Festivals along the Emerald Coast make the living easy

All festivals are not alike. Some feature art, some food, some wine, and some have an ethnic focus. Here on the Emerald Coast, some type of fun festival can usually be found within an easy drive year-round.

Here are some of the fun festivals along the Emerald Coast:

Art festivals

•May: ArtsQuest is a week-long art event culminating in a juried Fine Arts Festival at The Village of Baytowne Wharf on Mother’s Day weekend. The event has been ranked as one of the top 200 fine art shows in the country. It began as the Grayton Beach Art Festival, then was held at Eden Gardens State Park for several years.

•September: The Baytowne Art Expo at The Village of Baytowne Wharf at Sandestin.

•October: Henderson Beach State Park hosts Destin Festival of the Arts. Staged by the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation, the festival includes a juried fine arts show.

Ethnic

•April: Musical Echoes, Native American musical festival held in late April at The Landing in Fort Walton Beach.

•July: Festa Italiana celebrates the Italian heritage of many Okaloosa County residents, with delicious Italian food, from tiramisu to pizza.

•August: Festival Latino in Fort Walton Beach at the Emerald Coast Convention Center in August, with food, music and souvenirs.

•September: A Greek Festival at the Emerald Coast Convention Center in Fort Walton Beach.

•October: At Sandestin, Wine World holds a sausage and beer fest outside under a tent, with music.

•October: Oktoberfest, 4512 State Road 20, Niceville, end of September or first of October. A two-day festival filled with German cuisine, beer and polkas. Sponsored by Mid-Bay Rotary Club.

•November: Thunderbird Intertribal Powwow, Twin Oaks Park, College Boulevard in Niceville. First weekend in November. A three-day, cultural event featuring Native American dancers, drummers and craft demonstrations.

Film and theater

For two weekends a year, there’s more for local moviegoers than big budget action films and the newest Adam Sandler comedy.

•July: Seaside Repertory Theatre hosts the annual Gulf Coast Comedy Festival, with a variety of standup and improv comics arriving in this area to perform in Destin, Seaside and at locations in between.

•October: Seaside Repertory Theatre holds a two-week Autumn Playwright Festival that includes stage performances, panel discussions and other events that focus on a different honored playwright each year.

•November: The Village of Baytowne Wharf’s annual film festival showcases a variety of feature, independent and student short films. You can see the best in cinematic vision at some of the finest theaters in the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area.

•November: Walton County’s WaterColor community devotes a weekend to MountainFilm on Tour, a selection of films from Colorado’s Telluride Film Festival. WaterColor representatives say Telluride’s emphasis on outdoor-themed films makes it a good fit for residents and tourists along the Emerald Coast.

Food fests

Not surprisingly, food festivals along the coast focus on our bounty of seafood.

•September: Sandestin hosts a seafood and mini wine fest.

•September: WaterColor provides the food and beverage event, Taste of 30A.

•October: The Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival in Niceville, with big-name entertainment, food booths and lots of arts and craft exhibitors.

•October: Destin’s annual Seafood Festival is held at Morgan Sports Center near City Hall.

Kids’ fests

•October: Santa Rosa Beach has the Flutterby children’s art festival at Gulf Place, which includes interactive art projects for kids and an exhibit of art from local school children, among other child-oriented activities.

•October: Destin Commons hosts Kids on the Coast magazine’s annual family fall festival with performances and demonstrations from local groups such as Oz Children’s Theatre, Emerald City Gymnastics, the Ballet Conservatory and Nonie’s Ark.

•November: Seaside celebrates Via Colori, a festival in which artists rent space outside stores to paint on the sidewalk. All proceeds benefit Seaside Neighborhood School.

Music

If you’re looking for salsa or classical music festivals, this might not be the area, but if you’re into jazz, you’re in luck.

•April: Gulf Place in Santa Rosa Beach hosts the Seabreeze Jazz Festival.

•April: Old Spanish Trail Festival, Spanish Trail Park in Crestview. Last weekend in April or first weekend in May. Celebrates the area’s rich heritage with a rodeo, arts and crafts bazaar, carnival rides and nationally recognized musicians.

Outdoors

•Springtime: In March and April during cobia season, several tournaments are held at various venues.

•April: The Village of Baytowne Wharf holds its Boat Fest at Baytowne Marina.

•June: The Village of Baytowne Wharf hosts the annual Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic.

•October: The month-long Destin Fishing Rodeo on the docks along Destin’s harbor.

•October: If you’re into the great big outdoors, South Walton Community Council’s Back to Nature Festival is for you. It is a weekend packed full of active adventures.

Wine

If you enjoy sampling the fruits of the vine:

•April: Sandestin’s Wine Festival offers a large selection of wines to sample under tents at the Village of Baytowne Wharf.

•May: Seaside offers two wine tasting festivals a year, a Spring Wine Festival in May and the Seeing Red Wine Festival in November.

•October: DeFuniak Springs joins in the fun with its Chautauqua Wine Fest.

•October: The Southern Breeze Coastal Wine Tour comes to Rosemary Beach with wine, food and informative lectures.

•November: Wine World in Destin holds a wine and beer fest under tents in its parking lot.

Fun

Some festivals can’t be categorized easily.

•February: The Chautauqua Assembly in DeFuniak Springs is an annual event that draws speakers from across the country. The event is designed to inspire thoughtful contemplation, education and entertainment.

•February: Mardis Gras on Okaloosa Island is an annual event.

•June: The Billy Bowlegs Festival in Fort Walton Beach is named for a pirate once notorious in these waters. A week-long party, it kicks off with the Krewe of Bowlegs Landing in a staged battle, then follows up with a variety of events and activities before the Krewe crowns its new captain for the year.

•November: Sandestin’s Linkside Center holds a Festival of Trees that remains up into December.

•Destin’s Week of Blessings: During late April and May, a series of various “blessings” takes place in Destin. One of the most popular is the annual Blessing of the Fleet in which clergy bless the fishing boats that parade by a stage along the harbor.