Panama: ‘Trop rock,’ blues coming to Panama City Beach this fall Gulf Coast Jam Darryl Worley performs during the 2013 Gulf Coast Jam at Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach. Gulf Coast Jam is among the fall events tourism officials discussed recently, and new events were announced. PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC) is giving visitors a few more reasons to come back to the beach this fall. “Heading into fall 2014, there’s something fun to do just about every weekend,” said David Demarest, public relations manager for the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). “While fall weather is often the most enjoyable of the year, the season has traditionally been a slower time for tourism, which can make it hard on businesses and employers. That’s why Visit Panama City Beach has been working to market, support and produce fun fall events, giving visitors a reason to plan a vacation during the fall season.” The TDC recently announced the details for two new upcoming events at Aaron Bessant Park, including the Great American Blues Fest on Aug. 16-17 and the Chasin’ the Sun Music Festival on Sept. 12-14. The board approved a $425,000 increase for special events funding back in March for the inaugural events. The blues festival, organized by Pineapple Willy’s owner Bill Buskell and sponsored by the TDC, will feature two days of music from artists Jimmy Thackery, The Betty Fox Band, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Homemade Jamz Band and many more. The event also will feature The Great American BBQ Challenge, a cook-off between the country’s greatest names in barbeque. The TDC’s Chasin’ the Sun Music Festival will take a stab at another music genre well suited for the beach location. The three-day event will welcome well-known “Trop Rock” artists like the Peter Mayer Group (Mayer is Jimmy Buffett’s lead guitarist), Mac McAnally, and Jan and Dean’s Beach Party, a group featuring original Beach Boys members Al Jardine and David Marks. The events will join several others in Panama City Beach’s fall lineup, including Gulf Coast Jam, a three-day country music festival over Labor Day weekend, and the Pirates of the High Seas Festival over Columbus Day Weekend. During a meeting Thursday, the TDC reviewed results from a survey of event-goers at April’s Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City Beach. The survey of 172 attendees showed more than 95 percent were visiting from out of town.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 18:28:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015