultivated in recent years. Indeed, unaided awareness of the term “South Walton” grew from 7.1 percent to 28 percent between 2014 and 2020.

Working with members of the North Walton Advisory Committee, the tourism team began to craft the imagery that identified the area north of the Choctawhatchee Bay as its own desirable destination. The process started with a deep dive into all the unique attributes and experiences of the area, creating a clearer picture of what really sets the destination apart. After all

research findings were analyzed, a strong brand vision emerged.

“Beyond the Beach” gives a nod to the sugar-white sand that South Walton is so well known for, while also speaking to all the incredible activities that await when you start exploring inland neighborhoods. This branding gave a fresh identity to the variety of shopping, dining and activities found in Freeport, Paxton and DeFuniak Springs. Meanwhile, the research continues. The tourism department already utilizes visitor tracking studies to learn more about the South Walton visitor — who they are, why they visit, what they enjoy and how their experience can be enhanced. The results

guide marketing initiatives and campaigns that drive visitation. Now, the department will be conducting similar visitor tracking north of the bay to help pinpoint areas for promotion there.

The study also includes direct surveys of visitors while they are in the area, as well as brief email follow-ups shortly after their trip has ended. However, the team can’t do this alone. Local business participation is essential to our research success.

Businesses can get involved in one of three ways:

• Allowing Downs & St. Germain Research to survey on-site at your business

• Sending out a survey invitation by email to your guests

• Sending your email database of guests to Downs & St. Germain Research for them to send out the survey

In return for participating, you will receive a free, detailed report of only your guests. These personalized findings will be shared only with your property.

To tell the full story of all Walton County’s offerings, the tourism department is now working to gather contact information and descriptions about all businesses located north of the Bay. These businesses will appear as listings on the tourism department website, as well as on social media and in a wide range of other marketing materials.

Businesses are encouraged to provide your listing information to Lisa Foster with the Walton County Tourism Department (Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com).

Overall, the tourism department is responsible for strengthening the brand that represents the incredible variety of the entire destination. Through creative marketing, an engaging social media presence and dedicated coordination with meeting planners, they demonstrate that there is something special in Walton County for all visitors.

Aside from simply generating awareness, the new “Beyond the Beach” branding will continue to have a strong economic impact through job creation and

visitor spending. Visitors account for the majority of Walton County government revenues, lessening the tax burden on local households.

In turn, the tourism department, which is completely funded by TDT, uses its resources to market the county and support local communities.

This includes maintenance and upgrades to beaches, pathways and public access points, as well as promoting beach safety initiatives.

H Walton County is so much more than a beach. It is home to springs, rivers, lakes and some of the most beautiful landscapes in all of Northwest Florida. E “Beyond the Beach” gives a nod to the sugar-white sand that South Walton is so well known for, while also speaking to all the incredible activities that await when you start exploring past the beach neighborhoods. This new branding gives a fresh identity to the variety of shopping, dining and activities found in the municipalities just to the north, encompassing Freeport, Paxton and DeFuniak Springs.

SOCIAL STUDIES

30A Songwriters Festival

JAN. 12–16 More than 6,500 music lovers came together over Martin Luther King Jr. to enjoy the 30A Songwriters Festival. This musical extravaganza, co-produced by the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County and Russell Carter Artist Management, featured more than 175 artists performing original songs in genres ranging from country to Americana and folk as well as blues and soul. Music was heard in over 30 dedicated listening rooms along South Walton’s scenic Highway 30A and beyond.

1 Katie Witherspoon and Serena Robison

3 Lyle Lovett

4 Jennifer Smith and Jennifer Petersen

You’re the Jam

JAN. 15 Meghan Martinez and Sarah Davidson, the Beach Collective team of Compass 30A, hosted You’re the Jam, an event attended by clients and friends who flocked to the Emerald Coast for the 30A Songwriters Festival. The two women both love great food, live music and helping clients buy and sell luxury real estate, and this was the perfect opportunity to bring those elements together in an unforgettable experience. You’re the Jam took place at a client’s stunning home in Grace Point, where the honored guests enjoyed a beautiful brunch by Chef Anna Borné of Gourmet Borné, Good Clean Wine Mimosas served in Emerald Coast Magazine wine glasses, and to top off the day, a private, intimate performance by Nashville singer/songwriter David Borné.

