I am almost reticent to tell you all about this. I really wouldn’t want the whole world trying to move to Pensacola.
Yesterday the City once again shut down Palafox Place, the main street downtown, and threw yet another street party. This one is referred to as Gallery Night, and it’s done a number of times across the Spring and Summer seasons.
It’s not too much different from the street parties that go by other names. The year ends and begins with Pelican Drop, where a huge lighted Pelican drops from the sky to count down the seconds to the new year. Then comes a couple of preludes to Mardi Gras a couple of weeks prior to actual Fat Tuesday. Then comes Mardi Gras. After that Gallery Nights begin.
In the meantime, there is Jazz Fest in Seville Square, which also hosts Art in the Park a couple of weeks later. This is not to mention Bands on the Beach every Tuesday night, an event which we have yet to attend.
How much does all of this cost for admission, you ask. Zip, zero, zilch. It’s all FREE. You can spend some money while you are there if you want to, but you don’t have to. Chances are you will buy a little something: food, souvenirs, drinks, art, whatever, but even most of that is affordable.
While there are some things that are unique to each street party, there is a common thread running through them all — the uniqueness being the Pelican dropping on New Year’s; the floats and beads during the run up to, and the actual Mardi Gras celebration; and the celebration of mostly local artisans on Gallery Nights and Art in the Park. The common thread is the businesses of downtown pretty much stay open to serve you, most of them have hired musicians to entertain you, there are outside stages with live bands, the bars put up portable bars out in front for convenience sake, and street performances seemingly pop up out of nowhere.
Pretty and I have attended all but Bands on the Beach, and what stands out the most to my mind is, even though you can openly drink in the streets, we have not witnessed one police incident. That’s right. No fights, no hustlers, no nothing. People seem to know how to act here. Even the homeless panhandlers are polite and know how to take no for an answer without getting belligerent.
In conclusion, as all good wordsmiths like to say at the end of what they are saying, checkout what happens in Pensacola, but please don’t move here permanently. We wouldn’t want these street parties getting too big.
