It has arrived!
The 6th Annual Foo Foo Festival has been scheduled from October 31 – November 11 in Pensacola, Fla. and offers an acclaimed array of internationally-recognized musicians and performance artists.
Foo Foo Fest is a highly anticipated arts and culture festival, which is one of the largest in the Southeast. Spanning an impressive 12 days, the exciting line-up has something for everyone and includes:
- Classical piano virtuoso Garrick Ohlsson
- Renowned jazz band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
- Multi-Grammy nominated musician Marsha Ambrosius
- Stomp Fest is based on a 125-year-old African American College Fraternity and Sorority Tradition of “Stepping”
- “Skulptures” (a display of 3D printable skateable concrete structures)
- Performance of The Savannah Sipping Society (a new play by The Golden Girls writers),
- Fire and Rain (a sea of billowing holographic strands suspended above historic Intendencia Street)
- Historic walking tours, a large farmer’s market, quaint shops, food trucks and brewery tours
Pensacola is the only city on the stretch of the Gulf Coast from Mobile, Ala. to Tampa, Fla. that boasts having the “big five,” an opera, ballet, symphony, theatre and museum. Foo Foo Festival’s roster of events celebrates art, music, dance, opera, theatre and cuisine with programming from grant recipients, throughout the city of Pensacola for nearly two weeks. The 2019 ACE grant recipients will host individual experiences specific to their craft throughout the festival. Strategically positioned in and around some of Pensacola’s most popular and longer-running events, the Foo Foo Fest encourages cultural tourists to make Pensacola an arts destination and enjoy other events those two weeks including The Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival, the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show, Pensacola Eggfest and the 34th Annual Frank Brown Songwriters Festival.
The 12-day event is chock full of inclusive, thought-provoking and mind-extending cultural happenings including:
- Choral Society of Pensacola – Choir! Choir! Choir! an event that is equal parts singing, comedy and audience participation
- Downtown Improvement Board/Artel Inc. – Fire and Rain, a suspended sea of billowing holographic strands ripples high over historic Intendencia Street like a quilt of sparkling diamonds
- First City Arts Alliance – 3DPrintsacola, featuring professional American street skater Rodney Mullen, combines machine generative art with hands-on artmaking practices to create 3D printed skateable concrete “Skulptures”
- Greater Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Inc – Legendary pianist Garrick Ohlsson performs with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra
- Jazz Pensacola – Jazz Pensacola presents renowned Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, a contemporary jazz & swing revival band from Southern California
- Lamplighters, Inc. – StompFest 2019 will immerse the Gulf Coast in contemporary African-American art, dancing, and stepping blended with a mix of spoken word, live music, and visual artistry with special celebrity guests Marsha Ambrosius, Mannie Fresh and Steven Brown
- Legal Services of North Florida – Jazz for Justice brings in well-known musicians and local artists for a unique jazz and blues festival in downtown Pensacola.
- Pensacola Little Theatre – A performance of “The Savannah Sipping Society,” created by the same writers of The Golden Girls
- Pensacola Museum of Art – A Journalist and Author Talk with Eleanor Randolph. The veteran journalist and author will return to Pensacola to share her experiences as a female journalist and details on her new book, The Many Lives of Michael Bloomberg.”
- The Pensacola Civic Band – The Pensacola Civic Band will be in concert with the world-famous Boston Brass at the Pensacola Saenger Theatre. The concert entitled “Sketches of Spain” will highlight the music of Pensacola’s Spanish heritage including “Malaguena.”
In addition to the plethora of arts and cultural happenings during Foo Foo Fest, Pensacola offers year ‘round historic walking tours, a large farmer’s market, quaint shops, food trucks and brewery tours. Visitors can stroll along the bay, enjoy the beautiful beaches, experience the culinary arts scene, and take in historic sites all staged in the backdrop of relaxed elegance unique to this historic city on the Gulf Coast.
For more information about the 2019 Pensacola Foo Foo Festival visit www.FooFooFest.com.