A big weekend for Pensacola Beach - Pensacola News Journal

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It's a whopper of a weekend for Pensacola Beach.

Saturday will be particularly crammed with events: People can cheer on triathlon participants, ride a wine-tasting trolley to view art and end the night by listening to songwriters play their hit songs.

And all of these festivities will bring in thousands of people — and lots of commerce — to Pensacola Beach.

"With volunteers, spectators, friends and family, there will be lots of folks out there," said Santa Rosa Island Triathlon director Charles Gheen.

But "lots of folks" may be an understatement. Gheen said he expects about 1,000 triathletes, and that there are usually two to three people in attendance per participant.

"We've sold out the Hampton (Inn), and we've sold out allotted rooms at the Holiday Inn and another local hotel," he said. "It's a huge economic impact."

Gheen said plans couldn't be better for the race.

"There are going to be a lot of good pros, a lot of very, very good triathletes, and it looks like we're going to have perfect weather," he said.

The triathlon begins at 7 a.m. Saturday. The race starts in the Gulf at Casino Beach, includes an 18-mile bike ride down Via de Luna and ends with a run down Via de Luna to The Dock.

There will also be a post-race celebration with music and awards, including a $3,000 carbon-fiber bicycle.

"This is a tremendous weekend out there. It's going to be fun — it's going to be a great weekend."

Continuing that tremendous weekend is the Art and Wine Festival, which will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

There will be 35 booths at the main Artist Village, which will be at the Visitor Information Center parking lot. Ten to 15 other artists will be stationed elsewhere on the island.

A wine-tasting trolley — which will feature new musicians every hour — can transport people to 12 tasting locations on the beach. Wine-tasters can purchase wristbands for $5 per day to ride the trolley.

Performing artists will sing and play at the Artist Village stage, and there also will be a kids' booth at the main area.

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"We just like to provide family-friendly entertainment, and we hope that they'll come out and have fun with us," said Maureen LaMar, executive director of the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce.

After that, triathletes, wine-tasters and just about anybody can go enjoy the Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival, which began Wednesday and runs through Monday.

At least 93 songwriters will be performing their songs this weekend at locations all over Pensacola Beach, as well as The Fish House Deck Bar in downtown Pensacola.

"It's pretty exciting," said Fred Simmons, the owner of the Paradise Inn at Pensacola Beach. "Some of these guys have written the biggest hits in the country."

Some of the songwriters include Jim "Moose" Brown ("It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere"), Karen Staley ("Let's Go to Vegas"), Alex Call ("867-5309/Jenny") and Bud Lee ("Friends in Low Places").

Reneda Cross, co-founder and coordinator of the festival, said crowds are drawn to learn the educational value of music and hear how songs come to life.

"It's just a really enlightening experience in that not everyone realizes that the person they hear on the radio is not the person who's writing the song," Cross said.

Simmons said this event — which is in its third year — is one of his favorite parts of life at the beach.

He said after the venues close, some songwriters will come to his Paradise Bar & Grill for some late-night music-sharing.

"They'll pass guitars around and play the songs that they wrote and love," Simmons said.

But listening to songs isn't the only thing the festival is offering.

At 11 a.m. Friday, there will be a mini-golf tournament at Tiki Island Fantasy where kids can golf with songwriters, who will also be visiting some elementary schools to talk to children about music.

At 5:30 p.m. Friday, people can board the Portofino I for a new event called the Sunset Cruise, which features a boat ride that starts at 6 p.m. with songwriters aboard who will perform.

Tickets are $25 or two for $40, and can be bought online at www.pensacola beachsongfest.com.

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Later that evening at 7, there will be a workshop offered at WSRE about how to market songs.

Also new this year are two listening rooms where songwriters will speak and perform in a more intimate setting with the audience. There is a $10 entrance fee for listening rooms.

"We're doing the charge so people know they're coming to really hear the stories and to be able to meet and greet with the writers before and after," Cross said. "We make it kind of a specialty night for everyone."

And just like the triathlon and Art and Wine Festival, the Songwriters Festival will bring plenty of commerce to Pensacola Beach this weekend.

"Already my hotel is just about booked, and my beach houses are really booking up," Simmons said of his Paradise Inn. "It's just a great fall event."

Bryan Housley, operating partner of the Grand Marlin — which will host several songwriters and one of the listening rooms — said the festival is a great reason to take a trip across the Pensacola Bay bridge.

"I think it's good — everything — for the entire island," Housley said of all of this weekend's festivities.

"We're excited to do this, and we're just glad that everyone on the island is pitching in together for this event."