1 David Borné and guests

2 Meghan Martinez, Sarah Davidson, Catherine Walega and Abby Hughes

3 Pearce Spurlin, Mike McCoy, Christine McCoy, Meghan Martinez, Sarah Davidson and David Borné

4 Emerald Coast Magazine was a proud event contributor

dining guide

AMERICAN

BUFFALO’S REEF ★

Hot wings and cold beer. 116 Eglin Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 243-9463.$ L D

COMMELFÓ RESTAURANT

American dining; enjoy steak and eggs for breakfast, a Southeast Cuban sandwich for lunch or lobster ravioli for dinner, among many other options. 10859 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Miramar Beach. (850) 353-2991.

$$$ B L D

DHARMA BLUE

Atmosphere and service match an expansive menu including everything from sushi to pork tenderloin. 300 S. Alcaniz St., Pensacola. (850) 433-1275. $$ L D

EMERIL’S COASTAL ITALIAN

Located at Grand Boulevard in Sandestin, the famed chef’s first restaurant in Northwest Florida combines Italian cuisine with the variety of fresh Gulf seafood and local ingredients. 435 Grand Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 608-7040. $$$ L D

FIREFLY ★

Fresh Gulf seafood, steak, sushi and signature cocktails. 535 Richard Jackson Blvd., Panama City Beach. (850) 249-3359. $$$ D

GEORGE’S

AT ALYS BEACH

Seafood, burgers and sandwiches. 30 Castle Harbour Dr., Alys Beach. (850) 641-0017.

$$ L D

GEORGE BISTRO + BAR ★

Husband and wife owners are driven by a passion to create exceptionally humble, ingredient-driven food, coffees and cocktails while treating guests like family. 6205 N. 9th Ave., Pensacola. (850) 912-4655. $$ L D

GREAT SOUTHERN CAFE ★

This all-day cafe puts a new spin on classics with a mix of international cuisines, Southern cooking and local food and produce. 83 Central Square, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 231-7327.

$$ B L D

JACO’S BAYFRONT BAR & GRILLE

Waterfront restaurant serving burgers, salads, seafood and brunch daily. 997 S. Palafox St., Pensacola. (850) 432-5226.

$$ L D

LOUISIANA LAGNIAPPE

A taste of New Orleans hits the coast through Louisiana-style favorites like shrimp and grits and Cajun seafood gumbo. 775 Gulf Shore Dr., Destin. (850) 837-0881. $$ D

LULU’S

Lucy Buffett’s funky hangout features cocktails, burgers and seafood, plus allergyfriendly menus. 4607 Legendary Marina Dr., Destin. (850) 710-5858. $$ L D

MAGNOLIA GRILL

Steak, seafood, pasta, soups, salads and desserts. 157 SE Brooks St., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 302-0266. $$ L D

MARINA

BAR AND GRILL

Seafood, po’ boys, burgers and salads. Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, 9300 Emerald Coast Pkwy. W., Miramar Beach. (850) 267-7778. $ B L D

MARINA CAFÉ ★

Gourmet pizzas, Creole and American cuisine. 404 E. Hwy. 98, Destin. (850) 837-7960. $$$ D

NICK’S BOATHOUSE

Serving a wide variety of seafood, steaks and flatbreads by the waterfront. 455 W. Main St., Pensacola. (850) 912-8775. $$ L D

NORTH BEACH SOCIAL ★

Favorites include the Great Southern Café’s famous Grits a Ya Ya, the Bay’s Bomber Burger, fresh raw oysters, and tuna poké bowls. 24200 U.S. Hwy 331, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 622-8110. $$ B L D

