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Blue trees, opera in a bar, Blue Angels, Flora-Bama: Foo Foo Fest in Pensacola

By Nelson Hicks, WSB-TV
By Nelson Hicks, WSB-TV

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Where could you find gospel singing, a cosplay competition, blue trees, opera in a bar, the Blue Angels, and an array of unique programming? At the Foo Foo Festival in Pensacola, of course! This annual celebration, held in early November, showcases the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene, offering something for everyone.

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Foo Foo Fest Time for some fun! (Nelson Hicks)

What is the Foo Foo Fest?

“It’s really a cool concept because it’s all about the arts and the ways we celebrate that here in Pensacola,” Nicole Stacey from Visit Pensacola told WSBTV.com’s Nelson Hicks.

Foo Foo Fest provides grants to local organizations, allowing them to create events and experiences that might not otherwise be possible. From music and theater to environmental art and culinary delights, this festival transforms Pensacola into a hub of creativity.

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Night Moves Music Fest at Foo Foo Fest (Nelson Hicks)

Music for Every Taste

This year’s lineup included the Night Moves Music Fest, which brought alternative and indie artists like Silversun Pickups and Beach Fossils to Maritime Park for a day of open-air performances by the water.

Missed it? Don’t fret. Pensacola’s music scene thrives year-round with events like JazzFest in April and the Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival in October. Catch live music at venues across the city anytime.

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Carmen, The Traveler by the Pensacola Opera Where could you find gospel singing, a cosplay competition, blue trees, opera in a bar, the Blue Angels, and an array of unique programming? At the Foo Foo Festival in Pensacola, of course! This annual celebration, held in early November, showcases the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene, offering something for everyone. (Nelson Hicks)

Opera, Up Close and Personal

One standout Foo Foo event was Carmen, the Traveler, a unique rendition of the classic French opera. Performed in a bar, this intimate setting brought the emotions and music of the Romani-inspired opera directly to the audience.

“I think it adds fun, for sure,” Caitlin McKechney, who played Carmen, said. “I love when you get to perform opera up close and personal. I think that the audience loves it, too. You get to see the emotions of the characters up close, you are also hearing their voices up close and watching that amazing way of singing.”

Looking for more opera? The Pensacola Opera will present The Marriage of Figaro in January and Pagliacci in March.

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Joyful Noise Gospel Celebration at Foo Foo Fest Where could you find gospel singing, a cosplay competition, blue trees, opera in a bar, the Blue Angels, and an array of unique programming? At the Foo Foo Festival in Pensacola, of course! This annual celebration, held in early November, showcases the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene, offering something for everyone. (Nelson Hicks)

A Gospel Celebration

The Joyful Noise Gospel Celebration featured a regional music competition, a student workshop, and a gospel brunch, all headlined by the Sing Harlem choir, widely known from national television appearances.

“With this whole celebration, we wanted to be able to expose the community to national, regional and local talent, but we had to make sure that the children were involved because what we’re trying to do is just inspire them, give them someone to look up to,” Jennifer Knisbell, the director of development and community engagement at WSRE, said.

WSRE is the Public Broadcasting Station for the Gulf Coast and the organizer of the Joyful Noise Gospel Celebration.

“Music is just one of the most important elements in a child’s life,” Knisbell said.

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Blue Trees: Environmental Installation Where could you find gospel singing, a cosplay competition, blue trees, opera in a bar, the Blue Angels, and an array of unique programming? At the Foo Foo Festival in Pensacola, of course! This annual celebration, held in early November, showcases the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene, offering something for everyone. (Nelson Hicks)

Art Meets Nature with Blue Trees

Downtown Pensacola was transformed with the Blue Trees: Environmental Installation, a surreal exhibit highlighting the importance of trees globally. Artist Konstantin Dimopoulos used eco-friendly materials to paint the trees blue.

“We’ve created a Dr. Seuss surreal environment that says ‘I speak for the trees, I speak for the trees, I speak for the trees because the trees have no tongue,’” Dimopoulos said. “All of the trees in the Amazon and thousands of miles that you don’t see that are disappearing, have no way to say “Hey, what about us?’ So we’re trying to get the city trees to make some noise so that you’re aware of this happening. Because once those forests go, breathing is going to be a lot more difficult.”

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Living Museum at Foo Foo Fest (Nelson Hicks)

Pensacola’s Rich History

Foo Foo Fest also explored Pensacola’s deep historical roots with interactive experiences like a living museum hosted by Fiesta Pensacola. Visitors could meet re-enactors portraying diverse characters from the city’s 465-year history.

Dive deeper into the past anytime by visiting the Pensacola Museum of History.

