The Beach is Calling

May is the Month for Music on the Gulf Coast

No matter what month you visit Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Ala., there’s no shortage of live music. From mellow beach tunes to classic country and smooth rock n roll, the Gulf Coast has more than its share of great bands and musicians ready to rock out on any day or night of the week. But, if your trip to the coast happens to be in May, there are two annual events you may want to put on your itinerary.

The annual Hangout Music Fest is slated May 18 to 20 and will boast three days of music right on the sugar-white sand beaches of Gulf Shores. More than 60 bands are set to hit multiple stages with headliners like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band and Jack White. While general admission tickets are sold out, a few VIP and Super VIP festival passes remain. Festival lodging partners are also offering tickets with accommodations while supplies last. The festival opens at 11 a.m. and ends at 11 p.m., nightly.

If you’re in Gulf Shores Memorial Day weekend (May 26 and 27), don’t miss the annual LuluPalooza Weekend Music Fest. In its eighth year, the family-friendly, two-day event features free concerts by Eric Lindell, Honey Island Swamp Band, Dread Clampitt, Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars and more. Held at Lulu’s at Homeport Marina, there will be plenty of music, activities and great food for the young and young at heart. Music starts at 4 p.m., but you’ll want to arrive early and treat yourself to some of Lulu’s famous LA Caviar or a Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Not in the area on these dates? Don’t fret. If there’s one thing you can count on during your vacation to the Gulf Coast, it’s a steady lineup of live music. Take a peek at the Calendar of Events to get plan your itinerary.

Throw a Few Fish at the Annual Mullet Toss and Beach Party

If you’re looking for a little something different to do on your next visit to the Gulf Coast, head down to the Flora-Bama Lounge and Oyster Bar April 27 to 29, 2012 for a competition all its own. In its 28^th year, the annual “Mullet Toss and Gulf Coast’s Greatest Beach Party” will hit the sand for a weekend of friendly competition and live entertainment.

Located on the Alabama/Florida state line, the star attraction consists of competitors throwing a mullet from Alabama across the state line into Florida. More than two decades of games have proven that tossing a slippery, wet fish more than just a few feet can be a difficult, yet entertaining task, and champions come back year after year to defend their title. The children’s toss will begin at 10 a.m. daily and the adults toss is at noon. Admission is $10 for ages 21 and older and $15 for those under 21.

The weekend of events doesn’t stop with the fish toss. Throughout the three days, there will be three stages of live music, beach games and great food.  The annual event is a fundraiser by the Flora-Bama for local youth charities, including an education and prevention program by the Community Drug and Alcohol Council. Each year, the event generates more than $20,000 in donations.

If tossing mullet isn’t for you, there are plenty of other activities in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. From charter fishing to shopping or just simply relaxing on the beach, come on down and enjoy what the Gulf Coast has to offer you.

From toddlers to teens, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach has something for everyone

Teens and toddlers don’t always mix well when traveling, and age differences can sometimes be a challenge. However, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach boasts activities that appeal to the young, younger and the young at heart.

Crabbing on the beach at night is a fun activity for all ages. Grab a couple of flashlights, sand shovels and buckets and head out just after dark. Sand crabs are pretty fast, so you’ll have to move quickly. After a wave breaks, shine your light and you’ll see them scurry across the sand, burying themselves. Break out the shovel and start digging. Once your crab-hunting adventure is over, be sure to release them back to the water.

Head out to The Wharf and take a ride on the tallest Ferris wheel in the Southeast. Your teen doesn’t have to lose cool points with his or her friends by riding with you and the family. They can catch a ride on the cart before or after you. For $4 per person, the Ferris wheel is a great way to get a bird’s eye view of the Gulf Coast.

Everyone loves the excitement of spotting dolphins, so while you’re here be sure to take the family on one of the many dolphin cruises available. Your youngest traveler will laugh with delight at the sight of the friendly creatures, and your teen will enjoy the sunshine, boating experience and fun atmosphere.

You can never go wrong with the area’s selection of family-friendly restaurants. Lunch or dinner at these establishments is truly an event. At The Hangout, you’ll find live music and an interactive DJ experience that appeals to all ages in the family. Do the limbo and learn the Cupid Shuffle while you wait on your order. Get a table by the sand, and watch your younger traveler play on the giant sand hill. Take a trip to Lulu’s and listen to the tunes of local musicians while your teen shows their skills on the ‘Mountain of Youth’ ropes course. Your little ones will love the sand area, furnished with buckets and shovels.

