If you’re a fan of the arts — whether visually, musically, or in the power of healing they radiate — and you live anywhere along the beach towns of Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Santa Rosa, and Escambia counties then you’re likely already familiar with Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation, along with the events and community outreach this organization has been bringing to Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast for almost three decades.
Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation has grown from humble beginnings to now being a champion of the arts in the community. Since its inception in 1995, MKAF has enlightened, empowered, and educated more than 400,000 children in more than 100 schools and partner agencies across Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast. Through its community education initiative, MKAF’s ArtsReach programs serve local K-12 students, at-risk youth, those with disabilities, and the local military population with both physical injuries and invisible traumas and hardships.
The upcoming MKAF Festival of the Arts helps support the foundation’s mission. Now in its 28th year, the festival will take place October 28-29. The festival brings in top-tier artists, in an array of media, from all over the country. This October the event will feature over 100 artists.
The Festival of the Arts also features live music, food trucks, beverages, comedian Jason Hedden as emcee for the festivities, and even a VIP Lounge Experience, along with an available cash bar featuring locally sourced craft beer and MKAF’s famous Bloody Mary bar.
This year’s festival will include a new edition, MKAF’s Arty Kick-off Party, which takes place Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. at Destin’s Henderson Beach Resort.
Stage Crafters performing scenes from the Broadway musical “Something Rotten,” along with local Gulf Coast artist, and MKAF Board Member, Maxine Orange, and her Splatter Studio.
Perhaps MKAF’s long-time Festival of the Arts Producer, Deb Nissley, best explains what makes the growing festival so special when she put it this way:
“This year, we enjoyed overwhelming interest and after the blind jury scored more than 200 applicants, we are proud to present more than 100 artists hailing from 17 states across the U.S. and Europe. The Festival of the Arts offers an opportunity to savor local cuisine, hear amazing live music, and see amazing original artwork and artists at work. To enrich this year’s Festival, we’ve added the Arty Kick-Off Party at Henderson Beach Resort (Friday, Oct. 27), added a VIP Lounge, an emcee for the weekend, and a fun immersive experience for kids with Maxine Orange’s Splatter Studio. There is literally something for everyone and we hope to see thousands of locals and tourists alike enjoying it.”