Enjoy a Mardi Gras show featuring green, gold and purple fireworks

Look for lots of purple, gold and green in the fireworks Feb. 9 as part of the Mardi Gras celebration sponsored by the Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center.

“We’re going to have as much Mardi Gras color as we can,” said Lori Crace, the Perdido Key Chamber’s events coordinator.

To give all spectators a great view, the fireworks will be shot from an uninhabited island in the Intracoastal Waterway. It's sure to be an amazing show, the company providing the fireworks, Pyrotecnico, has been in business more than 100 years and has done fireworks shows for major events like the Super Bowl and the Orange Bowl!

The fireworks are only part of Perdido Key’s efforts to have a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras event. The "Magic of Mardi Gras" boat parade will kick off the festival at noon. The Mardi Gras activities will be based at Hub Stacy’s at the Point, overlooking Galvez Landing.

The fireworks, at 8 p.m., will conclude a day that features live music, a Cajun cook-off and other activities. Entrants will be motivated to go all out; the winner of the boat parade wins $500, and winners of the cook-off will receive $250 apiece for the judge’s choice and $250 for the people’s choice.

Hope you enjoy the festival and the fireworks show!

Celebrate Mardi Gras a little different this year by spending it on the emerald coast at the Perdido Key Mardi Gras Festival, for an island-style twist to the season. Stay on the Key and earn up to $300 in American Express Gift Cards when you register your stay by Jan. 13, book your stay within 3 days of registration, and redeem your stay before Mar. 16, 2013. Prepare yourself for Cajun food, live music by the Sam Glass Band, Johnny Barbato and the Lucky Doggs and headliner JJ Callier and the Zydeco Knockouts, a boat parade and spectacular fireworks display.

Festivities begin with the 'Magic of Mardi Gras' boat parade at noon; the best-decorated boat wins a $500 prize. A Cajun cook-off, starting at 2pm, will be a showdown among talented chefs competing for People's Choice and Judge's Choice awards; winner in each category will receive $250 prize. Tickets will be available for purchase to sample the culinary creations. Let the Good Times Roll!

Climb on board or simply gaze from the shoreline to experience the Pirates of Lost Treasure’s 19th Annual Pirate Flotilla Parade as it invades the Intracoastal Waterway on Sat., Jan. 19. Anchor off your weekend by earning up to $300 in American Express Gift Cards in buried treasure when you register your stay on the Key by Jan. 13, book your stay within 3 days of registration, and redeem your stay before Mar. 16, 2013.

Journey with the armada as it sets sail from Holiday Harbor Marina at 10:45AM, ransacks Sunset Grill, steers to the Oyster Bar, loots Perdido Bay Seafood, raids Galvez Landing, navigates through Old River, and beaches the shores of the famous Flora-Bama line. Collect tossed beads along this voyage and walk the plank into Flora-Bama Lounge where you can join fellow mates, lads, buccaneers, and seadogs as they feast on Red Beans & Rice and listen to live music beginning at 1:30PM, followed by pirate booty awards at 2:30PM. Pirate ship registration fees are only $25 per vessel. Call 850-380-0031 for more information and to request a Registration Form via email, fax or mail. You may also register the night before the event on Fri., Jan. 18, at the event’s Kick-Off Party at 6:00PM, located at the Reef.

Join Perdido Key as we salute 2012 and celebrate the arrival of 2013!

Stay on the Key and earn up to $300 in American Express gift cards when you book a stay by Jan. 16 and stay before Mar. 16, 2013.

Ready-Set-Go! The celebration starts with the 25^th Annual Make It To The Line Run (4-Mile Run/Walk or 1-Mile Fun Run), starting at 10:00AM on Saturday, Dec. 29., at the Flora-Bama Lounge. Be sure to bring your Perdido Key Lodging receipt to enter into a drawing for a chance to win 1 of 40 BP Gas Cards, a little boost in your wallet to help with your travels back home.

Relax your tired racing feet on the sandy Perdido Beaches on Sunday, because you're going to need your party shoes on Monday, Dec. 31, for all the New Year's Eve festivities.

Start your night at Flora-Bama Lounge's New Year's Eve Bash beginning at 7:00PM. Musical acts include, Rusty Tabor & Kevin Denney, Lea Anne Creswell & Rick Whaley, Newbury Syndicate Trio, Jack Robertson (Big Earl) Show, Troy Brannon, Shauna P & Earth Funk Tribe and Cornbred. Click Here to order Advanced Tickets $40 (Great Dinner Buffet, Souvenir Huggie, Party Favors, Champagne, Breakfast). Click Here to order VIP Tickets $100 (Unlimited Champagne, Souvenir Huggie, Souvenir T-Shirt, Party Favors, Scrumptious Deluxe Buffet).

