Piratical Escapades in Key West

The spiritual descendants of Blackbeard, Calico Jack Rackham, pirate queen Anne Bonny and even Captain Jack Sparrow are to descend on Key West Friday, November 26, through Sunday, December 5, for the 11th annual Pirates in Paradise Festival.

Designed to appeal to children and adults alike, the colorful gathering typically brings hundreds of buccaneer aficionados and re-enactors to celebrate the island city's adventurous seafaring history.

The festival schedule features tall ship sailing adventures, a plank-walking championship, living history pirate encampments, swashbuckling soirees and parties, a "village thieves' market" and pirate pub, pirate tours of Key West, an educational tall ship sailing seminar and the staged re-creation of the trial of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, real-life female buccaneers who were captured in Caribbean waters in the early 1700s.

Throughout the 2010 Pirates in Paradise Festival, aspiring seafarers can experience tall ship pirate sailing excursions aboard the Schooner Wolf, the flagship of the Keys' Conch Republic including sunset sails, and join Captain Finbar in lighthearted attacks on "land forces" and unsuspecting vessels in the harbor.

Nonstop entertainment is to be provided by strolling minstrels and combative stuntmen. Little buccaneers can enjoy games and treasure hunts in a special kids' area, and vendors plan to offer period arts and crafts. A homemade brew competition is "on tap" as well.

In addition, living-history pirate encampments, "invasions" and demonstrations by military re-enactors are scheduled at Fort Zachary Taylor, an authentic Civil War fortification adjacent to Truman Waterfront Commons. Fort Taylor events are planned for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 3-5.

For more information about top events in Florida take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Florida.

For more information about the Pirates in Paradise Festival visit www.piratesinparadise.com

Palette of Vibrant Colors Awaits Artists and Visitors in Beaches of South Walton

Beaches of South Walton is home not only to emerald waters and sugary white sands, but also a vibrant community of artists that have helped to make the Northwest Florida Gulf Coast destination a favorite among those with a love for artistic expression.

The annual Autumn Tides celebration offers wonderful opportunities for travelers, residents, visiting artists and aspiring artists to mingle and even collaborate, with signature upcoming events such as Art Expo and Via Colori.

The Art Expo hosted by The Village of Baytowne Wharf in Sandestin from September 3 to 5 is a weekend “good for the art and soul” with world-class art and live music under the moonlight. Exceptional artists featured in leading galleries across the southeast gather for this three-day festival with events every evening from 5 to 10 p.m.

Via Colori on September 18 offers a more hands-on experience as artists take to the streets for an Italian-style street painting art festival. This unique community project in support of Seaside Neighborhood School brings together volunteers and businesses, and features local and visiting artists using Grand Boulevard’s main street as a giant canvas. This community favorite is open to the public.

The Inspirational Weekend from October 8 to 17 includes events to inspire with food and yoga, and also has an art component. It takes place throughout several locations in the community. There are also a number of musical events as part of the Beaches of South Walton Autumn Tides celebration.

For more information about top events in Florida take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Florida.

For more information about Beaches of South Walton visit www.BeachesofSouthWalton.com

TOP EVENTS ALL YEAR ROUND IN PENSACOLA

Pensacola could be named the Festival City, since every month of the year residents and visitors find something to celebrate. There are refined events such as the wine and jazz festival and wacky events such as the mullet toss. There are food festivals for seafood, sausage, bushwackers and crawfish, and there are fitness events such as the Double Bridge Run and the St. Patty’s prediction race. There are lively parades, whether it’s Mardi Gras floats or a decked-out boats. Whatever your style, there’s a special event for you in the Pensacola Bay Area.

Polar Bear Dip. Jan. 1. The Flora-Bama Lounge at the Florida-Alabama line hosts this popular, annual splash-around in the Gulf of Mexico. (850) 492-0611.

Mardi Gras. Feb. 12-14. One of the country’s original celebration sites, Pensacola hosts family-oriented Mardi Gras fun at numerous parades with lots of beads and moonpies. (850) 436-7638, www.pensacolamardigras.com.

McGuire’s 5K Prediction Run. March 13. With more than 5,000 participants, it is Pensacola’s largest run and the nation’s largest prediction run. Awards go to the fastest as well as the most accurate in predicting the time it will take to complete the course. (850) 433-6789, www.mcguiresirishpub.com.

Beulah Sausage Festival. March 19-21. Enjoy some of Nashville’s hottest country music stars, arts and crafts, carnival-style rides and of course, great sausage. (850) 944-3167, www.beulahsausagefest.com.

Pensacola Wine Festival. April 2-4. Sample more than 100 wines from around the world while Pensacola’s top restaurants lead cooking demonstrations. (850) 434-5371, www.pensacolawinefestival.com.

Pensacola JazzFest. April 10-11. Pensacola’s historic Seville Square hosts an event filled with great jazz performed by local and national talents. (850) 433-8382, www.jazzpensacola.com.

26th Annual Interstate Mullet Toss. April 23-25. Perdido Key’s Flora-Bama Lounge on the Florida-Alabama state line hosts this wacky annual tournament that has participants compete in tossing an actual mullet. Live music, food and drinks. (850) 492-0611.

