2023 Grant Recipient Feature: Past Meets Present with Fiesta Pensacola
Date Posted: Aug 21, 2023
Fiesta Pensacola brings the city’s storied history to life for the 10th anniversary of Foo Foo Fest
For decades, Fiesta Pensacola has focused on one mission: to promote and celebrate Pensacola’s unique heritage and legacy as America’s First Settlement. Over the years, the nonprofit organization has done just that through a variety of events, including the annual Fiesta Celebration. This year, Fiesta Pensacola is bringing the party to Foo Foo Fest with a one-night event that will bring the city’s legendary history to life: Living Museum: A Trip through Pensacola’s History.
“We are so excited to be a part of Foo Foo Fest, an event that has become integral to our city, and especially as a grant recipient,” shares Nikki Fuqua, director of volunteers/grants coordinator for Fiesta Pensacola. “Foo Foo Fest has an incredible group of organizations that comprise the 12-day festival, and to have Fiesta Pensacola listed among them is truly special for us as an organization.”
Living Museum: A Trip through Pensacola’s History is an interactive experience that will feature a diverse group of people from Pensacola’s storied past. The experience will include special people across its entire existence, from today and all the way back to 1559 with the discovery of Pensacola by Don Tristan de Luna. “We want to bring attention to the people who made Pensacola what it is,” Nikki adds.
To bring Pensacola’s well-known sons and daughters to life, the organization will have actors dress in culturally -appropriate and time-period-accurate costumes and then act out scenes from the city’s past. The actors will also answer questions from visitors and provide insight into Pensacola’s shared history, making the stories come alive like never before. “Our inspiration was Night at the Museum, along with the idea of when you see students being assigned a president and they dress as that president and give facts about who they are portraying,” Nikki shares.
Organizers hope to include well-known people from Pensacola’s past such as Chappie James, Trader Jon, and OJ Semmes, along with other lesser-known residents who made a significant impact on the city.
Adding to the authenticity of Living Museum: A Trip through Pensacola’s History is that it will be hosted at the Pensacola Museum of History, a venue dedicated to celebrating the city’s history and is full of all sorts of artifacts, photographs, and exhibits to illustrate the uniqueness of it. “Our goal is to share Pensacola’s history in a really cool way,” Nikki says. “We think this is something that will really appeal to a lot of people, and it’s being performed in a way that makes it easy it take it all in at your own pace and enjoy before you go out to one of our great local restaurants for dinner or perhaps after.”
Living Museum: A Trip through Pensacola’s History is scheduled for November 9 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., at the Pensacola Museum of History. The event is free to the public. Make your plans now to attend! Click here to learn more.