In the American Bus Association’s 2012 Top 100 Events in North America publication, Panama City Beach’s New Year’s Beach Ball Drop and the Seabreeze Jazz Festival made the Top 100 in the best events in North America (Canada included). The Beach Ball Drop was actually #2 in East Coast Events!
New Year’s Beach Ball Drop
The first Beach Ball Drop was New Year’s Eve 2008, the same year Pier Park opened. Before the Beach Ball Drop, there was no singular organized New Year’s event in Panama City Beach. Since 2008, it’s been a wild success and will continue to be a valued tradition to area tourism-based businesses. This event brings people from all over the southeast, tourism business all over the beach.
Here are some of the past articles covering this event.
Pier Park Beach Ball Drop Video – 2008
Enormous Turnout for New Year’s Eve at Pier Park – 2009
Pier Park New Year’s Eve Bash a Success [PICS] – 2010
Seabreeze Jazz Festival
2009 marked the first year the Seabreeze Jazz Festival was held in Panama City Beach. Outgrowing its previous home, Aaron Bessant park was the perfect size and location for this all-weekend event. Bringing in top Jazz stars like Nick Colionne, George Benson, Eric Darius and tons of others, this event has been known as the premiere jazz event in the Southeast year over year.
For 2011, the attendance numbers were 25% up over 2010 with Aaron Bessant Park being filled to capacity.
Here are some of the past articles covering this event.
Seabreeze Jazz Festival A Swinging Success – 2009
Seabreeze Jazz Festival: Changing PCB’s Image? – 2010
Seabreeze Jazz Festival [PICS] – 2011
Why these events are so successful
If you’ve been to either one of these events, you know first hand how great they are. Before Pier Park, New Year celebrations for many locals was spent banging pots and pans alone at the stroke of midnight. People from all over the southeast had no where to go. Now, with Pier Park, and the New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop, people from all around have a large venue, free entertainment, and amazing weather to ring in the new year. What’s great is that local officials and organizers have given people an excuse to make a small vacation out of this event, boosting bed tax dollars.
The Seabreeze Jazz Festival is a high-class, well organized event that brings the best talent in the Jazz community together in one weekend. It’s reason for success is obvious. They combine wonderful entertainment with great beach, spring weather and an amazing, centrally located venue next to Pier Park. This event has grown every year, and promises to be better in 2012 than ever before with the hopeful addition of the new amphitheater.
About the American Bus Association and their Top 100 publication
Each spring the ABA organizes a committee of members consisting of motorcoach and tour operators to assemble a top list of events, festivals, celebrations, fairs and commemorative events. They pick from hundreds to narrow it down to the top 100 events in North America for the following year.
Each year there is a Number One Event in the United States and a Number One Event in Canada.
Other geographically based categories include:
- The East
- Southeast
- Mid-Atlantic
- East Central
- New England
- Central
- Great Lakes
- The South
- The Heartland
- The West
- The Rockies
- Southwest
- The West
- Canada
To access the Top 100 Events in North America online, visit their website, Buses.org.
What are your thoughts on these events? Have you attended them? Will you come to the New Year’s event in December? Will you be coming to the Jazz Fest?
PCBDaily 