Saturday in the Park is a free community festival featuring artists, craftspeople, and live entertainment, including country, blues, jazz and ethnic music, a variety of cultural dance troupes, storytellers, children’s crafts, petting zoo, historical exhibits, traditional trade demonstrations, museum tours, and food vendors. There will also be a Kid’s Country Corner, featuring old fashioned games & toys, bubble gum blowing, watermelon eating contests, folk art crafts and more!

The Panhandle Heritage 5K & Kids’ 1 Mile Fun Run will kick off the festival at 7 a.m. with a run around old Valparaiso. See the Heritage Museum’s website for registration information.

The Panhandle Pioneer Settlement is a living museum documenting rural life in Northwest Florida since the early 1800s. It is located in Sam Atkins Park, about 1 mile west of the intersection of Hwy 71 and Hwy 20. Follow Hwy 20 west out of Blountstown and look for the signs for Sam Atkins Park. Turn north at Lindy’s Fried Chicken (Silas Green Street) and follow the signs.

For more information, contact the Settlement at 850-674-2777 or go to www.ppmuseum.org.

Panhandle Pioneer Settlement will be having its annual Folk Life Days April 16th, 17th & 18th.

There will be demonstrations relating to homelife, including biscuit-making, soap-making, quilting, knitting, crocheting, and washing clothes. Other features relating to life on the farm include beekeeping, blacksmithing, woodcarving, making crackling, churning butter, and using a saw mill. There will be hayrides and music throughout the day. All cabins will be open and manned by volunteers. Admission is $3. For additional information and/or directions, call 850-674-2777 or visit www.ppmuseum.org.

Saturday, April 11
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The Florida Public Archaeology Network from Pensacola will be demonstrating the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) while examining the Fort Walton Temple Mound. GPR uses radar pulses to image items located below the surface. This non-destructive method is most often used in archaeology to map changes in materials, determine site density, find the boundaries of features and locate items of interest in areas where standard excavation techniques are impossible or impractical. Visitors will be able to watch these studies as they take place.

The Emerald Coast Archaeological Society will be conducting artifact sorting demonstrations, University of West Florida underwater archaeologists will be on hand to talk about the Side-Scan Sonar which is used to locate underwater anomalies, Eglin Cultural Resources Management Branch will discuss archaeological diversity located on Eglin Air Force Base, and other archaeological groups will have table displays and information. Visitors are invited to bring artifacts to be identified by the professionals.

This event is sponsored by the Fort Walton Beach Heritage Park & Cultural Center. For more information, contact the Florida Public Archaeology Network, 850-595-0050.

Activities will fill the grounds all day, including a pottery ground firing, wheel throwing, student competition, a children’s craft area, and gallery tours of the Indian Temple Mound Museum. Staff’s restaurant is providing seafood and beer with a portion of proceeds donated to the museum. The event is on rain or shine.

Heritage Park and Cultural Center is located at 139 Miracle Strip Parkway in historic downtown Fort Walton Beach.