The brutal summer weather is easing (just a bit), and that can only mean one thing. Two things actually.
One, fall is fast approaching, though not fast enough. (Autumn begins Sept. 22.)
Two, Foo Foo Festival is right behind it.
Pensacola’s all-encompassing 12-day celebration of arts, entertainment and culture takes place Oct. 30 through Nov. 10 and will features music, visual arts, cosplay events, theater performances and more.
The Foo Foo Festival committee earlier this year awarded $450,000 in grants to 10 different groups and organizations to produce event for the 12th annual Foo Foo Festival. Grant recipients and their Foo Foo Festival projects include:
∙ Friends of Downtown will present “Afterburn,” a large-scale suspended art illustration by acclaimed international artist Tomislav Topic. The installation will aim to evoke the spirit of the Pensacola-based Blue Angels and will be powered by wind and light offering ever-changing, eye-popping visuals. Afterburn will suspended on Intendencia Street between Palafox and Jefferson streets for the duration of the festival.
Topic, a German-born artist based in Berlin, has had his installations and murals featured in public spaces in Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Mauritius, Qatar, Georgia, China and the United States.
Therese McKenzie, chair of the Pensacola Foo Foo Festival committee, said festival attendees have come to expect a public art installation such as “Afterburn” In 2024, Foo Foo Festival featured a Blue Tree exhibition on Zaragoza Street, and previous public art installations have included suspended umbrella displays and suspended vinyl bubble displays.
“It’s a really cool, vibrant art display that kind of moves with the wind and will feature different colors,” she said. “It’s something we think the community will really appreciate.”
∙ Japan America Society of Northwest Florida will host HizashiCon offering attendees three fun-filled days of music, cosplay, and anime at various venues on Oct. 31 through Nov. 2.
On Halloween, the event will feature a concert at the Rex Theater featuring Vocaloid and utaite vocalists, video game musicians and more. The HizashiCon convention takes place Nov. 1 at The Wright Place, 80 W. Wright St. and will feature cosplay events and contests, panels, performances, fashion show, gaming opportunities and tournaments, and shopping opportunities. The convention will be followed by an after-party at The Handlebar on Tarragona Street.
On Nov. 2, Coastal Cat Cafe will host Paws & Pixels where cosplay attendees can participate in anime/video game trivia contests while lounging with rescue cats.
∙ 309 Punk Project will present its Hallozine Festival on Oct. 30-31 at Voices of Pensacola and The Handlebar. The event will feature a celebration of zines and indie media and will feature zine workshops, exhibits, guest speakers, a market, films and a Halloween Party.
∙ Jazz for Justice presented by Legal Services is one of Foo Foo Festivals signature events and will feature various jazz musicians, along with food trucks and family activities at Museum Plaza, 300 S. Tarragona St., on Nov. 2.
∙ PenArts presents “The Luck,” a musical written and performed by the Lubben Brothers, a folk/bluegrass band born in the Midwest. Performances will be Nov. 4-Nov. 9 at The Gordon Community Art Center at 306 N. DeVilliers St.
“The Luck” is a musical story featuring nine performers that tells the tale of a group of men who leave their homes and families in New England heading out to search for Californian gold in 1851. The Pensacola performances are its premiere.
∙ Pensacola Opera presents “Rock the Runway: Amped,” a union of music, art and fashion featuring the White Tie Rock Ensemble, international opera singers, area boutiques and local models and more on Nov. 5 at the Saenger Theatre.
∙ Pensacola State College will present “Wandering Without Purpose,” an exhibition of art from Belgrade-born Relja Penezić will be on display throughout Foo Foo Festival at the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts at the PSC campus on North Ninth Avenue.
The exhibition will feature dozens of Penezic’s paintings, along with video works on free standing walls. Accompanying the works will be a sonic composition by sound installation performing artist Victoria Jordanova that will include whispers of those in attendence in playback loops that are ever changing.
∙ “Somebody to Love,” a presentation by the Pensacola Little Theatre, will be a far-out and immersive reimagining of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” that has been adapted by Ashley Simmons. The performance will feature the music of groovy 1960s’ hitmakers such as Jefferson Airplane, who supply the presentation’s title, the Zombies and the Kinks. “Somebody to Love” runs through the duration of the festival.
∙ The third annual Night Moves Music Festival, featuring Japanese Breakfast, Dashboard Confessional, Joyce Manor and more, takes place Nov. 8 at Community Maritime Park. Local acts include Ben Loftin and the Family, Ego Death and Katie Dineen.
There are other events included under Foo Foo Festival that do not receive grants, but are part of Pensacola’s cultural landscape: the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival, Nov. 7-9, in Seville Square and the Blue Angels Homecoming Show at Naval Air Station Pensacola Nov. 7-8.
While many events are free, some will require ticket purchases. For a complete schedule of events, prices, times and other details go to www.foofoofest.com.
“It’s the perfect time of the year to show off Pensacola,” McKenzie said. “Pensacola has been known for many years now, and rightfully so, for its seafood, but not everyone outside of Pensacola realizes we have such a thriving downtown community. It’s a time to showcase all the cool things going on in terms of arts and culture and a chance to showcase what we have to the rest of the country.”
