WHAT'S HAPPENING: Seagrass Awareness Celebration, Senior Expo, Swing Dance and St. Patrick's Day events

The famous McGuire's Irish Pipes Band is sure to make an appearance on this Thursday’s St. Patrick’s Day party at the McGuire’s Irish Pub in Pensacola.

18th Annual Senior Expo and Health Fair

 The annual Senior Expo and Health Fair is scheduled for Thursday, March 17 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Guy Thompson Community in Milton, located at 5629 Byrom Street. The community event, which is presented by the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), the Santa RosaMedicalCenter and the City of Milton includes free health screenings and information booths from area businesses and organizations, from fitness centers to financial advisors. Health screenings include non-fasting blood glucose and cholesterol, blood pressure, body fat analysis, chronic pain, grip strength, peripheral artery disease, pulse oxygen, skin cancer and more. In addition to the health information stations, which cover a wide array of topics, the event will also feature live entertainment with the opportunity to participate in live demonstrations with door prizes and a 50/50 drawing. For more information on the event or interested in becoming a vendor contact RSVP by calling 983-5220.

Swing Dancing at Pace High School

Residents of all ages are invited to take part in a swing dancing event at PaceHigh School, located at 4065 Norris Road, Thursday night. The high school band’s fundraiser will include music and lessons from Pensacola Swing. The swing dance lesson will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. and the event itself will last until 10 p.m. The swing dancing event costs $5 to enter and pizza from Hungry Howie’s (a limited quantity) will be available for purchase with all proceeds going to the Pace High Band Boosters.

The  Local Yokel / Milton Chevy Classic Car Show

Prizes, food and, most importantly, a wide variety of automobiles from hot rods, to trucks and classic muscle cars will be on display on Friday at Lou Sobh’s Milton Chevrolet dealership, located at 5925 U.S. Highway 90. The event, which takes place from 5 to 8 p.m., will also feature special guest Lisa Dotolo, a writer and musician from Nashville. The car show is free to attend and take part in and will include free refreshments. The car show will feature a 50/50 cash drawing and all proceeds will benefit the Santa Rosa Kids House.  For more information contact, Brett Clark at Milton Chevrolet at 626-8000.

16th Annual Seagrass Awareness Celebration

Residents are encouraged to attend and learn about the importance of seagrass and the marine life with depends on it during the annual Seagrass Awareness Celebration on Saturday in Gulf Breeze at the Shoreline Park South, located off Shoreline Drive. The event, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will feature touch tanks featuring live marine life along with other activities including games, fishing, food, displays, boating and water safety, kayaking and much more. Participating in the event include the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station, Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center, Pensacola Recreational Fishing Association, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Gulf Breeze High School dive club, UF/IFAS Florida Sea Grant, UF/IFAS Master Gardeners, Navarre Beach Kayaks, Escambia County Marine Resources, UWF students, Pete Della Ratta, Pensacola Recreational Fishing Association and more. Attendees are encouraged to bring out the family along with sunscreen, hats, lawn chairs, water shoes, etc. The Gulf Breeze Rotary Club will sponsor their annual Gumbo Cook-off at the Gulf Breeze Recreation Center the same day. Nearly 20 teams will participate, stirring up some mouth-watering gumbo for all to enjoy. Tickets at the gate for all the gumbo you can eat are $15. Music, dancing and fun will be included at the cook-off.

37th Annual Gulf Coast Regional Mustang and Mega Car Show

The three-day event, taking place Friday through Sunday at the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds, located 6655 Mobile Highway, Pensacola will include a charity car show benefiting the Ronald McDonald House and the Shriners Children’s Transportation Fund. The event will also showcase  European and British automobiles, a Falcon Car show, old drag cars, along with a static motorcycle display. Food vendors will also be present at the event.  Visit gulfcoastmustangclub.org for an registration flyer and for more information.  

Third Annual ‘Walk to Remember’ in Pensacola

The Pensacola chapter of The Compassionate Friends to join bereaved parents siblings, relatives and friends to register for Saturday’s third annual ‘Walk to Remember’ beginning at 9 a.m. at the Pensacola State College Track at the main campus, located at 1000 College Boulevard.  Following the walk, a brief memorial service will take place. The event is not open to members of the Compassionate Friends organization, but to the entire community. “We welcome everyone who wants to join hands and hearts in remembers all children who have died too soon,” a press release stated. Registration is $20 and will include a event t-shirt, including a walk bib to record all of the names being remembered. Participants are encouraged to seek pledges that will go to the local chapter in order to support outreach and chapter activities. For more information, contact Margarita Vazquez at 554-2562 or Debbie Zabukovec at 516-0810.

McGuire’s St. Patrick’s Day Party

McGuire’s Irish Pub, located at 600 E. Gregory St. in Pensacola, will have their St. Patrick’s Day Party starting at 11 a.m. on Thursday until 2.a.m. featuring Rich McDuff, The Guinness Bros. and their famous bagpipe band are set to perform throughout the event with other events included, according to the event’s Facebook page. 

Go Irish on the Island

The St. Paddy's Day Pub Crawl will be on Thursday, March 17 beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Casino Beach Bar and Grille, located at 41 Fort Pickens Road on Pensacola Beach.  Pub Crawl shirts will be on sale for $12 each and available at each of the 12 participating stops as well as the Visitor Information Center on Pensacola Beach.  While it is a celebration of Irish culture and traditions, the St. Paddy's Day Pub Crawl is also a benefit for Covenant Care.  For additional information, please visit pensacolabeachchamber.com.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: WHAT'S HAPPENING: Seagrass Awareness Celebration, Senior Expo, Swing Dance and St. Patrick's Day events