OVIDE ★

Located inside the new Hotel Effie, acclaimed chef Hugh Acheson brings together classic Gulf Coast flavors and impeccable classic French technique. 1 Grand Sandestin Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 351-3030. $$$ D

RESTAURANT IRON ★

Buzzy, stylish locale serving gourmet, reimagined takes on Southern cuisine, plus clever cocktails. 22 N. Palafox St., Pensacola. (850) 912-4655. $$ D

RESTAURANT PARADIS

Restaurant and lounge offers rich coastal flavors in its innovative dishes. 82 S. Barrett Square, Rosemary Beach. (850) 534-0400. $$$ D

SHADES

BAR & GRILL ★

A 30A mainstay for over 20 years, Shades features 17 high-def TVs plus a menu of salsas, steaks, sandwiches and fish tacos. 10952 E. Hwy. 30A, (850) 231-9410. $$ L D

SUNQUEST CRUISES SOLARIS YACHT ★

Enjoy a fusion of ambiance, food and live music aboard the SOLARIS yacht offering three decks of indoor and outdoor spaces. 9300 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Miramar Beach. (850) 650-2519. $$ D

THE BODACIOUS CAFÉ

This coffee house and eatery specializes in handcrafted espresso, lattes and cappuccinos. For breakfast, try their omelets and acai bowls; for lunch, salads, wraps and flatbread pizzas are on the menu. 407 S. Palafox St., Pensacola. (850) 434-6300. $ B L

THE CRAFT BAR ★

Craft brews on tap along with artisan cocktails and elevated bar fare. 4424 Commons Dr., Destin. Also in Grayton Beach and Pensacola. (850) 460-7907. $$ L D

The restaurants that appear in this guide are included as a service to readers and not as recommendations of the Emerald Coast Magazine editorial department, except where noted.

THE RED BAR ★

New and improved and now reopened; get classic meals at one of the area’s most renowned locations. 70 Hotz Ave., Grayton Beach. (850) 231-1008. $$ L D

THE WINE BAR ★

A gathering spot for lunch or dinner, plus daily happy hour specials. Destin and Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 269-2902. L D

VUE ON 30A ★

Fine New American dining in a modern, cream and beige waterfront spot with bar, lounge and views. 4801 W. Hwy. 30A, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 267-2305 $$$ L D

ASIAN

BAMBOO SUSHI AND HIBACHI

Offering fresh Japanese cuisine like sushi, tempura and hibachi dishes, plus a sake bar. 117 W. John Sims Pkwy., Niceville. (850) 678-0771. $$ L D

DOMO CAFÉ ★

This Asian kitchen offers dozens of sushi options, including vegetarian, signature, fried and baked rolls. 1823 Hurlburt Rd., #3, Fort Walton Beach. (850) 226-6412. $$ L D

LIN'S ASIAN CUISINE ★

Offering a variety of authentic, fresh Chinese and Asian cuisine. 130 Scenic Gulf Drive Ste., #5B, Miramar Beach. (850) 424-5888. $ L D

OSAKA JAPANESE HIBACHI STEAKHOUSE & SUSHI BAR ★

Known for its sushi but serves a variety of dishes, including chicken, steak and seafood. 34845 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Destin. (850) 650-4688 or (850) 650-4689. $$ L D

SUSHIMOTO ★

Family-owned casual eatery with a sushi bar offering up creative rolls, plus other Japanese fare. 12889 Hwy. 98, Ste. 103B, Miramar Beach. (850) 424-5977. $$ L D

THAI CHIANG RAI ★

Soups, curries and specials including Papa’s Crab Meat Fried Rice. 4942 U.S. Hwy 98, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 213-3972. $$ D

BARBECUE

98 BAR-B-QUE ★

Award-winning barbecue, gumbo, sandwiches and salads in a casual atmosphere. Dine in, take out, catering. 5008 Hwy. 98, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 622-0679. $ L D

