The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is one of the most highly regarded and popular arts festivals in America. The Festival, a three-day, juried art show, comes to Pensacola's historic Seville Square on November 6th, 7th & 8th. Each year, it draws more than 200 of the nations best painters, potters, sculptors, jewelers, graphic artists, craftsmen, mixed-media artists and others who have been gifted with the ability to turn inspiration into art.

The Festival features great music on the Main Stage, dance on the Parrish Performing Arts Stage, and authentic craftspeople in the Heritage Arts area. As well, the Children's Arts Festival features numerous free,hands-on artistic opportunities for kids, and the Student Art Show showcases the talents of school students in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties.

Joan Bailey, an artist from Calgary, Alberta, Canada has been selected as the 2009 GGAF International Invited Artist. Joan's artistic education has been mostly self-directed. Although she started painting in watercolors, Joan has adopted inks and acrylics as her favorite paints along with using paper, molding paste, gels, metallics, sand and found objects on canvas or board. She also experiments with pastels, charcoal, encaustic, collage and oil sticks,and has created 2D work in wood, leather and metal combinations.

Festival hours are:
9-5 on Friday and Saturday, November 6 and 7.

9-4 on Sunday, November 8

Children's Festival Hours:
Saturday & Sunday 10-4

Admission to the festival is free, as are programs and maps. Food and beverages are available from a variety of vendors, including some of Pensacola's best-known restaurants and chefs. Posters and t-shirts are also available for purchase at the festival. Pets are not allowed at the Festival. For more information, visit our website at www.ggaf.org. Don't miss Pensacola's premiere festival. There's something for the entire family.

Show off your creativity and support a great cause by attending two events celebrating MANNA's service to the hungry in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Co-hosted by MANNA and Pensacola Junior College, Throw a Bowl for MANNA is an action-packed, fun-filled evening in which the public is invited to throw a bowl at the potters wheel with the able assistance of PJC's visual arts faculty and students. Throw a Bowl for MANNA also features a PJC faculty art show in the Visual Arts Gallery, music by the PJC Jazz Band, delicious appetizers donated by Hemmingway's Island Grill and served by PJC Culinary Arts students, plus beer and wine. A donation to support the areas hungry is all that we ask in return.

Weeks later after the bowls are glazed and fired, the fun continues with Fill a Bowl for MANNA. The public is invited to select a bowl to fill with soups prepared by some of Pensacola's most popular eateries. In addition, you will enjoy a silent auction of larger ceramic bowls and entertaining music. The $25 charge entitles each guest to take their bowl home as a keepsake. Proceeds from the sale of the bowls as well as silent auction items benefit MANNA directly. While filling a bowl with sumptuous soup, you will be helping MANNA fill the empty bowls of more than 30,000 people in Northwest Florida.

Throw a Bowl for MANNA will take place on Friday, November 13, 2009 at PJC's Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, 1000 College Boulevard in Pensacola from 6-9PM. No experience is needed to throw a bowl at the potters wheel thanks to assistance from PJC visual arts instructors. Donations are encouraged.

Fill a Bowl for MANNA will take place on Saturday, January 16, 2010 at MANNA's main pantry located at 116 E. Gonzalez Street in Pensacola from 1-3PM. Admission of $25 entitles guests to a ceramic bowl keepsake filled with soups by local eateries.

The community can rally behind MANNA by supporting these two events. Come out and throw a bowl. No experience necessary! Then join us by filling a bowl for MANNA while bidding on silent auction items. Be sure to bring your friends. Local artisans can participate by donating bowls for the silent auction, and local eateries by donating and serving up soup. Volunteers are needed for both events to plan, set-up, welcome guests and clean-up. For more information about Throw a Bowl and Fill a Bowl for MANNA, including ceramic art and soup donations and volunteer opportunities, please visit the MANNA website at www.mannafoodpantries.org or contact MANNA at 850.432.2053. Leave No One Unfed!

The City of Gulf Breeze and numerous Gulf Breeze community organizations are preparing for the first annual "Life's A Breeze Weekend" to be held November 13 through 15 at various locations throughout Gulf Breeze, Florida.

The City of Gulf Breeze has one of the finest parks and recreation systems in Northwest Florida and is known as a family-friendly,pet-friendly community. The purpose of the "Life's A Breeze Weekend" is to celebrate the Gulf Breeze lifestyle by showcasing the City's beautiful shoreline parks and recreational facilities. Gulf Breeze organizations and businesses are partnering with the City of Gulf Breeze to bring the entire community together for a weekend filled with fun, family events and activities. All are welcome!

The kick-off will take place Friday night, November 13 at 7pm with the last Gulf Breeze High School football game of the 2009 season. The Gulf Breeze Dolphins face the Navarre Raiders in a gridiron rivalry where the winner takes home the coveted Beach Trophy.

On Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15, a variety of sports and family events will be offered by local Gulf Breeze civic and charitable organizations. Featured events include: a Kick Ball tournament, Frisbee Golf tournament, Punt, Pass and Kick challenge, Dunking Booth, Skateboarding Showdown, Cake Decorating, Cook-out, Basketball Shoot-out, and Kids zone with inflatable bouncy houses, a Pet Adopt-a-thon and much, much more! Saturday night will feature an outdoor Concert for a Cure with Not Quite Fab, a local Beatles tribute band, coordinated by the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

For more information and schedule of events go to www.LifesABreezeweekend.com.

On Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 8am to 3pm, the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce will host Pet Fest 2009: Paw Prints on Your Heart at Gulf Breeze Elementary School sponsored by ENSEC Environmental Security, Gulf Breeze Animal Hospital and Mediacom. Rovers Race/Walk will begin at 9:30am, registration at 8:00am. Come out and strut your stuff for prizes! You and your pet will enjoy fun and entertainment throughout the day with Paw Print Art, Hallelujah Hounds, Exhibitions from ENSEC and Best Paw Forward Training, Demos by the Gulf Breeze Police Canine Unit, a Pet Fashion Show, Pet contests, Pet Photographer, Pet Spa, Pet Psychic, Silent Auction and be sure to stick around for the Best of Show Parade for all pets at 2:45pm!  Area veterinarians will be on-hand providing educational information on flea control, heart worm disease, micro-chipping, exotic pets & much more! Sponsorships and Vendor space are still available. $5 admission fee. Proof of rabies vaccination for pets required. Vendor space and sponsorships still available. For more information, contact the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce at 850-932-7888 or on their website at www.gulfbreezechamber.com.