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GRANT RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED FOR PENSACOLA’S SEVENTH ANNUAL FOO FOO FESTIVAL

Top Scoring Recipients Pensacola Little Theatre, Pensacola Opera & Pensacola MESS Hall Among Others to Present Events at This November’s  Arts & Culture Celebration

Pensacola, Fla. (May 14, 2021) – Today, the Pensacola Foo Foo Festival Committee announced the public grant scoring for the seventh annual Foo Foo Festival, naming seven grant recipients and allocating more than $250,000 in grant funding for this November’s events. Following an impressive number of submissions, this year’s grant winners include Pensacola Little Theatre, Pensacola Opera, Pensacola MESS Hall, LGBTQ+ Stamped, Friends of Downtown, Gulf Coast Quilt Trail, and Jazz for Justice. The 2021 Foo Foo Festival will take place in Pensacola, Fla., from November 4-15, 2021.

The 2021 grant recipients will produce a series of events from the categories of live theatre, music, film, art, interactive game play, and more at this year’s cultural celebration. Those non-profit organizations who were not selected, and for-profit partners who are interested in participating, are encouraged to do so as “Friends of Foo,” receiving local, regional, and national visibility during the 12-day event via the festival’s regional marketing campaign. To apply as a Friend of Foo, please visit FooFooFest.com.

“We are looking forward to an incredible Foo Foo Fest for 2021,” said Maria Goldberg, Chair, Foo Foo Festival. “The grantees are an impressive group of organizations who have put together a series of stellar events which can be enjoyed throughout the festival.”

About Pensacola Little Theatre
Pensacola Little Theatre is a non-profit community theatre that has been providing diverse theatrical experiences in Northwest Florida since 1936. Pensacola Little Theatre presents programming such as musicals, comedies, dramas, and children’s shows; adult and youth classes in acting and other theatre skills; a variety of volunteer opportunities; and thrilling, mission-based fundraisers. Pensacola LittleTheatre plans to make the biggest, safest, and most dramatic statement at Foo Foo Festival 2021 with an outdoor, COVID-friendly projection series.

In partnership with the Pensacola Museum of Art and Ballet Pensacola, Pensacola Little Theatre will wow tourists and locals alike with a double-trouble projection bouncing back and forth between the Pensacola Museum of Art and Pensacola Little Theatre buildings to give audiences twice the bang for their artistic buck – with live performances, music, cocktails, and beyond to make culture come alive in Downtown Pensacola.

About Pensacola Opera
The mission of Pensacola Opera is to enrich the culture of Northwest Florida by producing professional opera performances, educational programs, and other opera-related community events for people of all ages, interests, and backgrounds. This year, Pensacola Opera will celebrate and honor community veterans by kickstarting the final weekend of the Foo Foo Festival with a free concert at the Hunter Amphitheatre. The free Veterans Day salute will feature four vocal soloists and the Pensacola Symphony performing patriotic selections along with members of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus, Pensacola Opera Chorus, the Choral Society of Pensacola, and University of West Florida music students.

About Pensacola MESS Hall
The mission of the Pensacola MESS Hall is to inspire curiosity, experimentation, and creative problem solving through exploration of math, engineering, science, and stuff while aspiring to attract and create a community of critical and creative thinkers of all ages who are inspired by and understand the basic principles of science. The Pensacola MESS Hall will present a pop-up Games Garden and other game-themed programming throughout the festival dates, engaging passersby and attendees in games of chance, physics, math, and more.

About LGBTQ+ Stamped Film Festival
Stamped Film Festival is dedicated to providing a vibrant cultural experience to Pensacola by using the unique expression of films with a specific focus on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community to foster awareness, inclusion, and diversity. The three-day film series taking place during the Foo Foo Festival will be a fun and educational experience for children and adults alike and will conclude with a family-friendly film day.

About Gulf Coast Quilt Trail 
Quilt Trails have become one of the largest grassroots public art movements in the country, and the first Quilt Trail in Florida started in 2013. There are now more than 8,000 painted Quilt Blocks in all 50 states, and in 2019 the Gulf Coast Quilt Trail debuted a temporary walkable Quilt Trail as a Friend of Foo. This year, the Gulf Coast Quilt Trail will introduce 30 new Quilt Blocks around Escambia County, providing a detailed informative map to explore all installations. Attendees will also be able to see a live Quilt Block painting demonstration or paint their own Quilt Blocks for their home or business.

About Friends of Downtown
The mission of Friends of Downtown is to enhance the district’s quality of life and economic success by creating a cleaner, safer, and more enjoyable environment. At this year’s Foo Foo Festival, Friends of Downtown will present “son et lumière,” a form of nighttime entertainment typically presented in outdoor venues of historic significance. A digital projection mapping of the old County Courthouse will allow visitors to witness a spectacular interactive mashup of technology and history, where scenes, people, and imagery from 200 years ago come to life.

About Jazz for Justice
Jazz for Justice is a premier annual jazz event benefiting the Legal Services of North Florida, a nonprofit organization that serves low-income individuals and families across the Florida panhandle by providing free civil legal help to eligible clients. In its fifth year with Foo Foo Festival, Jazz for Justice (JFJ) plans to expand its cultural and music offerings by bringing well-known musicians and local artists together for a unique jazz and blues festival in downtown Pensacola. This year will include elements such as photo booths and sketch artists to celebrate the Pensacola art community in addition to great jazz music.

More Information & Friends of Foo
Individual event details and additional partners will be added and announced on the Foo Foo Festival website in the coming months leading up to this fall’s festival. For a detailed festival FAQ, general information, continuing news, and general updates visit FooFooFest.com or follow Foo Foo Festival on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Video of Public Grant Scoring Meeting on May 14, 2021 (To Come Soon)

• Click Here To View May 14, 2021, Grant Scoring Meeting

Grant Scoresheet

• Click Here To Download the May 14, 2021, Public Grant Score Sheet

ABOUT FOO FOO FESTIVAL:

For more information on the 2021 Pensacola Foo Foo Festival, visit FooFooFest.com or follow Foo Foo Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT ART, CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT, INC. (ACE):  

ACE is a nonprofit organization that receives federal, State of Florida, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, corporate, foundation, and personal funds. ACE disperses these funds through an equitable granting process to nonprofit arts, culture, and entertainment organizations throughout Escambia County, Fla., and promotes Escambia County as an arts and cultural destination through the annual Foo Foo Festival and other marketing efforts. For more information about ACE, visit www.acepensacola.org.

ABOUT FOO FOO FESTIVAL COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS:

This year’s events will be held with COVID-safe procedures in mind. As Foo Foo Fest organizers work to finalize the plans and event layout for this November’s festivities, the team is taking all precautions possible to ensure that the health of its organizers and attendees will be kept top of mind, including the institution of COVID-safe protocols and enhancement of outdoor spaces to allow for social distancing. The Foo Foo Fest team will continue to monitor developments surrounding COVID-19 leading up to November’s events and will fully cooperate with any instructions heeded for Escambia County by local and state officials and the CDC.