There are lots of local historical items! The gentleman there was very nice and spoke with humor…read moreand intelligence! Making the experience more enjoyable than the other droning boring museum guides. I very much would encourage anyone thinking about going to check this place out!!!

Excellent museum for kids & adults. Friendly & knowledgeable staff. Hands on exhibits show local…read morehistory, in the last surviving one room schoolhouse in the area. A must see!

It's the 48th annual shrimp festival on Gulf Shores beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama (October 2019)…read moreLive music, 84° sunny weather, sandy beaches, arts & crafts, lots of food and oh yeah SHRIMP!! Me & my limpy sweetheart just chillin', eatin' & beachin' the afternoon away. Beach life is a good life, especially when you know you have earned it. For 48 years this volunteer-driven event has been a Gulf Shores tradition. Food, music, art, and so much more make up an event that draws over a estimated 250,000 people from all around the planet. The 1/4 million draw is a far cry from the humble beginnings which wasn't much more than a glorified shrimp boil that had a half dozen booths and lasted all of 6 hours. It really has evolved into a world-class event that last four days with over 300 exhibitors that has everything from fine art, arts & crafts, food demonstrations, and a retail marketplace plus vendor booths from Chevy trucks to memory foam mattresses and a lot more. It's an area that covers nearly half a mile with 4-6 walking double isles that stretch from the beaches edge out into beach boulevard, it's pretty darn big and keeps getting bigger. The Annual National Shrimp Festival remains a FREE event open to everyonesince its inception in 1971 when it began as a way to keep the tourist at the beach after Labor Day, which was traditionally the end to the season. Unlike areas, like Cape Cod, where many businesses close their doors until Memorial day, mostly due to cold weather, the weather in Gulf Shores is traditionally still very summer-like in October. Today on Oct 11th it was 89° and there were plenty of beach goers and even some who were having a hard time dealing with the heat. Mainly those folks working from early in the day behind those big tents with big fryers that find the midday heat a little hard to handle however there's plenty of places for event goers to find shade and places to sit, hydrate and catch the ocean breeze. Parking is tough because they close beach boulevard around the fest and lots of prime areas are taken up by vendors so every inch of available space is $10 to park everywhere. The exception is handicap parking which is pretty plentiful and free close to the fest. The good news is there's a lot of shuttles coming in from miles around in all directions. Wristbands for the shuttle can be purchased for $5.00 per day. CASH ONLY. Children 6 and under do ride for free. For all the particulars on shuttles visit their website at: http://www.myshrimpfest.com/shuttles.html Before I talk shrimp music is a big deal here and you can catch local talent and national recording artists on two different stages of during all hours of the festival performing everythinh from classic rock to country. You can bring your chairs & blankets for a good seat to any or all of the shows however be advised that there are no coolers allowed. Another note, everything is handicap accessible right down to all the restrooms with ramps at several locations throughout. Okay let's talk food. There's food vendors from one end of the fest to the other with everything from chicken, burgers, sausages, phillies, pizza, hot dogs, pasta, salads, bloomin' onions, nachos to gator & shark on a stick, Alaskan king crab, all kinds of crawfish, scallops, bunches of different fish dishes, jerky, fritters, lobster and of course a pltheroa of shrimp and a whole lot more. Yes there is beer vendors as well as lots if tea & lemonade stands everywhere and course lots of ice cream choices. We ate fritters, fried shrimp, grilled scallops with fried rice & fries and had some big fresh squeezed lemonades. [I have one complaint .... there's a bunch of Nanny's lemonade stands that advertise regular & sugar-free lemonade. I asked for sugar-free but them was told they only have swee n low, whaaaaaat? No other sweeteners? That is a serious southern thing that is not just not cool because that stuff tastes icky to me] no more complaints. Bottom line: The volunteers truly make this event a real hit because it's many locals, neighbors and muli-generational people who take pride in their hometown. The organizers also continue to push the limits in exhibits, entertainment, amenities and put a huge premium on safety and comfort. It's truly a world class event that appeals to the entire family year after year.

This is such a joke because you're hard-pressed to find any fresh shrimp. The only place that I…read morefound it was at the local grocery store that had fresh bowl shrimp and everything else is fried and the shrimp are coupled with fried green tomatoes and fried lobster and everything else fried you can imagine and they are all cooked in the same grease. Very few vendors sell anything with a shrimp on it. Basically this is just a county fair with no rides. I live down here and was excited because we hadn't had it for two years but never again will I waste my time!

This was our first visit to the Zydeco and Crawfish Festival. They closed up a little early due to…read morethreats of inclement weather, which didn't really matter to us because it only took a little over an hour to see and do everything there. It's much smaller than most of the festivals around here. That's positive in a way because parking is easier. There were about 20-30 vendors set up and they had some cool and unique items for sale. My favorite local candle lady/photographer was there with her candles and wax melts. There were several people selling jewelry, paintings, and other things you typically expect to find at these kinds of events. The bands were good, but the stage was so close to a couple of the booths you could barely hear the vendors. Now for the negative... tickets for food and drinks. Are you kidding me? Everything you buy to eat or drink (except beer) is purchased with tickets, which are $1 each. We had to go look at different vendor booths, figure out what we wanted, then go buy that number of tickets. The beer is cash only and was like $5-$6 for domestic beer like Miller Lite. There were plenty of cool crawfish tables set up, but there was nowhere to wash your hands. Next year, we'll probably just eat before we go. There's room for improvement but we enjoyed it. All in all, it was worth checking out and we will go back again.