BLUE MABEL

This local smokehouse features made-from-scratch dishes and is stocked with everything from smoked meats to homemade sauces. 2260 W. Scenic Hwy. 30A, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 744-0040. $$ L D

CHIPPER’S BBQ

This family-run barbecue joint offers an array of smoked treats like ribs, brisket, pork and chicken, plus steak, burgers, salads and pulled pork nachos. 4419 Commons Dr., #101, Destin. (850) 353-2753 $$ L D

BREAKFAST/ BRUNCH/BAKERY

ANDY’S FLOUR POWER CAFE & BAKERY

Lively brunch/lunch destination known for its French toast, rolled omelets and cheery ambiance. 2629 Thomas Dr., Panama City Beach. (850) 230-0014. $$ L D

BLACK BEAR BREAD CO.

Contemporary cafe for craft coffee, house-baked breads, pastries and sandwiches and all-day breakfast. 26 Logan Lane, Grayton Beach. (850) 213-4528 $ B L

DONUT HOLE BAKERY CAFE ★

Eat breakfast all day with fresh-baked donuts and hearty comfort food. 635 Harbor Blvd., Destin (also in Inlet Beach and Santa Rosa Beach). (850) 837-8824. $ B

GOT BAKED ★

Whether gluten free, low carb, vegan, no sugar or dairy-free, this bakery has the right bite for any dietary restriction. 80 Mc Davis Loop #1110. Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 598-7438. $

MAMA CLEMENZA’S EUROPEAN BREAKFAST ★

Old World family recipes. Multiple award winner. 273 Emerald Coast Pkwy. W., Miramar Beach. (850) 424-3157, 75 Eglin Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 243-0707. $$ B

NAVARRE BAKERY & CREAMERY ★

Goodies fresh from the oven: bagels, kolaches, scones, cinnamon rolls and more; sandwiches for lunch. 9914 Navarre Pkwy., Navarre. (850) 844-9705. $ B L

SUNSET BAY CAFÉ

Casual and outdoor dining overlooking Choctawhatchee Bay, featuring locally sourced ingredients and sustainable seafood 158 Sandestin Blvd. N. (850) 267-7108. $$ B L D

DESSERT

30A COOKIES & CREAM

Treats from Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery make for an irresistible combination. 174 Watercolor Way, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 231-2552 $

KONA ICE OF SOUTH WALTON COUNTY

This shaved ice truck spreads smiles one frozen treat at a time. Main St., Freeport. (850) 567-5057. $

FRENCH

BAY CAFE FRENCH RESTAURANT ★

Step out on the bay for authentic European cuisine, featuring fresh local seafood and decadent creme sauces. 233 Alconese Ave. SE, Fort Walton Beach. (850) 244-3550. $$ L D

GREEK

AEGEAN RESTAURANT ★

Authentic Greek restaurant. 11225 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Miramar Beach (and Shalimar). (850) 460-2728. $$ B L D

ALI BABA GRILL CAFÉ

Casual spot for familiar Turkish and Greek recipes offered à la carte and at a buffet, plus beer and wine. 550 Mary Esther Cutoff, Fort Walton Beach. (850) 986-5555. $$ L D

YIOTA’S GREEK DELI

Traditional Greek food made from family recipes. Order at counter. 130 E. Miracle Strip Pkwy., Mary Esther. (850) 302-0691. $ L

IRISH

JOHNNY MCTIGHE’S IRISH PUB

Easygoing pub providing Irish and American eats, a game room for kids and deck seating. 2298 Scenic Hwy. 30A, Blue Mountain Beach. (850) 267-0101. $$ L D

MCGUIRE’S IRISH PUB

Burgers and pub grub and the famous 18-cent Senate Bean Soup. 33 Hwy. 98, Destin (Also in Pensacola). (850) 650-0000. $$ L D

