Santa Rosa Community Briefs

Theatre group to present ‘The Zombie’

PACE — Panhandle Community Theatre will present, "The Zombie” through April 2 and April 6-9.

Times for the show, which is written by Tim Kelley and directed by Joseph Perna, are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays.

The cast includes Ken Armitage, Katie Foley, Clarissa Canzoniero, Jason Lewing, Donna Quinn, Charles Pate, Brittney Leist, Chris Dake, Jerry Valanzano, Gisela Phetvorasack and Zach Dake.

Tickets cost $15 for Saturday and Sunday shows, and $12 for Thursday shows. 

Call 221-7599 or go to www.panhandlecommunitytheatre.com for reservations.

Spring Festival of Flowers returns soon

MILTON — The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science Milton Campus and Pensacola State College are sponsoring the Spring Festival of Flowers.

The event is set 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 7 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 8 and 9 at the UF-IFAS and Pensacola State College Milton Campus, 5988 Highway 90, Building 4900 in Milton.

The festival will feature arts and crafts, plants, flowers and herbs, garden supplies, locally grown vegetables, and food and music.

Educational booths will feature UF-IFAS Extension agents answering questions about plants and flowers, eclectic gardening, good bugs and bad bugs, sprinklers and air layering demonstrations, and experts offering advice and hands-on demonstrations on wildlife for the backyard.

The Milton Garden Club will sponsor a flower show; in addition, the festival features plant nurseries and a UF student-club plant sale. The student club will feature a variety of plants such as hallmark bulbine, Bolivian sunset and indigo spires salvia.

Contact Robin Vickers at rvickers@ufl.edu or 983-7134 for more information on the event.

Coon Hill Cemetery 5K coming

MILTON — Jay runner Matthew Dobson will coordinate a fundraiser for the preservation and restoration of the Coon Hill cemetery south of Jay.

Coon Hill Day 5K is scheduled for 8 a.m. April 8 at Coon Hill Cemetery on Mineral Springs Road.

Sponsorship amounts range from $50 and $100 to $200. Each sponsor, depending on the amount, will have their business or name included on the back of the race T-shirt.

The course includes dirt, grass and a minimal amount of sand. A half-mile Kid’s Fun Run is planned after the 5K. All post-race amenities (Gatorade, water, fruit and cookies) will be supplied.

See http://dobsonduo.weebly.com to register. Early, $20 registration ends April 3. Day of race registration will be $25.

Contact Living with Purpose at 217-2603 or Matthew Dobson, rmdobson@liberty.edu, for more information.

Family Promise sets spring sale

MILTON — Family Promise of Santa Rosa County’s spring sale is set 8 a.m. to noon April 8 at the Milton Storage Center, 6065 Vanity Fair Road.

Home and automotive items, clothing, furniture, bicycles and electronics will be available for sale.

Entry costs $3 payable by cash, credit and debit cards or a local check. Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit organization, which provides transitional housing for homeless families.

Call 623-5300 for more information on the sale.

Milton High band to present Crawfish Festival

MILTON — The second annual Milton High School Band Crawfish Festival is set 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 8 on the Park Avenue side of MHS’s campus.

The event features a Louisiana-style crawfish boil, children's activity area with a blowup slide, Knockerball and vendor booths. Entertainment includes the MHS Blackwater Beats Jazz Band and other music groups.

The MHS Band Parent Association will sell shish-ka-bobs, hamburgers, hot dogs and Coca-Cola products. Event vendors will include those featuring additional food choices, arts and crafts and direct-sales merchandise and services.

Tickets cost $5 at the gate. Children age 5 and under get in at no charge.

The school is located at 5445 Stewart St. in Milton. Call 983-5611, visit miltonhighschoolband.com or find the group on Facebook for more information.

Garden Club sets Elegant Tea

PACE — The Azalea Garden Club will present an Elegant Tea from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 10 at the Pace Community Center, 5980 Chumuckla Highway, Pace.

Finger foods and desserts will be served; an auction will follow. Required prepaid admission costs $10, and dress is “Sunday best, hats if desired,” a media release states.

Call Jean, 380-2256 or jeanro4@yahoo.com; or Sandra, 623-6321 or shermanacs@aol.com, for details.

Panhandle Butterfly House offers docent training

NAVARRE — The Panhandle Butterfly House seeks seasonal volunteers to serve as docents from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, May through August.

