Pensacola Beach Area Events

Two of Pensacola’s annual events celebrate the city as the Cradle of Naval Aviation. The Pensacola Beach Air Show, featuring the Blue Angels flight demonstration team, is held every July and always attracts a crowd. The Blue Angels Air Show, held in November, is the final air show of the season for the Angels, who spend much of the year traveling the nation with their precision jet performances.

Another yearly event, the Pensacola Crawfish Festival, celebrates the Creole influence on the area. It’s also one of the largest crawfish boils in the state and includes authentic bayou country entertainment.

Pensacola is also the site of what has become one of the country’s largest billfish tournaments. Hosted by the Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club, the Pensacola International Billfish Tournament generally attracts around 500 anglers.

The fruits of the sea are also the focus of the Pensacola Seafood Festival. Samples of seafood dishes, live entertainment, cooking demonstrations, and more than 150 arts and crafts vendors attract thousands to Seville Square, Fountain Park, and Bartram Park for this free event, which has been consistently recognized as one of the top 20 festivals in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society.

Probably one of the most unusual area events is held in nearby Perdido Key. The annual Mullet Toss takes place the last full weekend of April at the Flora-Bama Lounge. This quirky contest, which regularly attracts several thousand visitors, requires participants to throw a mullet from a designated spot in Florida across the state line to Alabama. In addition to the Mullet Toss, the weekend event includes plenty of music, food, drink, and other fun activities. It’s all in a good cause, too, because a contribution for each fish flung goes to local youth charities, and the event raises around $20,000 annually.

Other special events throughout the year include sailing regattas, sand-sculpting contests, concerts on the beach, and a Mardi Gras celebration.

Check out our calendar of events for an up-to-date list of what’s going on while you’re in town.