ITALIAN/PIZZA

AMICI 30A ITALIAN KITCHEN ★

Offering authentic Italian cuisine with a flair for celebration. 12805 U.S. Hwy. 98 E., Ste. R101, Inlet Beach. (850) 909-0555. $$$ L D

ANGELENA’S ITALIANO

In the heart of downtown, nationally renowned Chef James Briscione’s menu serves up rustic-yet-elegant plates with an Italian coastal vibe. 101 E. Intendencia St., Pensacola. (850) 542-8398. $$ D

CLEMENZA’S UPTOWN ★

Classic Italian. Wood-fired pizza, private dining, cooking school. Multiple award winner. 75 Eglin Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 243-0707. $$ B L D

FARM & FIRE SOUTHERN PIZZERIA

Featuring a clean-burning coal oven to impart a unique, full flavor to their pizzas, whole fish, steaks and roasted chicken. 24200 U.S. Hwy. 331 S., Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 622-3871. $$ D

FAT CLEMENZA’S

Classic Italian. Wood-fired pizza, specialty desserts, fish Fridays. Multiple award winner. Holiday Plaza, Hwy. 98, Miramar Beach. (850) 650-5980. $$ L D

GRIMALDI’S PIZZERIA

Pizzas and calzones baked to perfection in their signature coal-burning oven, delivering an experience not possible from conventional ovens. 780 Grand Blvd., Ste. 100, Miramar Beach. (850) 837-3095. $$ L D

HELEN BACK PIZZA ★

The world’s finest hand-tossed pizza and cold beer in a sports bar atmosphere. 1826 Lewis Turner Blvd., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 374-8603.

$$ L D

MIMMO’S RISTORANTE ITALIANO ★

Authentic Italian dishes bursting with flavor and color. Located in Destin and Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 460-7353. $$ L D

PAZZO ITALIANO

Destin’s newest Italian restaurant offers authentic Italian cuisine such as wood-fired pizzas, pasta, calzones, salads, chef specialties and nightly specials. 34904 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Ste. 114, Destin. (850) 974-5484. $$ L D

THE PIZZA BAR AT BUD & ALLEY’S

Artisan cheese, fresh salads, antipasto dishes, homemade soups, seasonal vegetables, hearty pastas and homemade wood-fired Neapolitan pizza. 2236 E. Hwy. 30A, Seaside. (850) 231-3113.

$$ L D

TRATTORIA BORAGO

Pork tenderloin or pan-seared grouper from the open kitchen. 80 E. Hwy. 30A, Grayton Beach. (850) 231-9167. $$ D

MEXICAN BURRITO DEL SOL ★

This Mexican restaurant serves fresh Baja-style Mexican food, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas and more. 201-B

Miracle Strip Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 226-8016. $ L D

CANTINA LAREDO ★

A gourmet twist on Mexican favorites. 585 Grand Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 654-5649.

$$ B L D

PEPITO’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT ★

Serving award-winning authentic Mexican food with the finest ingredients available since 2000. Multiple locations: Destin, Niceville and Fort Walton Beach. $$ L D

PEPPER’S MEXICAN GRILL & CANTINA ★

Casual eatery with familiar Mexican dishes, including seafood and vegetarian options, plus a full bar. Five Emerald Coast locations: Niceville, Crestview, Panama City, Shalimar, Fort Walton Beach. (850) 353-2625. $ L D

RED FISH TACO ★

Featuring fresh takes on classic fare, such as street tacos, burritos, taco salads and quesadillas. 2052 W. Hwy 30A, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 994-7443. $$ L D

THE TACO BAR AT BUD & ALLEY’S

Baja fish tacos, homemade guacamole, burritos and top-shelf margaritas. 2236 E. Hwy. 30A, Seaside. (850) 231-4781. $$ L D

SEAFOOD

THE BAY SOUTH WALTON

This family-friendly waterfront restaurant overlooking Choctawhatchee Bay features Gulf Coast cuisine, sushi, a 12-draft beer system, plus wine and crafted cocktails. 24215 Hwy. 331, Santa Rosa Beach, (850) 622-2291. $$ L D