Volunteers work in teams, educating visitors on the biology and habitat of butterflies and their importance to the ecosystem. New volunteers pair with seasoned docents to learn the ropes.

2017 docent training will be held Tuesday, April 11 at 8581 Navarre Parkway in Navarre. Contact pbhdocents@gmail.com for details and registration.

The Panhandle Butterfly House is a nonprofit educational facility that brings visitors in close contact with live Florida native butterflies in gardens that support them.

The Butterfly House is located in Navarre Park on Santa Rosa Sound at the foot of the Navarre Bridge.

Free tax assistance available

MILTON — AARP Tax-Aide volunteers will be available at three Santa Rosa County libraries.

Help is available as follows:

Milton Library (through April 13): 1-5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursdays

Navarre Library (through April 13): 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays

Gulf Breeze Library (through April 17): 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays

Patrons are served on a first come, first served basis. See www.santarosa.fl.gov/libraries for more details.

Spring Fling organizers seek vendors

PACE — The Pace Band Boosters seek vendors to participate in their Spring Fling during the statewide Flea Across Florida.

Pace United Methodist Church will host the event 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 14 and 15 at 4540 Chumuckla Highway.

Inside spaces cost $50; outside spaces are $25 for the two days.

Email pacebandboosters@gmail.com to register or learn more information.

Flea Across Florida scheduled

MILTON — Flea Across Florida, purportedly the state’s largest yard sale, is set April 14 and 15 along Highway 90 from Pensacola to the East Coast.

For seven years, Flea Across Florida has brought thousands of visitors to small communities across the state on Highway 90, filling up motels, restaurants and small local businesses. The event is held every April and September.

Flea Across Florida is a mixture of individual yard sales, businesses offering specials, and retail vendors set up at Flea sites. It attracts people looking for bargains, hidden treasures or the adventure of traveling along Highway 90 through various communities.

“This is a great opportunity for non-profits, churches, or individuals to hold sales along the route, or to rent spaces for those wanting to participate and set up,” an event spokesperson stated.

"This event is a tremendous boost to local communities, especially the shops, restaurants and hotels,” said Kim Macarthy, owner of Copper Possum Antique Mall along Highway 90 in Milton. “I always enjoy seeing some of the regulars who travel and shop the route each event.”

Email Jeanne@jeannedesign.net for more information, or to have your sale site listed on the event Facebook page at no charge.

Alternatively, call Kim Macarthy, 554-9306, for more event details.

Brake family reunion scheduled

HOLT — The Brake family reunion is on April 22 in Pleasant Home Baptist Church’s Fellowship Hall.

Attendees should bring a covered dish. The church is located at 8500 Pleasant Home Church Road in Holt, which is near Harold, Florida.

Call LeeQue McCombs, 957-4082, for more information, including the time.

Snook season reopens for limited time

The recreational harvest season for one of Florida’s premier fish, snook, has re-opened in Florida’s Gulf of Mexico state and adjacent federal waters.

A snook permit is required to keep snook, along with a saltwater fishing license, unless the angler is exempt from the license requirements. Only hook-and-line gear is allowed when targeting or harvesting snook.

The season will remain open through April 30.

Anglers can report their catch on the Snook & Gamefish Foundation’s website, Snookfoundation.org, by clicking on the “Angler Action Program” link.

Sponsors, volunteers wanted for Day of Santa Rosa

MILTON — SAFER Santa Rosa, in partnership with Santa Rosa County, plans to hold its second Day of Service on May 6. Event organizers seek sponsors, projects and volunteers.

Employees, co-workers, friends and family can work together to improve local communities. Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsorships are available.

Contact Daniel Hahn, 983-4606 or www.santarosa.fl.gov/dayofservice, for more information on this year’s event, to be a sponsor, or to make an in-kind donation.

Emerging artists sought for festival

PENSACOLA — Applications are open for the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival Emerging Artists program.

The program, developed in partnership with Artel Gallery, gives new artists a chance to be a part of the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival and guides them on what is involved with arts festival participation. The GGAF is Nov. 3, 4 and 5 in Seville Square in downtown Pensacola.

Applications are open to artists who are residents of Escambia or Santa Rosa counties and have limited experience participating in arts festivals.

See www.ggaf.org for more information and an application.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa Community Briefs