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  By Sean Dietrich It was our place. That’s what it was. I grew up in a little fishing village, nestled in the Florida Panhandle. This was long before the tattoo parlors, before the T-shirt shops, before Whole Foods and Bass Pro. Today our little town is not even a shadow of its former glory. On any given month, Destin is inundated with 8 million tourists wearing thong bikinis. And those are just the men. But once upon a time, we had Pepito’s. It was your quintessential Mexican dive restaurant. It was clean. The staff was friendly. They had ugly orange walls. The joint was always packed. They served good food. The chips were always hot. The salsa was fresh from an actual tin can. They had ice-cold Tecate. You could order a “King Burrito,” and you wouldn’t be hungry again for the next three or four presidential administrations. My first kiss happened outside Pepito’s. It was late. Her name was Teresa. She had red hair and she smelled like Head and Shoulders. Do people name their kids Teresa anymore? As a young man, all my friends went to Pepito’s because it was where you went. We spent entire evenings in those booths, discussing who we were going to grow up to become. For a few bucks, you could fill your belly on queso dip that would turn your bowels into stone. If you had enough cash left over, you could take in a movie across the street. Years later,... Read More

  The Seaside School, Inc. Launches Multi-Million Dollar Seacoast Collegiate High School Expansion Project with Northwest Florida State College The Seaside School, Inc., Florida’s oldest continuously operated public charter school and #1 combination public charter school in the state of Florida, announced today the launch of the Seacoast Collegiate High School (SCHS) Expansion Project in partnership with Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC). This multi-million-dollar expansion project will further expand the partnership between SCHS and NWFSC by providing a permanent home for SCHS at the South Walton Campus of NWFSC as well as developing a high school dual enrollment center for all students in Walton County. In addition, the new facility will include “The Accelerator” which will offer training, mentoring, and collaboration to new area businesses and entrepreneurs. “Walton County and the surrounding areas are currently experiencing rapid growth,” said Patrick McCarthy, Seaside School Foundation President. “We believe investing in the people of our community is needed and necessary now more than ever. By expanding this partnership between two historically successful institutions, we will make Walton County an even better place to live and thrive.”Currently, ninth and tenth grades at SCHS operate in five classrooms that are leased from NWFSC at the South Walton Campus. Students in eleventh and twelfth grades attend classes on the Niceville Campus of NWFSC. With this expansion project, The Seaside School, Inc. will be able to consolidate all high school students at the NWFSC South Walton Campus as well as expand the collegiate programs to more... Read More

  By Anna Fisher, Associate Artistic and Education Director Spring is here and summer is right around the corner at Emerald Coast Theatre Company (ECTC). I’ve already started humming along to all of my favorite Sound of Music songs in preparation for our May 5th-14th production. The hardest part for me is not humming along during the show! The excitement from our young cast members is palpable, not just for this production but for all of our upcoming summer camps as well. We’re excited too because that means a whole lot of energetic students dancing, singing, acting, and bringing life to our space. We love providing a place where students can participate in creative, team-based activities that don’t involve a screen. There are so many great skills that these kids build while having fun- like teamwork, literacy, confidence, communication, and voice and movement. Our summer camps start at age 5 (rising Kindergarteners) and go through 12th grade. We offer week-long mini player camps throughout the summer for our youngest students to act, dance, sing, and create art while learning how to put on a production. Our elementary aged children have their choice of singing and dancing in our week-long Camp Showtime camps, or show their spots in our two-week musical theatre camp 101 Dalmatians. We also offer the one week, non-musical camp for our elementary aged students Alice in Wonderland at three different locations including ECTC, Defuniak Springs, and Gulf Coast State College in Panama City. Our teens have a... Read More

  Experience Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach, a one-of-a-kind projection art festival where artists from throughout the world use the most recent digital technologies to project their original works onto the iconic white walls of Alys Beach.Sometimes referred to as “Photon Bombing,” “Guerilla Projection” or “Urban Projection,” underground artists have been using the latest design, animation and projection technologies for many years to cast dynamic images onto skyscrapers and other urban structures as a means of artistic expression. Digital Graffiti brings these artists together in one place to celebrate and showcase their unique talents on an amazing backdrop. Attracting digital artists, filmmakers, musicians, interactive designers, photographers, VJs, producers, celebrities, agency executives and fans of art, technology and architecture, digital submissions come from as far away as Israel, Austria, Canada, Germany, London, India, France, Italy and China. Thousands in cash prizes are awarded. Purchase tickets at www.digitalgraffiti.com. The post Explore the Magnificence of Digital Graffiti May 19-20 appeared first on Bay Life | News, Events and Community Information.   Read More