BOSHAMPS SEAFOOD & OYSTER HOUSE ★

Gulf-to-table Southern cuisine. 414 Harbor Blvd., Destin. (850) 424-7406. $$ L D

BROTULA’S SEAFOOD HOUSE & STEAMER

Fresh steamed and boiled seafood dishes. Destin Harbor, Destin. (850) 460-8900. $$$ B

BUD & ALLEY’S WATERFRONT RESTAURANT ★

Sea-to-table dining, serving fresh seafood, steak and vegetarian dishes. 2236 E. Hwy. 30A, Seaside. (850) 231-5900 $$$ L D

CAPT. ANDERSON’S RESTAURANT

Since 1967, offering traditional seafood items, flavorful salads and soups with a view of the marina. 5551 N. Lagoon Dr., Panama City Beach. (850) 234-2225. $$$ D

DEWEY DESTIN’S HARBORSIDE

Award-winning seafood in a quaint house. 202 Harbor Blvd., Destin. (850) 837-7525. $$ L D

DEWEY DESTIN’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT & MARKET

Outdoor setting, fresh seafood. 9 Calhoun Ave., Destin. (850) 837-7575. $$ B L D

DOWN ISLAND GULF SEAFOOD RESTAURANT ★

A modern casual restaurant serving Gulf South cuisine; chef-owned and family-operated. 2780 Hwy. 98, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 777-3385. $$ D

FOOW RESTAURANT

Southern coastal cuisine with an Asian flair. Located in the WaterColor Inn, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 534-5050. $$$ D

HARBOR DOCKS

A surf-and-turf restaurant. Breakfast, lunch and dinner and great sushi. 538 E. Hwy. 98, Destin. (850) 837-2506. $$ B L D

JACKACUDA’S SEAFOOD & SUSHI

Seafood, sushi, salad and sandwiches. 36120 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Destin. (850) 460-2909.

$$ L D

OLD BAY STEAMER ★

The perfect place for quality steamed seafood, outstanding steaks and incredible ribs. 102 Santa Rosa Blvd., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 664-2795 $$ D

DEWEY

9 Calhoun Ave., Destin, FL • (850) 837-7575

DEWEY DESTIN’S HARBORSIDE RESTAURANT 202 Harbor Blvd., Destin, FL • (850) 837-7525

DEWEY DESTIN’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

8673 Navarre Pkwy., Navarre, FL • (850)710-7070

DESTINSEAFOOD.COM

PESCADO SEAFOOD GRILL & ROOFTOP BAR ★

Dining room, inside bar and outside rooftop bar overlooking the Gulf of Mexico; extraordinary service and cuisine by Chef Brendan Wakeham. 74 Town Hall Rd., Ste. 4B, Rosemary Beach. (850) 213-4600. $$$ L D

RUNAWAY ISLAND

Crab, oysters and grouper sandwiches in a casual beach bar and grill with steps onto the sand. 14521 Front Beach Rd., Panama City Beach. (850) 634-4884. $$ L D

SHUNK GULLEY OYSTER BAR ★

This seafood and casual fare restaurant features classic coastal cuisine and genuine Southern hospitality plus live music daily inside the panoramic bar. 1875 S. Hwy. 393, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 622-2733. $$ L D

STINKY’S FISH CAMP ★

This seafood and wine mainstay promises Gulf-fresh fare. 5960 W. County Road 30A, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 267-3053 $$ L D

THE CRAB TRAP ★

Beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico and fresh local seafood processed in the restaurant’s own facility. 3500 Hwy. 98 E., Destin; 1450 Miracle Strip Pkwy., Fort Walton Beach; 16945 Perdido Key Dr., Pensacola. (850) 654-2722. $$ L D

THE FISH HOUSE

Fresh seafood cuisine and Southern specialties in a setting overlooking Pensacola Bay and the Seville Harbor. 600 S. Barracks St., Pensacola. (850) 470-0003. $$ L D

