NEWS RELEASE -- The second annual Kayak, BBQ and Blues Festival will feature kayak and paddleboard races, a barbeque cook-off, live blues music, fireworks and an all-day flyboarding demonstration.

The festival kicks off at 10 a.m. Sept. 6 at Galvez Landing in Perdido Key, with the “Battle of the Paddle.” Athletes in three classes —kayak solo, stand-up paddleboard and kayak tandem— will compete for more than $5,000 in cash on the three race courses. The top three competitors in each class will receive prizes.

Cost for registration in advance is $20 for the two-mile course and $40 for the four-mile course— $5 less for those who register in advance of the festival.Perdido Paddleboard Company and Pensacola Kayak and Sail will offer discounted paddleboard and kayak rentals at the race location, and military personnel will receive a 25 percent discount.

After the race, the festival will continue at Hub Stacey’s at the Point, with a bbq cook-off, food and craft vendors and live blues music all day long. Musicians scheduled to perform include regional favorites The Band Wagon, Cat Rhodes, Jay Williams Band and Johnny Barbato and the Lucky Doggs.

The performances will be followed by an unforgettable waterfront fireworks display. Pyrotecnico, the company behind such spectacular productions as the Orange Bowl and Colonial Williamsburg Grand Illumination, will produce the fireworks show.

Flyboarding has taken the watersports world by storm since 2011, when it was developed in France. Participants use a jet ski to push water through a hose and out the base of a device strapped to the Flyboarder's feet, allowing them to fly through the air like a superhero or dive underwater like a dolphin.

Registration forms, course maps and more can be found at www.visitperdido.com.

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