There’s no shortage of things to do when you visit Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Be sure to check out the area’s other attractions to help plan your trip.

 

Spring Break is in Full Swing!

Every year around this time, we are blessed to have visitors from around the country who appreciate our beautiful beaches, and our rich culture of great food, excellent live music and abundant good times. We are glad to have you with us and want your visit here to be one you want to relive year after year.

To make sure you get the most out of your visit, take a look at our 10 steps to a perfect beach vacation.

1. Get out on the water. Regardless of your level of seaworthiness, find a charter boat or dolphin tour and enjoy some time at sea.
2. Get up early at least once. Or maybe that means staying up, but watch the sunrise. Few things will be as memorable for you as the serenity of the sun coming across the waves early in the morning. Since you’re up, you might even want to get in a round of golf at one of the many courses in the area.
3. Splurge on a really good meal. We have many excellent local restaurants with the freshest seafood you can imagine. It is well worth the indulgence to fully take advantage while you are here.
4. Go local. Get a good healthy dose of Southern hospitality by patronizing independent local businesses. We are glad to see you and want to let you know.
5. Use our app. GulfBeaches, available on iPhone or Android, provides all kinds of timely, helpful information including weather, events, meetups, activities and specials around town.
6. Post pictures online. We have no doubt that your remembered your camera or smartphone, but post at least some of your pictures online right away so that if anything should happen to your devices, you still have a record of your time here.
7. Wear sunscreen. Seriously folks, you have probably been mostly out of the sun for several winter months. Be kind to your skin and don’t try to get a deep dark tan all at once. Your travel enjoyment is substantially diminished when your entire body blisters – not to mention the health risks.
8. Drink water. It may feel balmy and delightful on the beach, but you are still depleting your system of water. Dehydration can cause all kinds of nasty problems ranging from headaches to hospitalization, so be prepared.
9. Use baby powder when you get off the beach. Do you hate that sandy feeling you get after being at the beach all day? Dust yourself off with baby powder to feel normal again.
10. Remember your shades. Protect your eyes at the beach and look good doing it. In fact, get yourself a pair of sunglasses your really like and rock them the whole time you’re here.

 

Eat Your Way Across the Coast

As we get close to Spring, festivals crop up all over the place offering samples of our amazing Southern coastal cuisine. If you are visiting at the right time, be sure to indulge in one of these local favorites.

March 16 – 18      60th Annual Arts & Crafts Festival of Fairhope

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Over 230 fine arts & crafts exhibitors.  Live local entertainment.  Unique festival food.  BRATS shuttle service from shopping centers at Greeno Rd. & Fairhope Ave. for $2 each way (3 minute ride).  This an Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce event.

March 17      4th Annual BBQ & Blues Cook Off, Foley

10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Located in Heritage Park in downtown Foley from 10am - 6pm. Live music and BBQ tastings! This is a ticketed event. For more information please call 251-943-3291 or visit www.sbchamberfoundation.com.

March 31        The Original German Sausage Festival – Elberta, Georgia

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

The best German Sausage you have ever tasted! Made from a secret recipe developed by the founding fathers of Elberta, AL. This is the only place you can get the real thing! Arts & crafts, live music, carnival rides, baked goods & more. Don't forget to visit the Bier Garten for a large selection of imported beers. Phone: 251-986-5805, Website: http://sausagefest.elbertafire.com

March 31      American Red Cross Gumbo Cook-Off in Bienville Square, Mobile, AL

11:00 am - 2:00pm

$10.00 each in advance, $12.00 at the gate, Kids 10 and under get in free. The competition includes seafood and chicken/sausage categories with amateur and professional divisions.  Call  251.544.6140 or visit facebook.com/redcrossalcoast. Proceeds benefit the Alabama Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross.

 

Family Fun in March

As the temperatures start to rise and the flowers start to bloom, we have plenty of fun ways for families to enjoy the outdoors.

Appreciate Art

The Orange Beach Festival of Art takes place March 10 & 11 with more than 90 artists participating. The festival, located at the Orange Beach Art Center, offers a Kids Art Alley  where children have the opportunity to make their own works of art in a variety of media including pottery, forged iron, and origami. Festival admission is $1 for people 12 and older.