STEAK & SEAFOOD

AUSTONS ON 98 OYSTER BAR AND GRILL

Home of the 102-foot bar, specialties include littleneck clams, raw oysters, clam chowder and jumbo shrimp cocktail. 125 Poinciana Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 842-3200 $$ L D

BEACH WALK CAFE

Located at the Henderson Park Inn, this award-winning establishment features grouper Vince, pepper-crusted yellowfin tuna and seafood pasta Rockefeller. 2700 Scenic Hwy. 98, Destin. (850) 650-7100. $$$ D

BIJOUX ★

Fine dining coastal cuisine with a New Orleans flair, Gulf seafood, prime steaks. The Market Shops, 9375 Emerald Coast Pkwy. W., #22, Miramar Beach. (850) 622-0760. $$$ D

CAFE THIRTY-A ★

Offering the best in steaks and Gulf fare, Café Thirty-A is also available for weddings and special gatherings. 3899 E. Scenic Hwy. 30A, Seagrove Beach. (850) 231-2166 $$$ D

CAPTAIN DAVE’S ON THE GULF

Inspired by traditional waterfront dining, Captain Dave’s features American seafood cuisine infused with a contemporary Gulf Coast twist. 3796 Scenic Hwy. 98, Destin. (850) 837-2627. $$$ D

THE GULF – FORT WALTON BEACH

Locally inspired food and beverages in a beautiful waterfront setting, alongside a curated vinyl record collection. 284 Marler Ave., Fort Walton Beach. (850) 387-1300. $ L D

JACKSON’S

STEAKHOUSE

High-end steakhouse cuisine with fine wines. Local seafood is hand-selected and artistically prepared to perfection. 400 S. Palafox St., Pensacola. (850) 469-9898 $$$ D

NOLA

BOILING CO. ★

From crawfish and crab legs to chicken to sausage, these classic Creole and Cajun boils are perfect for groups and catering jobs. 47 Talon Court, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 672-2847. $$

THE OCEAN CLUB

Storied restaurant serves fresh Gulf seafood and the finest steaks. Enjoy live music, great service and a full bar. 8955 US-98 W 107, Miramar Beach. (850) 267-3666. $$–$$$ D

OLD FLORIDA FISH HOUSE

Nestled beside Eastern Lake, find your retreat for oysters, fresh seafood fare, sushi and other classics. 33 Heron’s Watch Way, Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 534-3045. $$$ L D

RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE

Steak and seafood. New Orleans-inspired. Silver Shells Resort, 1500 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Destin. (850) 337-5108 $$$ D

SEAGAR’S PRIME STEAKS & SEAFOOD ★

Premium steak, fresh seafood and caviar. Hilton Sandestin, 4000 S. Sandestin Blvd., Miramar Beach. (850) 622-1500. $$$ D

SLICK LIPS SEAFOOD & OYSTER HOUSE

Family-friendly seafood and oyster bar featuring locally caught fare and nestled in picturesque Baytowne Wharf. 140 Fisherman’s Cove. (850) 347-5060. $$ L D

TAKE OUT

30AGRUB2GO

Fast delivery of all the high-quality cuisine that 30A has to offer. Download their app on Google Play or the Apple Store, or visit 30agrub2go.com to get started. (850) 260-3139.

DESTIN ICE SEAFOOD MARKET & DELI ★

Fresh fish and seafood items, pastas, salads and side dishes, Buckhead meats, decadent desserts, wines, cheeses, spices and more. 663 Emerald Coast Pkwy., Destin. (850) 837-8333. $$ L D

DIXIELAND CHICKEN CO. ★

Authentic Creole-style fried chicken. Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 353-2464. $ L

EMERALD COAST CATERING & GOURMET TO GO

Offering full-service catering and prepared gourmet meals to go. 3906 Hwy. 98 W., Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 585-5979. $$ L D

FARRINGTON FOODS ★

Chef-driven commercial kitchen offering at-home and virtual cooking classes as well as private chef dinners and events. Santa Rosa Beach. Chef@farringtonfoods.com. $$$ D

JC’S GOURMET

A chilled mix of fresh shrimp, lime zest and vinegar-soaked cucumber, red onion and sweet pepper, this is shrimp ceviche-style. 4621 Hwy. 98 W., Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 687-2810.

