Wow, what a fantastic weekend.  The Seabreeze Jazz Festival was clearly more packed this year than it has ever been.  Crowds extended past the perimeter sidewalk and “into the forest.”  With artists from Bryan Culberson, Euge Groove and Eric Darius, the weekend was rocking, smoothing, and grooving and could be heard from miles away.

I could write about this all day, but I’m gonna save my words (and your time reading) and go right to the awesome pictures we took.

For the third year in a row, Pier Park’s New Year’s Eve party was the largest on the beach.  With a family friendly atmosphere, tons of excellent live entertainment, 7,000 beach balls, loads of fireworks and a warm night, it’s no wonder this was the place to be.

Many of you remember last year’s beach ball drop blunder – this year, they used fabric nets and the deployment and drop of 7,000 inflatable beach balls fell without a hitch.  30 minutes before the drop, crowds began to gather below each net in anticipation.  And the crowds were thick.  I’ve never been a good estimator, but I’d say there was at least 15,000 people there new year’s eve night.

All in all, the crowd seemed tame, the entertainment was fantastic and most everyone had a great time.  Here are the pictures.

With a brief break in the frigid weather, this year’s Christmas Parade was as great as ever.  With thousands of attendees lining the route that weaved through Pier Park and float riders passing out buckets of candy and beads, Saturday evening was a joyous time for all.

Float participants ranged from local ROTC groups to the various news stations, The Shriners, High School bands, Panama City Beach Mayor Gayle Oberst, The Beach Mosquito Control and more.  The parade ended with an appearance from Jolly Old Saint Nick himself, Santa Clause.

The parade was organized by the local Optimist Club and has been an annual tradition for 30 years.

This year’s Emerald Coast Cruizin Event was a great as ever.  This weekend was full of interesting and beautiful cars and thousands of people out enjoying the shiny metal and wonderful weather.  I was talking to the event promoter this morning, and his head was still spinning from the whirlwind of activity over the weekend at Frank Brown Park.

1.) Thousands of show cars

This year’s attendance was consistent with years past with just under 2,400 registered show cars at the event.  “There were much more than that cruzin’ the streets of Panama City Beach,” remarked Robert “Rakes” Parrish, event promoter.  “There are tons of people that just bring their cars down to cruise around, that don’t enter the show.”

There were all types of cars, from classics restored to their like-new look and feel, to highly modified street-rod muscle, to rat-rods to highly polished new muscle cars.

2.) People in town from everywhere

Parrish reported that there were visitors from as close as across the bridge to as far away as California.  The three biggest states represented were Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana, but they had registered cars from Wisconsin, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Iowa just to name some of the more distant states. 

3.)  One guy bought 11 cars AND a hotel

Yea, you read that right.  There was a high-roller in town buying up all he liked and it was said when he was done buying cars at the auto auction, he went down the street and bought a hotel that was for sale as a foreclosure.  We’re still waiting for more information on this, but if anyone else knows anything about this, let us know in the comments!

This event brings a certain kind of person to our area, during a time when the weather is typically impeccable.  Many of the people that come down to this event fall in love with our area and return again during the tourism season.  There is no doubt this event is great for our area.

We were there on Saturday, here is a taste of some of the cars that were at the event.

Definitely smashing the turnout record number from last year, this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration at Pier Park far exceeded expectations for success.  Last year’s event was immense, but this year the added elements brought out crowds by the thousands.  All through the night, we were continually amazed by the shear numbers of people that were everywhere.

Tons of prizes were given out with lines at the Southwest Airlines tent at one time stretching almost right up to the front doors of The Grand (the tent location was in the “promo area” in front of Starbucks).  Speaking of lines, at one point, the line coming out of Starbucks stretched all the way to the street.  I did hear it remarked however that many were glad that more than just two were working this year.  I know that many shops and restaurants were much better prepared this year after experiencing the success of last year’s beach ball drop.