Witness History

If want your to kids like history, take a drive north of Mobile to Fort Mims, March 16 -18 to witness the re-enactment of the “Bashi Creek Ambush”.  Throughout the day you can hear cannons fired and tour living history encampments that demonstrate craftsman skill necessary to the frontier. The University of South Alabama has an active archeological site and guides discuss heirloom and medicinal plants.  For more information, click here.

Take a Walk

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge offers free guided nature tours each week – Tuesdays and Wednesdays  at 9:00 a.m. and Thursdays at 8:00 a.m. Each tour will consist of a 1-2 hour walk. Come and learn about the plants, ecology, history, and wildlife found on the refuge. Reservations are required. Tours are limited to 12 people and 24 hour cancellation notice is requested.  To make a reservation click here.

Tap Your Toes

For a nostalgic but energetic look at American musical heritage, consider taking the kids to Bluegrass Tuesdays at Johnny’s Lakeside RV Resort in Foley. Every Tuesday evening the venue presents Bluegrass bands from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Children 12 and under are free, adults pay $8 admission. For more information click here.

Eat Up

The Original German Sausage Festival in Elberta is a crowd-pleaser every year. The event takes place on March 31 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm offering continuous entertainment for adults and children, and 250 arts & crafts booths. Admission is free and come early because they usually sell out of the 7,000 pounds of sausage they have to sell by 3:00 pm. For details, click here.

Enjoy a Thrill

In March, the Blue Angels start their practice schedule at the Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola. They practice their program of daring stunts most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and sometimes Thursdays, but if you go on Wednesdays, your youngsters can meet the pilots and get autographs. They are currently scheduled to practice on the 21^st and 28^thbut it’s a good idea to call ahead to confirm as practices may be cancelled without notice. For more information, call (853) 452-3604 or visit the museum's website.

 

 

Red Hot Chili Peppers and The 2012 Hang Loose Band Competition

The Hangout Music Festival officially added Grammy award-winning alternative music super stars, Red Hot Chili Peppers to the 2012 line up last week. Dave Matthews Band and Jack White round out the list of headliners.  For a complete line-up click here.

2012 Hang Loose Band Competition

If you dream of seeing your own band on the line-up of performers at this year’s 3-day event, you have a chance to make your dreams come true! This year, the festival, in conjunction with ReverbNation will host a contest called “The 2012 Hang Loose Band Competition” that will give one band the opportunity to join the stage with national talents.

To enter, click here to create a ReverbNation account and direct your fans to the profile you create.  Ten ReverbNation artists will be selected by Hangout Music Festival to have their song streaming on the Hangout website. Fans will then vote for the band they want to see at Hangout, may the best band win. If selected as a finalist, get your fans to vote you into Hangout’s 2012 artist line-up! Entry is free and runs through February 28th. Accepted genres include alternative, DJ, electronica, folk, hip hop, pop, R&B/soul, rock, Americana, dance, indie, jam, and rap.

Good luck!

 

The Hangout Music Festival 2012

Tickets went on sale Friday for this year’s event of the season, The Hangout Music Festival. Now in its third year, this massive three-day festival offers a beachside opportunity to hear some of the hottest musicians around. This year is no exception. The line-up, announced last week includes Dave Matthews Band and Jack White in the headliners tent along with, along with dance tent headliner Skrillex and the following:

More artists will be added – check here for updates. .

The 2012 Hangout Fest will offer even more room for amenities and the comfort of fans, with capacity capped at last year’s limit of 35,000 attendees per day, but with a considerable amount of new space added to the festival grounds. Hangout takes great effort in making sure that every concertgoer receives star treatment, and that VIPs are treated like royalty. All fans will enjoy a plethora of amenities including: Hammock Beach, a shaded area with art installations; the Sky-bar tower, offering 360-degree views of the festival; amusement rides; water stations with free refills for all guests; plus live comedy performances and a family-friendly kids’ stage at The Hangout club.

Gulf Shores offers a wide range of lodging options, from luxury to budget to family-friendly, many within walking or biking distance of the site – packages are available at www.hangoutmusicfest.com/info/lodging/. Travel package information is available at www.hangoutmusicfest.com/tickets/travel-packages/.

