This Fall is Thriving with Live
Entertainment in Panama City!

Kick off October at a two-day Oktoberfest themed extravaganza! This year's event will be held on Friday, October 6, from 6-10 PM and Saturday, October 7, from 1-6 PM. The fall festival will take place on the streets of Historic Downtown Panama City. Enjoy authentic German and seasonal craft beers, food vendors, live music, and other fun, themed entertainment.

The same weekend, Creative Con will be held at the Panama City Marina Civic Center on Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8. Creative Con is a family-friendly event featuring a star-studded guest list, including famous actors, producers and animators from some of the world's most popular movies and TV series.

Join the Panama City POPS Orchestra as they open their new season with an "Under the Sea" performance at the Marina Civic Center on Sunday, October 21, at 7:30 PM. Immerse yourself in Shostakovich's invigorating
Festive Overture, float on the The Moldau and drift away on The Blue Danube.

Discover more events by visiting our website.

Panama City - Where Strummin' Man Sets Sail

How many cities have you visited across America that boast a ukulele orchestra? Plan now to attend Panama City, Florida's Strummin' Man Festival for three full days of music, food and entertainment. On October 13-15, the Ukulele Orchestra of St. Andrews inaugural Strummin' Man Festival will be held on the Panama City Marina overlooking St. Andrews Bay. The festival will present concerts by some of the world's leading ukulele artists, including Lil' Rev, an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, and Taimane, whose expansive repertoire spans from Bach to Led Zepplin. International ukulele artists will lead workshops for enthusiasts of all talent levels - even curious neophytes who don't know a fret from a string - along with jam sessions, open-mic stages, a ukulele cruise, and a jazz brunch. This isn't an event to be missed!

National Oyster Shucking Grand
Champion Defends His Title!

Panama City native, Honor Allen, placed 13th in the 2017 International Oyster Opening in Galway, Ireland. Honor is the 2016 U.S. National Oyster Shucking Grand Champion and will be defending his title on October 21-22 at the 2017 U.S. National Oyster Shucking Championship in Maryland.

Honor Allen was born and raised in Panama City, Florida and has been shucking competitively for about 3 years. He got his start in oyster shucking when he was only 12 years-old by watching employees at Hunt's Oyster Bar, a local oyster bar in historic St. Andrews district. Now, Honor works at the same
restaurant where he shucks about 1,000 oysters a day. Stop in to wish him good luck and watch him in action while he displays the true mastery of his craft as he shucks fresh oysters from behind the bar.

Watch the Destination Panama City Oyster Trail video starring Panama City's Honor Allen!

Artists Laurette and Jeff Greenfield

Panama City's sparkling blue waters and breathtaking sunsets are the perfect inspiration for creativity. As a result, talented artists of all stripes and colors call Panama City home. Every month, we feature the handmade objects and inspiration of this creative core. This month, meet jewelry makers Laurette and Jeff Greenfield

Meet PC Artists Laurette and Jeff Greenfield

How long have you been doing this and how did you get started?
I have been creative all of my life through drawing, music, scrapbooking and now beading. I have been creating beaded jewelry for around eight years. I needed a creative outlet after my dad passed away. My mom shared my grandmother's beads with me and I instantly fell in love. Jeff has been creating wooden jewelry for about 5 years. He's been in the construction field for 30 years, which has given him a love for wood-working.

How did you learn the craft?
I found old magazines and books among my grandmother's stash displaying the different varieties of beads and techniques. Through these books, I taught myself different techniques, including weave beading and wire bending. Jeff was given a lathe as payment for a job and he started spinning wooden vessels then bracelets. He fell in love with how the exotic and domestic woods brought out their grains during the lathe process.

How has your work and technique evolved over time?
The books provided a lot of patterns, but I evolved my own style of creating by improving my materials, hand-picking beads, and always doing new research. I began beading to help me cope with emotional loss. Now, I create pendants, bracelets and earrings that assist others with their healing and losses.

At first, Jeff was spinning wooden bracelets on his lathe, but wanted to bring back cuff bracelets. After several tries of developing a cuff style that was sturdy enough with the grains, he found a design that worked and held up under pressure. His brother then showed him color pencil art. Together, they gathered children's colored pencils and adventured into the creative process experimenting with different materials to keep the colored pencils together and make them strong enough to create cuff bracelets until they had the perfect bracelet.

How do you source your materials?
We shop together when it comes to wood, pencils, or beads, at wood specialty stores and traveling bead shows. We like to handpick our wood and beads. Sometimes used pencils are donated to us.

Are you a native of the area, or did you relocate here?
Our family relocated here in January 2016 from Virginia. Living here in Panama City has been a huge change. The sun is always shining, which creates a much happier environment. I love the colors of the sky, with the big cotton ball fluffy clouds, and the white sandy dunes and beaches set against the aqua and emerald green waters. The atmosphere of artisans feeds my ambition to create.

The Destination Panama City Visitors Center is now open! Visit us at 1000 Beck Avenue for free local information.