Most of the day at Pier Park on the 31st, there were decent crowds walking, shopping and eating at Pier Park.  The event started officially at 5:30 pm, but people found reason to hang anyway at arguably one of the most attractive gathering spots in Northwest Florida.  When 5:30 pm came, the parking lots began to fill and the closed streets  had people walking all over.

Last year, during the “Family Celebration” time, there was tons of activities for the kids.  This year was the same in that there were bounce houses, stilt walkers, balloon artists and a few great bands to listen to.  There was one huge difference in the way the “Family Celebration” time ended however in that there was a countdown, fireworks and 7,000 inflated Southwest Airlines beach balls were dropped on a gigantic crowd of people that literally filled the main street of Pier Park in the Boardwalk Area.

When 9 pm came around, the Family Celebration time was over and the “Countdown Celebration” began with a local band going on the big stage, called Nothing Short of Pure.  They combined a new age punk sound with a little Sublime to really light up the audience.  Those of you that were there know that the huge stage set up in the round about area was also the other large defining difference between this year and last.  Last year there were several smaller bands entertaining the crowds throughout the property, this year they had the same with the exception of a larger band playing on a huge stage with the performances being projected on huge screens on either side.

The “headline” act was Vertical Horizon, who had hits in the 90′s such as Everything You Want and You’re a God and were promoting a new album now called Burning the Days.  They put on a very energetic performance until the main countdown, then continued after the midnight fireworks calmed.

The midnight beach ball drop seemed to go off without a hitch in that the 800 lbs LED-lit Beach Ball was lowered in sync with the countdown to just above the tops of the palm trees that are arranged in the round about in front of The Grand Movie Theatre.  When the ball hit the palm leaves, the fireworks went off right on time.  Last year the time seemed just a little off, but this year the Pier Park team seemed to have everything in perfect sync.

All and all, the night was a huge success and tons of fun for Panama City Beach.  But the pictures speak so much louder than words for the event.

The title is obviously difficult to quantify, but as a lifelong resident of our great city, I can say without a doubt, that I’ve not experienced a better 4^th of July on this beach before.

All week long you sensed the buzz. On Thursday afternoon you felt it. By Friday morning rumblings became a full-on stampede, all leading up to a Saturday 4^th of July that, at least in one writer’s opinion, was Panama City Beach’s greatest Independence Day event ever.

It was a hot, very hot, but beautiful weekend perfect for beach lovers who showed up in droves. From end to end, Panama City Beach was packed with tourists. Hotels and Condos were sold out, restaurants stayed on waits, attractions were packed to the door and if you were brave enough to step foot into Walmart, you had no doubts as to the overwhelming surge of business.

The Veteran’s Memorial was rededicated at Pier Park where several Vets saluted the flag and prayed for soldiers currently protecting our country. Throughout the day there were concerts, contests and all sorts of food and fun to be had.

At sunset, the real show began. From Grand Lagoon down to Pier Park, Panama City Beach tourists and locals were witnesses to a stunning celebration. Night skies came to life, and Pier Park put on one of the most amazing fireworks displays I’ve ever seen. It was awesome.

I hope that this weekend’s events were not just benchmarks for future events, but a precursor to what Panama City Beach can expect in the years to come.

More pics and video to come soon.

On December 5, 2009 runners from across the Southeast will participate in the inaugural Run for the Redfish, a combined half marathon, 5k run and kids fun run will be held at Pier Park. A portion of the proceeds for event will benefit the Coast Conservation Association (CCA).

The run will begin at the Front Beach Road entrance to Pier Park and continue down Front Beach Road, looping back to end at Margaritaville. Margaritville will host the post race celebration and awards ceremony. Shotgun start to the race will be at 8am for the half marathon and 8:30am for the 5k. All runners of the half marathon and 5k will receive a Run for the Redfish long sleeve T-shirt as part of their participation.

Race committee member Joe Edgecombe said, “As an avid runner in Bay County, I’m excited to help bring a running event of this caliber to our area. The Run for the Redfish has all the bells and whistles; a certified course, professional timing, a professional race day photographer to capture the moment, and a venue that is above all the rest.  Panama City Beach, the Tourism Development Council, The Resort Collection, Pier Park, Margaritaville and a team of dedicated individuals have made this a destination event! The best location and the most ”bang for the bucks’ road race in the entire region!”

