Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach is a one-of-a-kind projection art festival where artists from across the globe use the latest digital technologies to project their original works onto the iconic white walls of Alys Beach, and it returns for its 16th Sometimes referred to as “Photon Bombing,” “Guerilla Projection” or “Urban Projection,” underground artists around the globe 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 at Alys Beach is a festival geared towards bringing these artists together in one place to celebrate and showcase their unique talents.   Each year, the festival attracts digital artists, filmmakers, musicians, interactive designers, photographers, VJs, producers, celebrities, agency executives and fans of art, technology and architecture. Thousands of dollars in cash prizes are awarded to artists, with digital submissions being received from as far away as Israel, Austria, Canada, Germany, London, India, France, Italy and China. Staged against the elegant white walls of Alys Beach, Digital Graffiti provides a large-scale blank canvas for artists to explore the visual intersection of art and architecture. The engagement between the art, architecture, and audience is transformative, creating an immersive and interactive art projection experience that is entirely unique to the Digital Graffiti festival, named as one of the top “24 Unconventional Art Destinations Around the World” by National Geographic. Artists, designers, photographers, and architects are invited to submit their artwork to be projected... Read More

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  The Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department (TDD) Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism continues to focus their efforts on ecotourism with the deployment of the research vessel R/V MANTA. This expansion supports a long-term vision of continuing to grow as a sought-after destination for those seeking premier fishing and diving opportunities. The deployment of R/V MANTA took place approximately 16 nautical miles offshore on January 15, 2023. The sister ship, R/V DOLPHIN is set to deploy in the weeks ahead. This important milestone for the artificial reef expansion project was fully funded by the TDD, inclusive of the purchase of both vessels. Under the direct oversight of the Coastal Resource team, Tri-Native Contractors performed the extensive cleaning and preparation to eliminate environmental impacts and transported the ships from Lafite, LA to Orange Beach, AL. The vessel was then moved from Orange Beach to the deployment location offshore Destin-Fort Walton Beach by Walter Marine. “This is an exciting new addition to our growing artificial reef system, and we are extremely proud of the work the Coastal Resource team has done with this effort,” says Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners Chairman Trey Goodwin. “Not only will it offer additional fishing and diving opportunities, but it will continue to sustain vital ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.” R/V MANTA was deployed in approximately 110 feet of water (N 30° 8.630’ W 86° 39.192’). It features a statue of Jesus known as the “Christ of the Gulf,” paying homage to the series of other statues... Read More

  Okaloosa County’s Coastal Resource Team with Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism recently initiated and assisted a team of researchers in identifying and tagging devil rays in the Gulf of Mexico. While installing three miles of sand fencing on Okaloosa Island in 2021, members of the Coastal Resource team noticed a number of devil rays swimming close to the beach. The Coastal Resource Team’s curiosity into the migratory patterns of these rays prompted it to contact researchers from Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota. For 14 years, Mote Researchers have collected data on three pelagic ray species: spotted eagle rays, manta rays and devil rays. All three species are classified as “Endangered.” Understanding the migratory patterns of these rays is important for the conservation of the species. “Anything we can do to assist in the advancement of an endangered species in Northwest Florida is going to be a benefit for all of us,” said Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Trey Goodwin. “We are lucky to have a team of marine biologists in Okaloosa County’s Tourism Development Department that understands how important these rays are to the collective marine ecosystem.” In November, Mote researchers, along with the Okaloosa County Coastal Resource Team, found 17 rays and tagged seven with acoustic tags the size of a small battery. Tracking the movement of the rays will help determine why the rays migrate to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area in the fall and winter months. “It will be great to have some... Read More

  By Sean Dietrich She was trash. At least that’s how she was treated. She was found wandering a rural Mississippi highway. Beneath the stars. It was a wonder the girl hadn’t been hit. This was a busy highway. The kind with transfer trucks. The dog was walking in the center of the road. On the yellow line. Clearly there was something wrong with her. Animals don’t walk open highways. But the black-and-tan dog was moving by feel. Because she is blind. All she knew was that she liked open highway because the surface was smooth, and there were no obstructions. And when you’re blind, no obstructions is a good thing. She was a skeleton. Every rib visible. Every spinal disc showed. There were scars all over her, as though she’d been involved in a host of dog fights. A scar on her face. A scar on her chest. One behind her ear. On her side. Another on her right forelimb. Probably, she had been caged with other hunting dogs. The dogs were probably mistreated and hungry. Hunger makes dogs mean. Nobody knows how the blindness happened. But it didn’t take a rocket engineer to figure it out. “Someone hit this animal with a blunt object,” the veterinarian later said, choking back tears. “Someone beat this poor dog. Maybe with the butt of a rifle. Maybe with rebar.” People say that dogs use smell above all other senses. That’s a lie. A dog doesn’t use her sense of smell to... Read More

  The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA) and South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA) will reveal seven new sculpture designs chosen by jury for permanent exhibition in the fifth installation of the Underwater Museum of Art (UMA). The 2023 installation will include Quantum Reef by Chris Chubb (Tallahassee), Space Nest by Frank Henderson (Evanston, Ill.), Welcome Home by Zachery Long (Oklahoma City), Madam Nature by Andrew Luy (Huntsville, Ala.), Cetacean Remains by Pat Mclain (Stone Mountain, Ga.), One Tree by Ann Moeller Steverson (Huntsville, Ala.) and Opus by Allison Wickey (Santa Rosa Beach). Named in 2018 by TIME Magazine as one of 100 “World’s Greatest Places,” the UMA is presented as part of CAA’s Art In Public Spaces Program and augments SWARA’s mission of creating marine habitat and expanding fishery populations while providing enhanced creative, cultural, economic and educational opportunities for the benefit, education and enjoyment of residents, students and visitors in Walton County. UMA sculptures are deployed with SWARA’s existing USACOA and FDEP permitted artificial reef projects that includes nine nearshore reefs located within one nautical mile of the shore in approximately 58 feet of water. The 2023 installation will join the 34 sculptures previously deployed on a one-acre permit patch of seabed off Grayton Beach State Park, further expanding the nation’s first permanent underwater museum. Deployment of the 2023 UMA installation is slated for summer. Visit UMAFL.org for more information on the timeline and events surrounding UMA’s launch. Project and sculpture sponsorships are available. Please contact Gabby Callaway... Read More

  By Pastor Doug Stauffer I have taught Revelation several times and written several books on the subject. Starting in March, we will study the Book of Revelation verse-by-verse at 7 p.m. each Wednesday. Everyone is welcome to attend or watch online. High-Level Overview of Revelation Revelation 1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; Verse 19 offers an overview of the book of Revelation from John’s first-century perspective. It is a high-level – past, present, and future – viewpoint. PAST: The things which thou HAST SEEN PRESENT: The things WHICH ARE FUTURE: The things which SHALL BE HEREAFTER The simplified outline: Verse 19 first points to the things which “thou (John) hast seen,” with verse 20 pointing to what John already saw. Revelation chapters 2 and 3 chronicle what John saw. Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. The Past: John writes in verse 20 that he already saw the seven stars and seven golden candlesticks. He records what he saw in chapters 2 and 3, making these chapters already past. Verse 20 defines the candlesticks as the seven churches. It designates the seven stars. These stars are the seven angels of each of those seven churches. The first verse of each church... Read More