Painting, sculpture, jewelry, the Pensacola Symphony, crafts from the past, great food – all the arts come together at the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival in historic downtown Pensacola.

Now in its 50th year, the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is one of the best-regarded fine arts festivals in the United States. The three-day, juried art show draws more than 200 of the nation’s best fine artists working in various mediums. Artists set up under the shade of iconic live oaks in historic Seville Square in downtown Pensacola. $25,000 in prize money is awarded. This year we welcome artists from 26 states — 54 artists are from Florida and 18 artists are local.

The 2022 festival is Nov. 4, 5 and 6. Admission is free.

Free Concert – Béla Fleck My Bluegrass Heart

With help from Foo Foo Fest, the GGAF hosting a free concert on Saturday, November 5 at the Hunter Amphitheater in Pensacola’s Community Maritime Park – Béla Fleck, My Bluegrass Heart. Over the last four decades, Béla Fleck has made a point of boldly going where no banjo player has gone before, a musical journey that has earned him 16 Grammys in nine different fields.

Museum Exhibit

To celebrate 50 years of the GGAF, the Pensacola Museum of History is presenting an exhibit on the history of the festival. The festival has always been an all-volunteer effort, and the exhibit tells the story through the people who have made it happen through the years. The exhibit runs through February.

Emerging Artists

The Emerging Artists Program is designed to introduce young (in experience) artists to the Art Festival circuit. GGAF partnered with Artel Gallery in developing the program and searching for new artists.

Jeffery Tremmel and Joe Vinson were selected as the 2022 Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival Emerging Artists. Jeffery attended school in Escambia County, where he first took photography classes that provided him the opportunity to master the use of an SLR camera and experience working with black and white film in a darkroom setting. Joe is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public History, and his capstone project is a poster series entitled “Lost Pensacola.” Each poster depicts a beloved Pensacola landmark lost to time in a style that would have been appropriate during the building’s heyday

Please be sure to visit these two artists in their booth by the Gazebo.

The Festival Poster

To celebrate the 50th year of the festival, the 2022 poster design is a collage of poster art from the past. The design is turned into a limited-edition poster, T-shirts, and other items which have become local collectors’ items. The only way to get posters and T-shirts is at the festival.

Heritage Arts

Travel back in time as you watch traditional artisans create handmade crafts before your eyes in Pensacola’s oldest and most historic neighborhood. A favorite of festival fans, The Heritage Arts area provides an authentic setting for craftspeople from around the country to demonstrate such arts as blacksmithing, engraving, spinning, weaving, and other skills.

Children’s Festival

Neighboring Bartram Park is the site of the Children’s Arts Festival, with hands-on art projects for kids of all ages plus an entertainment stage just for kids! Activities are all provided free of charge.

Also in Bartram Park you’ll find the Student Art Show which showcases the talents of both private and public school students of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Over 2,000 pieces of art from elementary, middle, and high school students will be on display.

Entertainment

The festival features great music on the Main Stage and the Museum Plaza Stage, dance and more on the Parrish Performing Arts Stage. The main stage will feature some new names as well as favorites such as Tanya Gallagher, Holly Shelton, and the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.

The Children’s Stage features local performing arts, dance and musical groups. See demonstrations of traditional arts and crafts in the Heritage Arts area.

Museum Plaza

During this year’s Arts Festival, visit Museum Plaza behind the Pensacola Museum of History for live performances by the Pensacola Opera, Pensacola Little Theater, the Pensacola Bay Concert Band, PSC Jazz Ensemble, and more.

Hours:

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday,

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday

Children’s Festival Hours:

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Other Details

· Pets are not allowed at the Festival.

· Handicap parking is at Bartram Park. Patrons with handicap permits should enter from Main Street at Barracks Street. Present your permit to the police officer manning the street closure for access.

· Posters and t-shirts and other items are available for sale at the festival.