 

More Treasures at the Orange Beach Festival of Art, March 10 – 11

With hundreds of artists representing visual, literary, performance and culinary arts, visitors are sure to find more great treasures than they can carry. The real treasures, though, are the artists themselves. This festival is a great opportunity to find something unique that speaks to you and to be able to discuss it with the artist directly. Having that connection to a piece, makes it that much more special when you display it in your home.

Last week we addressed some of the remarkable artists visiting the area to share their craft. This week we want to highlight just a few more so you can see just how diverse and intriguing the roster of artists truly is.

Pottery - Larry Allen

Mr. Allen comes to the festival from Kentucky where he has been making magic with pottery since the 70s. His style brings together modern architectural symmetry with bold color and classic lines.  He says he has been inspired by a variety of events and cultures in his time. Mr. Allen’s specialty is a technique called Sgraffito. In Sgraffito (or sometimes spelled Scraffito) the Pottery Artist applies two layers of a contrasting colored slip (clay in a liquid form) to an unfired ceramic form. The artist then scratches or incises his design on the slip, which in turn exposes the lower layer slip color.

See his works on his Orange Beach Festival of Art Facebook page.

 

Music – Lisa Zanghi

Ms. Zanghi, a talented singer-songwriter, left this area in the early 90s to pursue a career in Nashville. Her influences include Bonnie Raitt, Carole King and Joni Mitchell. After honing her songwriting craft, she returned to the Gulf Coast area in 2005. Her performance at the festival promises to be emotionally powerful and a toe-tapping good time.

Learn more about her on her Orange Beach Festival of Art Facebook page.

Interactive Art – The Tannehill Forge School of Blacksmithing

The Tannehill Forge School of Blacksmithing will share its artisanship with festival-goers by allowing them to participate in creating rustic beauty during the festival. Children and adults get to join in the fun as molten metal is turned into sculptural design. This is a great opportunity for children especially to connect to the kinds of skills so essential to our forefathers.

Find out more about it on the Orange Beach Festival of Art Facebook page.

 

Orange Beach Festival of Art Comes to Town March 10 and 11

In colder climates Spring announces itself when the first delicate purple crocuses poke through the snow. In the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area we like to welcome Spring with an amazing display of visual, culinary, literary,  and performance art. The Orange Beach Festival of Art grows in popularity each year with more than 25,000 guests expected to attend in 2012.

The festival takes place at The Orange Beach Art Center’s campus and the adjoining Waterfront Park. Festival admission is only $1 for ages 12 and up. The Visual Arts includes 90 Artists from across the nation with live demonstrations of glass blowing, molten iron casting and raku pottery firing. The Culinary Arts brings the unique flavors of the Gulf Coast as local restaurateurs prepare specialties for festival guest. The Performing Arts includes two stages of non-stop music and entertainment with individual performers scattered about the Festival site. Even kids enjoy the festival with the wonderful Kids’ Art Alley offering amazing children’s art activities.

Rick Bragg

Native Alabaman Rick Bragg leads the slate of authors scheduled to speak during the festival. The Pulitzer-prize winning journalist is best known for his works of non-fiction that chronicle his life in Alabama. Mr. Bragg is the domestic correspondent to the New York Times Atlanta office and provides a monthly column for Southern Living Magazine.

Anansema Cultural Group – Ghana

We are particularly pleased this year to welcome the Anansema Cultural Group from Accra, Ghana who is visiting as part of a cultural grant provided by their country. They will perform original tribal dance as well as teach drum making and carving. They will remain here for a week to provide cultural exchange to groups and students in the area. We are fortunate to have them visit from such a great distance and are honored to be included in their tour which includes London and Adelaide, Australia.

Carlyn Ray

Another must-see at this year’s festival is our guest glass artist, Carlyn Ray. She and resident glass artist, Sam Cornman will be continuously creating glass art at The Hot Shop throughout the festival. If you are visiting and would like to leave with a unique souvenir or gift for a friend, the glass-making facility at the Orange Beach Art Center is sure to please.

Parking

The festival is located at 26389 Canal Road in Orange Beach, but shuttles are available for $1 at the Orange Beach Publix, Orange Beach City Hall, The Wharf and the State Park Pavilion.

For more information about the festival and for a complete list of artists, visit the Orange Beach Festival of Art website or call (251) 981-2787.