Pensacola has a long and storied past, and on November 5, many of those stories will come to life.
As part of this year’s grant-funded Foo Foo Festival, Fiesta Pensacola will present Living Museum: Anchored in History at the Pensacola Museum of History, turning the museum into an interactive journey through 467 years of Pensacola’s past.
The idea for Living Museum grew out of Fiesta Pensacola’s annual heritage celebration, a summer tradition that culminates in a formal coronation ball. The event features a royal court in elaborate period costumes, with each member representing a different chapter in Pensacola’s history. “It’s a beautiful celebration, but it’s also a private one,” explains Bridget Middleton, executive director of Fiesta Pensacola. “We thought, ‘how can we bring this pageant, history, and beautiful costumes to the public?’ Living Museum was the answer.”
Now returning for its third Foo Foo Festival grand-funded event, Fiesta will bring that same spirit of historical pageantry into the Pensacola Museum of History. Rather than gathering the costumed characters all in one place, they’ll be stationed throughout the museum. Specifically, they will be stationed in the galleries connected to the eras and stories they represent. Visitors can walk through and encounter the historical figures along the way—all of whom will speak in character, tell their stories, and answer questions about the Pensacola they knew. “It’s part history lesson, part theater, and a good excuse to ask a stranger from the 18th century a question,” Middleton says.
And there’s plenty to ask about. Pensacola’s history stretches across centuries and cultures, beginning with the Indigenous peoples who lived here long before the city was established. The first floor of the museum follows the city’s founding and the arrival of the Spanish, French, and British.
At its center is an especially fitting piece for this year’s event: an actual anchor recovered from the bay from one of Don Tristán de Luna’s ships. The expedition arrived in 1559, only to have a hurricane sink much of the fleet soon afterwards. That anchor also inspired this year’s theme, Anchored in History.
The stories continue upstairs, where visitors may encounter Trader Jon, the legendary Pensacola bar owner whose establishment became a gathering place for aviators, or General Daniel “Chappie” James Jr., the Pensacola-born military leader who became the first black four-star general in the U.S. Air Force.
Other characters will bring to life the city’s port, industries, and everyday history. This year, the museum also has a new chapter to explore. The third floor is now home to Road to Revolution, an exhibit marking America’s 250th anniversary and examining Pensacola’s connection to the Revolutionary era.
There will also be a little more to experience before the museum doors even open. Fiesta is adding an outdoor reception beginning at 5:30 pm on the museum’s front steps, with Spanish music, tapas, and drinks. “The Spanish-inspired evening is a nod to one of the earliest chapters in Pensacola’s history, while also giving Fiesta room to explore other cultural eras in future years,” Middleton adds.
At 6 pm, the museum will open, and visitors are free to wander and explore. “There’s no single path through Pensacola’s history,” Middleton says. “You might start with the founding of the city, head upstairs to Trader Jon’s, stop to learn about Pensacola’s role in the Revolution, or find yourself in conversation with someone whose life intersected with a chapter of the city you never knew.”
Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for children and free for children 5 and under. Tickets are available through Fiesta Pensacola.