26th Annual Pensacola Crawfish Festival. May 7-9. Held along the bay in Bartram Park, indulge at one of the largest crawfish boils in Florida. (850) 433-6512, www.fiestaoffiveflags.org.

7th Annual Outside Art Fair. May 15-16. Celebrate warm spring weather with nearly 100 local artists, live entertainment, good food and children’s activities on the bay at Bartram Park. (850) 432-9906, www.artsnwfl.org.

Evenings in Olde Seville Square. Thursdays, May-Aug. This well-attended summer concert series in Seville Square features a variety of musical styles from big band and jazz to rock-n-roll. (850) 438-6505.

Bands on the Beach. Tuesdays, May-Sept. Celebrate summer at the Gulfside Pavilion on Pensacola Beach with local musical favorites. (850) 932-2257.

Fiesta Days Celebration and Boat Parade. June 3-12. This annual event celebrates the founding of Pensacola, the first European settlement in the U.S., in 1559 by Spanish Conquistador Don Tristan de Luna. (850) 433-6512, www.fiestaoffiveflags.org.

Sounds of Summer. June-Aug. The beat goes on in Pensacola Beach with this free concert series most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the Quietwater Shell on the Boardwalk. (850) 932-1500

Pensacola Beach Air Show. July. This must-see event features a show by the world-famous Blue Angels. (850) 932-2257.

Pensacola Seafood Festival. Sept. 24-26. Sample a variety of mouth-watering seafood dishes, enjoy continuous live entertainment, shop at the many arts and crafts vendors, and participate in a 5K. (850) 433-6512

Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show. Nov. With Pensacola as its home base, the Blue Angels perform the season’s final show at Naval Air Station Pensacola. (850) 452-2583, www.blueangels.navy.mil.

Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival. Nov. Talented artists bring new music to the Gulf Coast. (850) 492-7664, www.fbisf.com.

Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival. Nov. 5-7. Browse more than 200 fine art and hand-made craft exhibitors in Pensacola’s historic Seville Square. www.ggaf.org.

Holiday Evening in Olde Seville Square. Dec. Get in the holiday spirit with the Christmas concert outdoors under the oaks. (850) 438-6505.

Lighted Boat Parade. Dec. Decorated vessels parading against the dark December sky delight those watching from the shores along Portofino Boardwalk. The nautical parade officially delivers Santa Claus to the Island. (850) 932-1500.

For information on the top annual vents and festivals in Florida, visit http://www.topeventsusa.com/state-events-florida.html

For more information about Pensacola please visit http://www.visitpensacola.com/

NEVILLE BROTHERS TO HEADLINE 2ND ANNUAL SUNNY ISLES BEACH JAZZ FEST

The second annual 2009 Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest announces an artist line-up that will bring cool jazz sounds to the beautiful city. This event promises to once again generate excitement within the South Florida community and abroad; attracting both local audiences and tourists from around the world.

Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest will celebrate the extraordinary diverse sounds of jazz music the weekend of October 16-18, 2009. Produced by the City of Sunny Isles Beach in partnership with the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association, this year’s jazz fest will benefit Joshua’s Heart Foundation, the festival’s official nonprofit partner (www.joshuasheart.org). Event corporate sponsors include Le Meridien, Acqualina Resort & Spa, Trump International Beach Resort, St. Tropez Condominiums, Atlantic Broadband Television, The Miami Herald, Around Town Magazine, WLRN and WDNA Radio.

The event will feature world-renowned celebrity jazz entertainers, notable jazz artists, and several illustrious music groups. Headlining the festival is New Orleans’ first family of funk, The Neville Brothers, which continue to provoke, entertain and excite audiences around the globe. Also returning this year is talented jazz artist Nicole Henry.

The Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest will showcase and highlight the best that the City of Sunny Isles Beach has to offer including: great food, fine dining, exclusive resorts and much more! Up-close and personal, set amid the backdrop of 2 ½ miles of the turquoise Atlantic Ocean and spectacular beaches, held in one of the most beautiful oceanfront parks and one of the most panoramic skylines in the southeastern United States, with various beachfront resorts, the Jazz Fest will be enjoyed by all who experience it.

Corporate sponsorship for the 2009 Jazz Fest is still available at various levels. Each with escalating advantages for the sponsor to reach a broad-based, international, national and regional audience of upscale concert goers estimated at more than 10,000. Packages range from ‘Bronze Sponsor’ to ‘Platinum Sponsor’ or a customized sponsorship can also be designed. All major sponsors will receive broad national and regional media recognition through an integrated media marketing campaign as well as a national/international public relations campaign.

“The 2nd Annual Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest promises to be bigger and better than last year’s,” said Ibis Romero, executive director of the Sunny Isles Beach Resort Association. “Moreover, corporate sponsors will benefit by receiving an unprecedented amount of earned media impressions and recognition before, during, and following the festival through our agency’s aggressive marketing campaign,” added Romero

For more information on the Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest or for an updated list of scheduled artists performing visit the website at www.sunnyislesbeachjazz.com

For information on other events in Florida visit http://www.topeventsusa.com/state-events-florida.html