The Run for the Redfish is not only a new and exciting event for Panama City Beach, but will bring awareness to the Coastal Conservation Association who works to protect our unique waterways and coastlines which are the habitat of the Redfish.

Race sponsors include Redfish Riviera Outfitters, Pier Park, The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach, seepcb.com, the Bay County Tourist Development Council, Beach TV, and Maragritaville. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

For more information on the run or registration visit www.runfortheredfish.com. Runners can register for the race online or at local retailers; there will be no registration the day of the event. Registration forms and payment can be mailed to PO Box 9927 Panama City Beach, Fl 32417.

Over 85 people met at Ron Jon Surf Shop at Pier Park Sunday morning to help keep the beach clean. Both sides of the pier were cleaned — from Barefoot Beach Club to the Polynesian Village area — with dozens of bags of trash collected.

Dan Kirk, manager of Ron Jon Surf Shop, stated,  “It was a tremendous success. We doubled our attendance over last year. I’m very thankful to all the organizations and individuals who showed up.” Dan indicated that he was already looking forward to the event next year and hopes to make it even more successful.

Organizations who participated in the cleanup included Nike, Walmart, Beachbreak by the Sea, Bay Families with Dogs, United Way, Boys & Girls Club, KeeptheBeachClean.com and of course, Ron Jon Surf Shop. Starbucks donated the coffee and Walmart donated water.

A young lady from the Walmart team won the surf board (it was a great incentive to bring people out).  Those participants who did not win received nice goodie-bags with Ron Jon gifts inside including stickers and a Ron Jon “can coolie”.

It would be great to see one business sponsor a beach cleanup every weekend!  This is a very effective way for businesses to serve the community (real public relations) and market their brand at the same time.

Edited by Jason K: If you are a local business and you want to sponsor a beach cleanup, I will gladly do everything I can to help promote it.

This weekend, near perfect weather and the top skimmers from around the world converged on the beach behind Edgewater Beach Resort to compete in the 11th annual Zap Pro/Am Skim Jam contest. Onlookers in the hundreds, some enthusiasts of the sport, others just enjoying the extreme event, watched the likes of Morgan Just, Corbin Dull, Patrick Hunt, Anthony Cox, Derek Shenton and others shred ebbing surf up and down the beach. Efforts from Mr. Surf’s Surf Shop on Panama City Beach, Zap, Skim USA, Global Surf Industries, Surftech and others filled the beach with activities and free giveaways.

This year’s event had big expectations and boy did it live up to them. The skimming was absolutely amazing. Awesome rides were skimmed by several triggering gasps and waves of applause from those taking in the competition from the shore. Next to the event was the UCA cheer camp competition, which carried over, filling the beach with over 5,000 people.

Heats were broken into skill level and age. One of the highlights from the earlier brackets was Anna Prophet, a local female skimmer, who shredded lines all over the place making skim history advancing to the semi-pro finals of the competition and landing in the top 5. But for hundreds in attendance under the perfect weather conditions, the anticipation continued to grow awaiting the pro-level skimmers.

I was among those anxiously waiting and I have to say, there was no disappointment. Those guys are good—real good.

Here is the video Jason made from footage shot Friday.  He has tons more footage from Saturday’s event that will be published later in the week.

11th Annual Zap Pro/Am Skim Jam from Jason Koertge on Vimeo.

Corbin Dull, a local pro skimmer, won the Zap Pro/Am competition, blistering waves left and right. Other notables was another Panama City Beach local, Lance Richardson, who placed third overall and probably got the most air out of all the contestants.  Alex Hood placed fifth overall and had a stunning show. Other awesome performers included, John Ackerman, Blake Tyre and last years champion Mogan Just.

On top of all the great pro skimmers, lots of local amateur skimmers showed their stuff during the free skim. All over the beach, kids and adults of all ages had a blast skimming themselves crazy and watching one heck of a show.

