Community Archive

It was a beautiful day for a Mardi Gras Parade Feb. 22 on Navarre Beach. The sun was shining with temps in the 60s for the 39th annual Navarre Mardi Gras Parade last weekend. The theme this year was “Celebrating 100 Years of Navarre,” where floats took a trip down memory lane and reminisced on the last century of our beach town.

Night to Shine is a remarkable global celebration, centered on God’s love, with the mission to honor and value people with special needs. Local churches from all around the world host a prom on the same night for anyone living with disabilities, ages 14 and older. Started by the Tim Tebow Foundation, Night to Shine is free for all attendees, thanks to the generous donations of the community.

The Florida Department of Health and Students Working Against Tobacco, support the banning of not just cigarettes at public parks, but all tobacco use. At the county commission meeting Feb. 10, they shared why.

Potters gathered from across the Southeast in Holley Saturday, Feb. 8, for the 20th rendition of Woodstoke Pottery Festival. The annual event is held at Holley Hill Pottery and is organized by Gulf Coast Kiln Walk Society, a nonprofit promoting arts and culture in Santa Rosa County and throughout Northwest Florida.

Responding to emergency calls can be difficult when you have limited staff or resources. Fortunately for three Navarre area fire districts, they have each other to rely on.

Beginning five years ago, Holley Navarre Fire District, Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District and Midway Fire District formed the South Santa Rosa Fire Alliance to provide mutual aid and training for its firefighters.

Keeping Navarre and nearby waterways clean is a goal of many in the community. Tracy Glaze, the environmental project chair for the Santa Rosa Women’s Club, is one of those people. For the past couple of months, Navarre Park has been home to a five-foot-tall recycling receptacle with a large turtle sculpture affixed to the top of it. Nicknamed “Crush,” an ode to the turtle from the Disney movie “Finding Nemo,” the receptacle accepts aluminum cans only and has a can crusher attached to the side.

Early childhood is a time of immense importance in the development of children, physically and intellectually. According to the Harvard Center for the Developing Child, brain development occurs over time, from the bottom up, meaning the first few years of life are critical for creating a solid foundation.

A cacophony of celebration ignited inside Kayla Stanford’s fifth-grade classroom Tuesday, Feb. 4, as Santa Rosa District Schools Superintendent Dr. Karen Barber and others surprised Stanford with the announcement that she was District teacher of the year. The announcement came as happy news to teacher and students alike, although for different reasons.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., United Way of West Florida will be hosting a distribution for children’s coats at the Pensacola State College Century Campus in Building 1, 440 E. Hecker Road in Century. This event is open to Santa Rosa County residents.

Northwest Florida, with its coastlines, forests and serene sunsets, has become a haven for photographers.

While many photographers have made a business out of their photos, some do it as a hobby. Beatrix Booth, better known as “BeBe,” is one of the hobbyist photographers.