REEL ’EM IN FRESH SEAFOOD AND GOURMET ★

Delivering fresh Gulf seafood — fish, shrimp, crab and more — from Miramar Beach to Panama City. Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 420-2240 $$

VEGAN

THE OASIS SANTA ROSA BEACH ★

This 100% vegan restaurant offers a cozy, speak-easy dining room, outdoor bar, patio, pizza bar and pool lounge area. 306 Bald Eagle Dr., Santa Rosa Beach. (850) 660-2000. $$$ D

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CHANNELING THE POWER OF MUSIC

We are all wired to resonate with sound and rhythm

Music has always been and will always be with us, always waiting and inviting us to engage with it, to heal us, to help us make sense of and find meaning in this life.

The late Dr. Oliver Sacks said it best: “The inexpressible depth of music, so easy to understand and yet so inexplicable, is due to the fact that it reproduces all the emotions of our innermost being, but entirely without reality and remote from its pain. … Music expresses only the quintessence of life and of its events, never these themselves.”

Everyone knows how powerful music can be, whether they are musicians, write songs, dance, go to concerts or listen to their favorite songs on repeat. Music therapists know especially how powerful it is and how music even has the capability to change our very neuroplastic brains and adaptive bodies by forging, connecting, entraining and wiring pathways.

Music therapy is an evidence-based practice using music experiences to accomplish therapeutic goals and is facilitated by a board-certified music therapist. These music experiences and thoughtfully planned interventions include:

LISTENING: Relaxation, exploring and processing emotions, meditation, movement, perceptual exercises, free association, storytelling, imaging, reminiscing and more.

RECREATING: Engaging in singing, playing or dancing to composed live or recorded music.

IMPROVISING: Creating music spontaneously to develop spontaneity, creativity, freedom of expression, trust, self-awareness and communication skills.

COMPOSING: Song and lyric writing to provide a safe container for expressing deep feelings and situations that are difficult to put into words, composing pieces of music to reflect inner complex thoughts.

All of the above experiences are planned and led by the music therapist. Music therapists complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree in music therapy at an accredited university, fulfill a requirement for 1,200 clinical hours through practicum and internship, pass a national board-certification exam and maintain this certification status through continuing education every five years.

Music and the way we experience it can elicit the full spectrum of emotions, from sorrow to nostalgia, and can act as an analgesic all while being a catalyst for both pain and joy.

As a music therapist, I can speak to both the professional and personal value of music therapy. In my years as a clinician, I have witnessed children that sing before they are ready or willing to speak; students who were at risk show their true potential and pour their hearts and hurts into songs; teens who were seeing suicide as the only viable option find an outlet to thrive in; elderly

people who are in the advanced stages of dementia remember all of the lyrics to songs of their youth and stand to dance joyfully; and survivors of severe trauma find their voice and recover their sense of self through music therapy.

I have written my own songs to process things I did not have the ability to simply speak about. I have sat in a concert hall overcome with emotion that I could not explain. I have felt the bliss of dancing and jumping in tandem with total strangers. Music has saved and elevated my life, and I have seen it do that for many others.

It may seem like magic, but the underpinnings of the effectiveness in music therapy are rooted in years of scientific research. As the field of music therapy grows and matures, we can only hope access to it follows. Recognition of music therapy as an allied health profession and subsequent reimbursement via health insurance, grants and scholarships is of utmost importance. Music therapy is a lifesaver, an enhancement to our human experience that enriches beyond comprehension at times.

I think we need it more than ever right now. EC