Skimming the History:

I read up on the history of the sport and learned that Skimboarding dates back to the late 1920′s when lifeguards skimmed on pieces of wood. Evolution of the sports has skimboarding as one of the most high-tech water sports anywhere. The boards used by professional skimboarders are built using technology adapted from aerospace to attain maximum lightness, buoyancy, and rocker (which is the curve on the board from one end to the other). In fact, the board used by the average skimboarder is far more technologically advanced than that of the average surfer.

If you’re interested in learning more go here or stop by Mr. Surf’s Surf Shop where you can learn the basics and take a board out for a test run.

Edited: I have to give a shout out to our good buddy Arlene Froeming.  Thanks to her and her generosity in loaning me a sweet telephoto lens, we had the ability to produce some stunning close-ups.  She does some freelance photography and can be found here. – Jason

An amber sun sets on Panama City Beach and I watch two couples, vacationers from Mobile, Alabama, dance amid hundreds of others in the Seabreeze Jazz Festival attendance. It is their second day at the event and the energy from the first day hasn’t waned at all. Around them, vendor booths selling artwork, food, wine and music make a halo around the Pier Park’s outdoor amphitheater. Creamy jazz rhythms saturate the air. From where I stand, the couples are having a wonderful time, as is everyone else. Reluctant to interrupt their fun, I stopped and asked them what they thought about the festival. One of the husbands, still dancing, shouted back to me, “Ya’ll should do this kind of stuff more often. This is the most fun I’ve ever had in Panama City.”

Nick Colionne at the 2009 Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Pier Park Panama City Beach from Jason Koertge on Vimeo.

That was the scene at this weekend’s Seabreeze Jazz festival held at Pier Park. If you missed this it, you missed on heck of an event. The place was packed, the food was delicious and the music intoxicated everyone in the amphitheater. Hosted by internationally acclaimed jazz guitarist Nick Colionne, the event featured some of the most skilled jazz musicians in the world. The likes of Eric Darius, Boney James, Wayman Tisdale, Will Downing, Althea Rene, Warren Hill, Joyce Cooling and others hit Panama City Beach like a silk-covered bomb. From the start of the event until the end the music was just outstanding; without doubt the best you’ll ever hear live in one sitting. Singers, Guitarists, Saxophonists, Fluotists–you name it, they rocked it. The attendance was stratospheric; not an empty patch of grass anywhere. And best of all, the artists loved being on Panama City Beach.

“The Seabreeze Jazz Festival is at the top of my list because the people here are so receptive; they come out to hear the music,” said Nick Colionne, “The people here are beautiful, everyone has been so nice to all the artists.  I look forward to coming back next year.”

So the question remains, was the Seabreeze Jazz Festival a success? Well, that depends on the lens with which you view success. If you view success by sheer number of people, then the Seabreeze Jazz Festival was a smashing success. Pier Park had no parking, which is quite a statement being that Simon works hard on providing that service so close to the shore. People were everywhere; in the amphitheater, around the mall, in the streets—everywhere!

If you judge success by the festival’s economic impact, well, by that standard, the event was a success as well. I don’t know about you, but to me, the traffic on the beach felt awful “summer-y” as did the waits at restaurants and the lines in the shopping centers. Mind you, the Zap Pro Skim Jam and the UCA Cheerleading Camp aided in filling the beach, but the crowds seemed to stretch from one end of the beach to the other and that spells dollars for most the businesses on the beach.

So was this year’s Seabreeze Jazz Festival a success? Well, there’s one other way to view success. For me, the degree of the event’s success manifested itself in the two couples who danced on our beach until the stars came out. They decided on a vacation to Panama City Beach and, as the man said, it was the most fun they’ve ever had. That’s success.

Tip-of-the-hat to all the people involved in bringing the Seabreeze Jazz Festival to Panama City Beach. It was a blast. You guys did a great job.

I have to give a shout out to our good buddy Arlene Froeming.  Thanks to her and her generosity in loaning me a sweet telephoto lens, we had the ability to produce some stunning close-ups.  She does some freelance photography and can be found here.