Community Calendar

The Gulf Coast Whale Festival brings environmental education and fun to Pensacola Beach on Saturday March 7. Educational exhibits and activities tell the story of Gulf whales and local marine life, and a puppet parade led by Birds of a Feather showcases the ecology of the Gulf. Sweet sounds will flow from the Casino Beach Pavilion with live music by Pensacola singer-songwriters, and the performance of Ode to the Rice’s Whale, written by Pensacola performer Bob Teague.

“Yes we have whales along the Gulf coast, and we’re excited to host the Gulf Coast Whale Festival to celebrate the whales and other natural riches of the Gulf of Mexico,” said Christian Wagley, Florida/Alabama Organizer at the nonprofit Healthy Gulf.
One of the organizations leading educational activities at the Festival is the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station, where students are continuing their years of work around Gulf marine life.

“My students are really excited to share our work on marine mammals, especially Rice’s whales,” says Charlene Mauro, director of the Center. “We’ll have an inflatable whale to visit, and hands-on activities to make it fun and informative.”
The Whale Festival comes at an exciting time for whale lovers on the Gulf coast, as the Rice’s whale was identified as a new species of whale just five years ago.

A Facebook event page is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1198419475446749/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7D

Space for vendors interested in sharing environmental and marine life education is available for free, but space is limited. For more information and to register for booth space, please email: gulfcoastwhale@gmail.com or register for booth space at the link here.

Questions: Contact Christian Wagley at gulfcoastwhale@gmail.com

Listen to authors read from their books, get an autographed copy, explore bookish gifts, and mingle with authors and book lovers at the third annual Books By the Bay Festival. Join in the haiku slam, listen to guest bestselling author Kyla Zhao, stroll among the author's tents, chat with writers on Author's Row, and visit with authors and publishers in two buildings. Bring the kids to enjoy children's activities and see performers on stage or come with your fellow readers for the Book Club Challenge, then lunch at the food trucks. Enjoy a day filled with books and bookish delights at our new location at Bayview Park, 2001 East Lloyd, Pensacola. A free event sponsored by Emerald Coast Writers.

We're hosting our Fourth Annual Homeschool Science Fair! Both competitive and non-competitive divisions are available for participation. Students ages 6 and up are invited to participate in the fair; students must be able to present their experiments on their own for our judges. This is an excellent opportunity for all homeschool students looking to explore the various STEM disciplines. Light refreshments provided. Find details on the fair, sample projects, judging tips, and more in the files below. Have questions? Email Harley at harley@ecscience.org.

Curious about becoming one of our Science Fair sponsors? Email kate@ecscience.org to discover the ways your business can help impact students interested in STEM in our region. As a small independent nonprofit, sponsoring organizations help make events like this possible for our museum and community.

$10 entry fee per student

WHEN
April 13, 2026
4:00-7:00 p.m.
Deadline to enter is April 1, 2025.

WHERE
Emerald Coast Science Center
31 Memorial Pkwy SW
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548

Celebrate Pride with Pensacola’s queer community! PensaPride will host it's sixth annual inclusive festival featuring an artists market, live entertainment, drag performances, local cuisine and more. All ages welcome.