Pensacola’s 2019 Foo Foo Festival Announces New Committee, Deadlines and Grant Structure
Date: February 1, 2019
Media Contact:
Amanda Leesburg
Leesburg PR
404-218-6578
Pensacola’s 2019 Foo Foo Festival Announces New Committee, Deadlines and Grant Structure
6th Annual 12-Day Coastal Cultural Panoply takes place October 31 – November 12
Pensacola, Fla. – February 1, 2019 – The nonprofit organization, Art, Culture, and Entertainment, Inc. (ACE), today announces the 6th Annual Foo Foo Festival – a two-week celebration of nationally-recognized culturally creative happenings, events and moments – will take place October 31 – November 12, 2019 in Pensacola, Fla. A new committee will steer the festival and the deadline for artists to submit grant applications under a new funding structure is April 26.
Pensacola is the only city on the stretch of the Gulf Coast from Mobile, Ala. to Tampa, Fla. that boasts having the “big five,” an opera, ballet, symphony, theatre and museum in addition to numerous award-winning cultural organizations. Foo Foo Festival’s impressive roster of events has become highly anticipated for its outstanding grant recipients who celebrate individual experiences specific to their craft whether that be art, music, dance, opera, theatre or cuisine.
In 2019, the funding structure for Foo Foo grant recipients will change. ACE will fund top scoring grant applicants at the 100 percent level. The number of grants to be awarded will depend on the projects submitted and their associated budgets. Organizations that do not receive funding will participate as “Friends of Foo” during the festival, thus receiving visibility at the diverse event.
ACE also today announced Maria Goldberg will be board chair of Foo Foo Fest 2019. Maria is one of the founding committee members of Foo Foo Fest and has served as Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Events for Great Southern Restaurants for the past ten years. Nicole Stacey, who is Visit Pensacola’s Director of Marketing and Communications, also joins Foo Foo Fest 2019 in the role of curator. Nicole joined the Visit Pensacola team in 2016 and is responsible for overseeing the organization’s domestic and international marketing efforts, grant allocations, public relations, brand identity, social media and web design.
Other 2019 Foo Foo Fest committee members include David Bear, founder of Foo Foo Fest and Vice President of The Lewis Bear Company; Jane Birdwell, founding curator of Foo Foo Fest and CEO of the Birdwell Agency; Lois Benson, board member of Florida Council on Arts and Culture and Pensacola Opera; Michelle Ortiz-Miguez, Marketing Manager, Zarzaur Law, PA; and Warren Sonnen, Manager of O’Riley’s Irish Pub.
Important upcoming dates for Foo Foo Fest grant applicants include:
- Friday, April 26, 2019 – Deadline for all Foo Foo Fest Grant Applications
- Friday, May 10, 2019 – Public grant scoring and official announcement
- Wednesday, June 26, 2019 – External marketing meeting with grant recipients
Strategically positioned in and around some of Pensacola’s most popular and long-running events, the Foo Foo Fest encourages cultural tourists to make Pensacola an arts destination and enjoy other experiences during those two weeks in the fall, choosing from options as varied as The Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival, the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show, Pensacola Eggfest, the 34th Annual Frank Brown Songwriters Festival and the 14th Annual Pensacola Marathon.
For more information about the 2019 Pensacola Foo Foo Festival visit www.FooFooFest.com or follow Foo Foo Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Art, Culture, Entertainment, Inc. (ACE)
ACE is a nonprofit organization that receives Federal, State of Florida, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, corporate, foundation and personal funds. ACE disperses these funds through an equitable granting process to nonprofit arts, culture and entertainment organizations throughout Escambia County, Fla., and promotes Escambia County as an arts and cultural destination through the annual Foo Foo Festival and other marketing efforts. For more information about ACE, visit www.acepensacola.org.
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