Pensacola’s cultural palette isn’t a monochromatic offering. It’s filled with bright hues that conjure a sense of vitality and spill out as an assortment of tastes, flavors, movement, sounds, sights, language, social interactions and more that color our community.
There is no one cultural model, but instead a patchwork of restaurants, dialects, music, art and architecture that showcase cultures that include those represented in the five flags of the city—United States, Spain, Great Britain, France and the Confederacy—but also so much more.
You will find Asian cultural influences, Hispanic influences, and influences from places near and far that help make Pensacola what it is today.
And those influences, that richness and color, will be celebrated at the sixth annual Gulf Coast Culture Fest, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 30 at Seville Square in downtown Pensacola.
The event will also feature the Films For the Culture Film Fest beginning at 8 p.m. in Seville Square, which will feature films and shorts made by local and regional filmmakers. All events are free.
The Gulf Coast Culture Fest will feature a variety of music, dance, food, poetry and more.
Performers include:
Throughout the day, music will be provided by DJ Ralph.
“Art is a universal language, and we celebrate the various cultures that contribute to it, whether it’s visual art, poetry, music or dance,” said Calvin “Kalvo” Griffin, founder of Gulf Coast Culture Fest and owner of Forc3 Studios, a Pensacola multimedia and film studio. “We want to bring those aspects together for all people to enjoy.”
The festival will feature 11 food trucks that will offer flavors and tastes from various countries and continents. Attendees will find everything from Bangkok crispy rolls to fried tacos and street corn.
Griffin founded Gulf Coast Culture Fest after seeing the unity of people in response to racial unrest in 2020, including the murder of George Floyd by law enforcement officers in Minneapolis. One officer was convicted of second-degree murder while three others were found guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter charges and federal civil rights violations.
“Six years ago, there was so much going on, and so much division, but people came together,” Griffin said. “We wanted to find something here where we could create a space and come together as a whole.”
Griffin thinks the film selections, which will be shown on an inflatable screen in Seville Square, also showcase diversity.
“The films will cover all types of genres,” he said. “We have comedy, a mini-documentary, dramas, thrillers. And the best thing is, the entire day is free.”
To learn more about the event visit gulfcoastculturefest.com/ or facebook.com/gulfcoastculturefest.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gulf Coast Culture Fest will showcase Pensacola’s diverse food, art and film
Reporting by Troy Moon, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
