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10th Anniversary Pensacola FooFoo Festival

2023 Events

Week in the Park, presented by Veterans Memorial Park Foundation

Nov. 4-11 (Details Vary, Visit Individual Event Pages)

Location: Multiple Locations (See Individual "Week in the Park" Event Pages) View Map

Tickets: FREE and Ticketed Event

Pensacola and Veterans Memorial Park will be showcasing and celebrating all that the park has to offer during a weeklong Veterans Day celebration!

Veterans Memorial Park is excited to partner with the 10th Anniversary of Foo Foo Fest to bring a week of fun, art, music, education, healing, and laughter to our community and visitors alike.

The Foo Foo Fest partnership allows Veterans Memorial Park and Pensacola to bring in our keynote speaker, provide an evening of comedy, and secure talented musical acts, along with providing support to help round out our other “Week in The Park” events.

The Foundation will also be coordinating and working with the Gulf Coast Veterans Advocacy Council for their Veterans Day Parade. Our Ceremony Keynote Speaker, Judge Bergosh will be the Grand Marshall again this year.

Week in the Park: Ticketed Events

Music in the Park with Veteran Band Black Bird Anthem & Josh Davis*

Visit the Individual Event Page Here for Tickets and More Information

The week will kick off with music in the park performed by Black Bird Anthem and Josh Davis. Multiple award-winning band Blackbird Anthem is on a mission to help revive original Southern rock music while giving back to the veteran community. Fronted by decorated combat veteran Adam C. Martin, the band creates a sound reminiscent of the age of vinyl where rock, country, and blues merge somewhere below the Mason-Dixon line. Based out of Florida and Texas, Blackbird Anthem plays across the country at festivals, veteran events, traditional venues, and more.

Outlaw Country Singer Josh Davis creates classic country music that takes the listener back to yesterday when the music was soulful and the lyrics real. His hard-hitting lyrics and baritone voice create a blend of country music not found often today. This is Country Music for The Soul, about real-life trauma and recovery. Josh currently has three releases The Other Side of Goodbye, Heartbeat, and Paw Paw’s Song. Josh is a singer-songwriter with a strong blues influence.

Comedy in the Park: Laughter is Good for the Soul*

Visit the Individual Event Page Here for Tickets and More Information

In collaboration with the University of West Florida, Veterans Memorial Park is proud to present “Laughter is Good for the Soul, an Evening in the Park with the GIs of Comedy.” This will definitely be an epic show on a Friday night in the Park! Leave the little ones at home and make dinner reservations for after the show. Come back in the morning for the Veterans Day Ceremony and bring the entire family.

Our Comedians for the Evening: The GIs of Comedy.

The GIs of Comedy is a comedic troupe of troops, who have taken their love of their country and brought it to the comedy stage. Quite simply, as the motto says, they’re Standup Comics. All Veterans. Still Serving Their Country. One Joke At A Time. Thom Tran, Jose Sarduy, and Tom Irwin are the Original GIs of Comedy. Since the team was created, nearly a dozen new members have joined the team from all different branches including the US Army, US Air Force, US Navy & US Marine Corps. All professional comedians trying to bring laughter to their brothers and sisters are still in uniform.

Their mission and goal is to help heal their fellow soldiers with their comedy, and to bring laughter to all those who have supported the people who wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces. The team has performed in nearly two dozen countries, over 30 continental states, and to THOUSANDS of fans.

Fundraising Dinner & Concert featuring Hall of Fame Singer-Songwriter Mac McAnally*

Visit the Individual Event Page Here for Tickets and More Information

After the grand day at the park, a fund-raising dinner will be held at the First Baptist Church of Pensacola in Chipley Hall with our special celebrity guest Mac McAnally. This special dinner concert for 300 music lovers and supporters of Veterans Memorial Park will be an evening to remember! The evening will include guest speakers, a silent and maybe not-so-silent fun-filled auction, fantastic dinner, followed by the concert featuring Mac McAnally!

We expect to be wrapped up by 9:30 p.m., with plenty of time to hit downtown Foo Foo Events and establishments to close out a fantastic Saturday in Pensacola.

About Mac McAnally

Inducted into the 2007 class of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, McAnally has also been recognized as the Country Music Association (CMA) Musician of the Year a record 10 times.

He notes that he typically sees three kinds of people at his shows: Those who have followed his career since his 1977 debut album; those who recognize him as the guitarist in Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band; and those who remember his notable credits in country music. The latter category is particularly impressive, with songs cut by Alabama (“Old Flame”), Kenny Chesney (“Back Where I Come From”), Sawyer Brown (“All These Years”), Shenandoah (“Two Dozen Roses”) and many others.

Turning conversations into songs is one of McAnally’s greatest gifts, one that led to his induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. Two of the songs from Once in a Lifetime come from that era. He co-wrote “Good Guys Win” for the 2006 film, Hoot, and felt like its optimistic tone needed to be heard in this divided time.

Week in the Park: FREE Events

Tours in the Park

Dog Awareness Day

Veterans Day Ceremony w/ Keynote Speaker Hon. Gary Bergosh

Veterans Day Parade

Week in the Park Sponsors in Addition to ACE:







Friends of Foo

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