With his final novel, Time’s Orphan, officially launched this month, Niceville local award-winning author Hayley Reese Chow now offers the complete Odriel’s Heirs series, a fast-paced, young adult fantasy adventure. The Odriel’s Heirs series tells the story of a world in which the powers of fire, invisibility and healing are passed down to three Heirs to protect their land from a demon necromancer and his armies of undead. Spanning decades and generations, the Odriel’s Heirs series features three stand-alone novels connected by two bridge novellas to comprise a darkly epic saga across a new world both extraordinary and perilous. Walking in the footsteps of Sabriel, Graceling, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, Odriel’s Heirs features strong female protagonists, slow burn romance and high stakes fantasy in a new world of magic, monsters and the undead, where the lives of all depend on the strength of three. Hayley Reese Chow is an Air Force veteran, reservist, engineer, ex-ultramarathoner, retired fencer, mother of two and up-and-coming author, publishing seven books in the last three years. Her books have won the Florida Author Project, a Literary Titan Gold Award, a Book Reader’s Appreciation Group Medallion, and have been finalists in the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Awards and the Wishing Shelf Book Awards. For more information, visit hayleyreeschow.com. The post Local Author Bookshelf: Author Project Winner Launches Fantasy Series appeared first on Bay Life | News, Events and Community Information.   Read More

  By Margaret Morrison, Walton County Master Gardener Ah, springtime! When many have the desire to do something about getting into gardening. The thought of growing some food for your own table becomes a thought brought to mind from many prompts we see in newspaper articles about healthy eating, healthy living, and the importance of exercise and sunlight in our lives.* Community gardens are one venue to explore, especially when you may not have the space or the permission to plant your own garden plot. What you may not know is that an opportunity for you to join in this worthwhile adventure exists here in Walton County, ready and waiting for you. Cultivate Community Gardens was established as a Section 501(c)(3) organization in 2017. It was initially the dream of Tracy Whealy Miller, a Walton County resident coming here from a background making her well versed in the advantages of growing your own food. Tracy grew up in Iowa in a family dedicated to preserving and sharing seeds. Her parents went on to found the Seed Savers Exchange, a source of high- quality seeds well known and respected in gardening circles. What she realized is that many people would like to have an opportunity to work a plot to grow items that were personally known to be GMO-free, and grown to organic standards to benefit the health of their families. Having a garden plot perhaps would allow people to grow some types of special heirloom or culturally important foods for... Read More

  March was National Music in Our Schools Month (MIOS), a time to celebrate the importance of music education in our schools and to recognize the incredible dedication of our music teachers! This event was established by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) more than 30 years ago, and its goal is to raise awareness for the importance of music education for all children. This year’s theme is “music is all of us”, with an aim to highlight how music is everywhere in our lives and has a unique way of bringing us together and giving everyone a place to belong. You can find out more on their website: https://nafme.org/programs/miosm/ It is the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the amazing music teachers in our schools and their endless dedication to teaching music to our children. Over the years, our public schools have spent time and resources growing music programs including: music rooms, chorus, band programs in middle and high schools, purchasing of instruments and supplies, auditoriums, and forming a team of certified, encouraging, and enthusiastic music educators. We are especially thankful for our earlier music teachers who were the pioneers of music education and made sure that the children had the opportunity to learn, listen, and experience music. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them. One of the highlights of this month was National Marching Band Day on March 4th, which celebrates the “marching arts” like drum corps. Marching bands are a much-loved tradition, first appearing in the... Read More

  Last year, Cox Media gave over $1.6 million in cash and in-kind donations to Gulf Coast charities and non-profits with a primary focus on youth, education, diversity and conservation initiatives. Last November, Cox also presented the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast with a $20,000 grant to create a new Innovation Lab at the Pensacola Club. In addition to the annual corporate giving, Cox Charities, a grant program 100 percent funded by local Cox Gulf Coast employees, awarded approximately $25,000 to local non- profits and schools. In 2022, Gulf Coast employees awarded Innovation in Education Grants to Beulah Elementary School, Bob Sikes Elementary School, Escambia Westgate School, Exceptional Student Educational Department in Escambia County, Plew Elementary School, Shalimar Elementary School, Shoal River Middle School and West Florida High School. Emerald Coast Fitness Foundation, Lutheran Services of Florida, Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Northwest Florida Guardian ad Litem, Pensacola Little Theatre and the USO each received a Cox Charities Community Investment Grant. Along with the monetary support, employees served on over 50 local nonprofit boards and committees and volunteered over 1,500 hours to support community organizations. Finally, after a two-year move to virtual due to the pandemic, the 2022 Cox Inspirational Student Hero Awards Ceremonies were once again held in person in Escambia and Okaloosa counties. Cox turned the spotlight on a record 90 students that were chosen by their school due to their inspirational journeys. Whether it was overcoming a disability, tragic life event or... Read More

 04/16/2023 – 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm Seagrove Beach Seagrove Beach Seagrove Beach  Read More

 04/16/2023 – 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm Santa Rosa Beach 7525 W County Hwy 30A Santa Rosa Beach  Read More

 04/16/2023 – 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Santa Rosa Beach 7525 W County Hwy 30A Santa Rosa Beach  Read More