Studer Community Institute

Foo Foo Festival brings fun to Pensacola

November 7, 2014
/ Mike Ensley
/ community-dashboard

The first Foo Foo Festival began this week in Pensacola, highlighting the arts, culture and entertainment in the community through eclectic events ranging from opera and painting to comic books and film. Foo Foo even includes the Blue Angels. But what exactly is a Foo Foo? “A Foo Foo was an impromptu musical group that came together on mid-19^th century sailing vessels to entertain the crew of the ship,” said David Bear, president of Art, Culture and Entertainment, Inc., the group overseeing the festival. “The committee was presented with a lot of names, but we just kept looking at each other and repeating ‘Foo Foo Festival.’ With Penscola’s maritime history, it was the name that stuck.” Bear said the idea for a showcase of Pensacola’s cultural scene had been percolating for years, but finally came to fruition when the idea of changing Pensacola’s off–season tourism marketing direction came forth. “The arts community in Pensacola does a great job marketing themselves, but we saw this as an opportunity to reach further in targeting cultural tourists,” Bear said. “These tourists are looking for things like world class opera and symphony, both of which Pensacola has in addition to many other cultural events.” Bear says that boosting the November tourist visits was a key goal of the festival. “These cultural tourists tend to come to several events and have a tendency to stay longer and spend more,” Bear said. Foo Foo Festival became the overarching event, but a wide variety of single events make up the festival itself. “We came up with a list of categories we wanted to be under our umbrella,” Bear said. “Everything from Arts to Military to Sci-Fi – we wanted many things of interest to fit.” The festival, using funds provided by the Escambia County Commission using money from local bed taxes, started a grant program to help augment existing events and create new ones that fit under that umbrella. “We asked groups to make presentations to our committee,” Bear said. More than $242,000 in grants were awarded to organizations to build events that could bring tourist dollars into the community. One such group was the Pensacola Civic Band, which received $7,960, which they used to bring in renowned trumpeter Alan Vizzutti. "Mr. Vizzutti has never been on the Gulf Coast to perform, so we were lucky to get him," said Don Snowden, director of the Civic Band. "While he is here, we are taking him to Tate High School to play and talk to their students, then on Friday, Nov. 14, we will hold a clinic with him at Pensacola State College for trumpet students from all over the South." Vizzutti will then play with the Civic Band on Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Saenger Theater. But the festival also welcomed events that did not receive funding to be a part. “We had other groups and events that missed the deadlines or did not meet the criteria for grants, but we still welcomed them to be a part of the overall festival,” Bear said. “If the events fit the categories and made sense, we wanted them to benefit by being a part.” Response to the event has been encouraging, but as a first year event, Bear says “the proof is in the pudding.” “We have done targeted marketing all around and we know that locals are definitely aware,” Bear said. The Foo Foo Festival is an important step forward for the arts community, according to Snowden. "The Foo Foo Fest showcases to our public and to the whole Southeastern United States, the vast depth of the arts that Pensacola has to offer," Snowden said. Foo Foo Festival hopes to be around spreading that message for years to come. “The plan is to continue,” Bear said. “We see this year as the initial branding of the event. We hope that people will have a great time and next year they will invite their family and friends to experience the Foo Foo Festival.” For the full schedule, visit the Foo Foo Fest website.

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Foo Foo Festival brings fun to Pensacola

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