Next stop - Downtown Pensacola. Leave the driving to us and take a FREE trolley to Pensacola's downtown epicenter for the city's famous Pelican Drop at midnight. Enjoy live music from six bands, a fireworks display and other fun activities. Two trolleys leaving Perdido Key will run from 5:30PM until 7:45PM. Stops include Eden Condominiums (5:30PM, 7:00PM), Perdido Key Visitors Center (5:45PM, 7:15PM), Villagio Shopping Center (6:00PM, 7:30PM) and Publix (6:15PM, 7:45PM). Return trips will depart from Downtown Pensacola at Jackson's Steakhouse (10:00PM, 1:00AM).

End your New Year's extravaganza back at the Flora-Bama Lounge on Tuesday, Jan. 1, with the Polar Bear Dip at high noon, when hundreds plunge into the Gulf of Mexico, which always makes for a great start to the new year.

Head to Perdido Key to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list…and earn up to $200 in American Express gift cards for yourself when you book a stay by Dec. 15 and stay before Jan. 6, 2013. Within the Key’s many unique galleries and shops, you’ll find treasures made by local artists and designers—everything from chic beachwear to specialty clothing, from paintings to exotic art, and from gourmet food and wines to souvenir treasures that are great stocking-stuffers.

Here are some of our favorite places to shop on the Key:

Artworks at Villagio

Decor Design Center, Inc. - (850) 492-0406

Glitters by the Beach

Margaret Biggs Fine Art

Pack, Ship & Shop

Perdido Key Souvenirs and More - (850) 497-0868

Sarah Janes Gift Shop

The Market

Plan ahead and make the most of your visit to Perdido Key by browsing a listing of local restaurants, events, attractions, shopping, and parks & nature!

For more ways to have fun while you're on the Key at a fraction of the cost, go to the Deals & Specials page on our website.

Big Lagoon State Park is holding its annual Holidays in the Park extravaganza, a FREE (park entrance fees waived) gift to the community for its support over the last year.

Grab a hot cocoa or coffee and walk through a vibrant light display in the park and visit an array of holiday inspired craft display stations.

Be sure to bring the grandkids as Santa and Mrs. Claus are making a special appearance on both nights around 5:00 p.m.

Hosted by The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Friends of Pensacola State Parks, Inc.

HOLIDAYS IN THE PARK

Big Lagoon State Park

12301 Gulf Beach Hwy.

Pensacola, FL

Friday & Saturday

December 21 & 22, 2012

4 PM – 8 PM

Click Here to learn more about Florida’s Award Winning State Parks.

Take a peek at Perdido's Parks & Nature Video and you'll discover a new kind of paradise.

Are you a lucky one who gets to celebrate Thanksgiving Day on Perdido Key? If so, your vacation plans may not include preparing a large holiday meal, but that doesn't mean you don't want to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to remind you of home. Locating a restaurant that is open on Thanksgiving Day, in an unfamiliar area, can be challenging, so we've provided a listing of establishments that are open Thanksgiving Day to make it easy for you.

Make your reservations today and get ready for a memorable Thanksgiving Meal - Perdido Key Style!

Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving Day, and thank you for visiting us on Perdido Key!

PERDIDO KEY

- Perdido Beach Resort 

- Flora-Bama 

PENSACOLA

- The Fish House 

- Jackson's Steakhouse 

Kick-off your holiday season in a savvy way by earning BIG PERKS when you book a two-night minimum stay at participating Perdido Key accommodations.

Register, book and stay at a Perdido Key vacation property and get up to $200 in AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CARDS. Hurry! You must register starting Nov. 8, 2012 and book your stay at approved Perdido Key lodging within 3 days of registration! This special offer must be redeemed between Nov. 8, 2012 - Nov. 30, 2012. Supplies are limited, so click here to register now!

Plan ahead and make the most of your holiday vacation by browsing a listing of Perdido Key restaurants, events, attractions, shopping, and parks & nature!

For more ways to have fun while you're on the Key at a fraction of the cost, go to the Deals & Specials page on our website.

A four-mile run/walk and a 1-mile walk are on the calendar for Oct. 27 to help raise money for organizations that help people stricken with cancer.

The race is sponsored by the Redneck Riviera Chapter of Wonderful Wacky Women, which uses  a light touch to promote its serious cause. So there will be a pink fire truck, “hunky marines” and other entertainment to keep runners, walkers and spectators amused.

The event will be based at the Flora-Bama Lounge on the state line at Perdido Key; the event begins at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 27, although early registration is available at the bar Oct. 26.

Entry fee is $100 and includes lunch; discounts are available to survivors of ovarian cancer, military personnel and families with more than one entrant.

Florida Hospital Cancer Institute for Ovarian Cancer Research will receive 100 percent of the registration fees.

The proceeds of a silent auction and raffle will be split between USA Mitchell Cancer Institute in Mobile and Covenant Hospice in Pensacola. 

The Redneck Riviera Chapter of Wonderful Wacky Women was formed in 2009 to celebrate sisterhood and help fight ovarian cancer. In three years it already has donated over $60,000.

Details: www.redneckrivierawonderfulwackywomen.com.