Okay this was great. Entertainment, sales booths and crawfish. Now we are northerners and I've…read morenever had crawfish but when in Rome.... lol. The people were great after impromptu how to eat crawfish I was off and running. I'm hooked I love em thanks to all the friendly people we met.

What an amazing event! The WFC is a Las Vegas transplant here in Orange Beach, and a foodie's dream…read moreweek! All in all, the event is well-run and draws a nice crowd. There's literally food (and really good food) EVERYWHERE, from top chefs all over the country-- with a few international chefs sprinkled in-- competing in different food categories for cash prizes, TV appearances, and the Golden Plate! I was fortunate to judge a few categories, Meet Bo Jackson, and also host a Yelp for Biz Owners session at the WFC this year. Great time to be alive, and leave the premises full as a tick, daily! Look forward to returning next and doing a better job of pacing myself-- it's a race, not a sprint! (lol)

Foodies from all over have assended upon Orange Beach at The Wharf to experience the championship…read morechefs doing what they love to do and that's cook, prepare and share their best creative dishes. It's a win win for every participant--the chefs are flexing and we are sampling until our heart's content. It's a food festival on steroids. Our swag bags are overflowing with great useful items. The sponsors and vendors were very generous. They are sharing their inventions, wares, and products and interesting synopses about how they got started and how great their items are. The lively music sounds great in background. The VIP Lounge is also incredible with chandeliers, plush couches and sectionals and beautiful furnishing compliments of Sea la vie Designs. The Pepsi bottomless pit beverage station is a fabulous feature as well.

Great family oriented parade and these ladies do a lot of throws and really great ones. These are…read moresome of the best floats I have ever seen and saw this year. The theme was awesome and brought back many memories about the games we use to play. Fairhope does a great parade route which is basically out and back. I highly recommend this parade during Mardi Gras season. Thanks for making this a great time.

Wait for it!! The best babes, the best throws and you see them go by three times! Family friendly…read morevs Nola and can get crazy at the ball after the lights go down for those wanting to keep the party going. Let the good times roll!!!

Myself, my daughter, my brother in law and my sister in law all had reading done here. She was very…read morefriendly and professional and we felt it was worth every penny. Would definitely go again!

We entered into this to just have some fun. However, the results were truly thought provoking and…read morespot on. Recommend.

Since 2019 ​Alabama Coastal Foundation and Share The Beach hosts Turtle Fest, an annual event in…read morecollaboration with Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. It is held at the Gulf State Park Pier with festivities all about the amazing sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. You can learn about these marine animals from the naturalists during the Pier tour. Join in on photo ops, crafts, face painting, games, a scavenger hunt, pier walks and more! There's exhibits, talks, and everything sea turtles! The Alabama Gulf Coast hosts many varieties of sea life, including adult and juvenile sea turtles. Turtle Fest celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of these ancient an majestic animals. Cost: $3 per person, this will also allow visitors to sightsee on Pier. https://www.facebook.com/alabamacoastal https://www.facebook.com/groups/336764342893/ https://www.facebook.com/GulfShoresPierFishing/

We retired to Pensacola from NE Dallas TX almost 18 months ago, having only experienced 1 NHL…read moreDallas Star's Hockey game in our time in Texas. Moving to Pensacola gave us an amazing opportunity to explore and immerse ourselves in everything Pensacola has to offer. We went to the Pensacola Ice Flyer's season opening game as an extension of my wife's birthday 2 days prior. Ticket Prices were reasonable compared to NHL Tickets, Parking was easy and not over priced but lacking enough Handicapped Parking Areas for the ever increasing disabled retired community of Pensacola. Once we cleared security, it was clear how old and dated the Pensacola Bay Center was. Walking through the crowds was tricky even an hour before game time, but we did notice the concession stand prices seemed reasonable compared to NHL Pricing, with the same stupid long lines. The Opening Ceremony was well done and the actual game was fun to watch, unfortunately the Ice Flyers lost 4-1 to the Huntsville Havok. It was quite obvious the Bay Center needed some upgrades and love, especially the narrow seating designed for the size of adults 20 plus years ago. The Audio and Video system glitching and out of sync during the game, making it hard to watch the screens when the audio doesn't match the video. Glad we had the experience, looking forward to maybe another game during the season, but would only consider Season Tickets when the Pensacola Bay Center has been upgraded physically and technically for 2025 and beyond.

After relocating from St Louis I couldn't imagine not being able to go to a hockey game…read more Thankfully these guys are so much fun to watch. They play hard, lots of action and it's dramatically cheaper than going to a NHL game. The facility is adequate. Sometimes the lines are a little long but all and all a great place to watch a hockey game.