“There’s also a three-mile hiking trail around Pensacola in case you didn’t know called the America’s First Settlement Trail,” Bridget Middleton from Fiesta Pensacola said. “You can scan QR codes along the way, that you find in the street. It’s a red line that goes for three miles around the city that you can follow and learn a lot more about Pensacola.”

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Blue Angels Museum in Pensacola Where could you find gospel singing, a cosplay competition, blue trees, opera in a bar, the Blue Angels, and an array of unique programming? At the Foo Foo Festival in Pensacola, of course! This annual celebration, held in early November, showcases the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene, offering something for everyone. (Nelson Hicks)

The Blue Angels

Pensacola is home to the Blue Angels, the Navy’s elite flight squadron. Their final show of the year coincided with Foo Foo Fest, but visitors can catch their practice sessions throughout the year. The Pensacola Museum of History is also home to Trader Jon’s Blue Angels Museum. Martin “Trader Jon” Weissman opened a bar in Pensacola in 1953. Over the years, Weissman was known to trade drinks and accumulated a large collection of Blue Angels memorabilia in the process. While Weissman passed away in 2000, parts of his collection eventually made it to the Pensacola Museum of History in 2016.

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HizashiCon Anime Festival at Foo Foo Fest Where could you find gospel singing, a cosplay competition, blue trees, opera in a bar, the Blue Angels, and an array of unique programming? At the Foo Foo Festival in Pensacola, of course! This annual celebration, held in early November, showcases the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene, offering something for everyone. (Nelson Hicks)

Cultural Highlights

Foo Foo Fest also celebrated global cultures with events like HizashiCon, an anime festival featuring cosplay contests, panel discussions, vendors and a maid café.

Pensacola’s theater scene also shone with numerous events including PenArts’ performance of Lizzie, a rock musical about the infamous Lizzie Borden.

PenArts plans to announce its 2025 season shortly. While music director Tom Baraco couldn’t share which productions PenArts plans to showcase in the new year, he did offer a hint.

“We’ve done a number of productions that were pre-published and had not yet been produced in major theaters and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some premieres coming up in the next year or two.” Baraco said.

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Pearl & Horn in Pensacola Eat up! (Nelson Hicks)

Culinary Delights-Foo Foo on the Menu

The festival partnered with local restaurants, bars and breweries to create Foo Foo-inspired offerings, from orange miso seared scallops at Pearl & Horn to a banana cake at Union Public House to a refreshing curated cocktail at Sir Richard’s, a vintage English pub, to Fleeting Windows, a beer brewed by Odd Colony Brewing.

While some items were exclusive to the festival, Pensacola’s food scene offers plenty for year-round foodies.

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Flora-Bama Where could you find gospel singing, a cosplay competition, blue trees, opera in a bar, the Blue Angels, and an array of unique programming? At the Foo Foo Festival in Pensacola, of course! This annual celebration, held in early November, showcases the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene, offering something for everyone. (Nelson Hicks)

Don’t Forget Flora-Bama

No trip to Pensacola is complete without a visit to Flora-Bama.

“Flora-Bama is really about good times (and) good music,” Flora-Bama’s Rachel Chandler said. “That’s really what it started as. So, the small shack that was on the side on the road that was a liquor store at one point, that’s what we’ve been about since 1964.”

The iconic beach bar straddles the Florida-Alabama state line.

The Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival coincides with the Foo Foo Fest. The 40th annual event included more than 200 nationally acclaimed songwriters.

But the self-described “most famous beach bar in the country” is known for more than just its live music. There’s an annual mullet toss, think fish, not hair, and events like the Polar Bear Dip on New Year’s Day.

Plan Your Visit

Pensacola has something happening almost every weekend, from seafood festivals to heritage celebrations. Whether you’re here for Foo Foo Fest or just a relaxing getaway, the city’s blend of art, history, and stunning beaches won’t disappoint.

“Come and visit Pensacola and be surprised by the arts,” Baraco said. “You can walk down and see theater, you can see bands, you can see symphonies, you can see operas. For a city this size, it is a wonderfully diverse performing arts community. We’re proud of that and certainly want to share it.”

The Foo Foo Festival will return next November, but Pensacola’s vibrant culture is ready to welcome you year-round.

“Pensacola is really kind of a cultural gem,” Corey McKern from the Pensacola Opera said. “I really love what Foo Foo Fest talks about, Vacation Artfully. I think it’s a brilliant way to say it because of course we have the beautiful white (sand) beaches. You go to the Fish House and sit on the water and have a cocktail and dinner. But then you can go to our beautiful Saenger historic theater, which is a gorgeous place to see a show. Or you can go to Seville Quarter and see an opera thanks to Foo Foo Fest. I think that’s unique in our town.”

This story is sponsored by the Foo Foo Festival.

©2024 Cox Media Group

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