Easter Egg Hunts at Pier Park

On Saturday April 11th at 3pm be sure to be at Pier Park with the kids for an Easter Egg hunt with the Easter Bunny, live and in person – ‘er bunny.

The hunt will go down at the volleyball court and grassy area caddy-corner to Five Guys, across from Buffalo Wild Wings, and within earshot of the ice cream churn at Marble Slab Creamery. The hunt will be broken into three different age groups: 2 to 3; 4 to 6; and 7 to 10 year olds. Sorry pre-teens, no dice for you – ya gonna have to sit this one out. Maybe if you’re nice, your little brothers and sisters will share their candy.

Once you’re full of candy and you’ve put all the empty plastic eggs in their place, mosey on over to the Aaron Bessant Park Amphitheater to hear a free concert from the Mark Canfora Band from 4 pm to 8pm.

Seabreeze Jazz Festival at Pier Park

A full lineup of award-winning artists are ready to hit the stage in Panama City Beach, Fla., the new home of the Gulf Coast’s annual Seabreeze Jazz Festival. Panama City Beach’s Pier Park sets the stage for a jazzy, all-star weekend, April 16 – 19, expected to draw music lovers near and far. The lineup includes nationally acclaimed smooth jazz artists: Boney James, Wayman Tisdale, Will Downing, Nick Colionne, Warren Hill, Joyce Cooling, and more.

“We’re proud to be the new home of the Seabreeze Jazz Festival,” said Dan Rowe, president and CEO of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, Pier Park provides the perfect setting for this nationally recognized event.”

The weekend kicks off Thurs., April 16, 7:00 p.m., with the three-hour Smooth Jazz Dinner Cruise on beautiful St. Andrew’s Bay presented by the Bay Point Marriott Resort and Spa. Enjoy the upbeat, funky-style performance of the renowned jazz keyboardist Alex Bugnon aboard the Solaris, a 125-foot yacht known for exceptional cuisine.

Friday begins with a performance by the Urban Jazz Coalition, 6:00 p.m., followed by The Smooth Jazz All-Star Jam Show featuring festival host Nick Colionne, Four80East, Alex Bugnon, Brian Simpson, Shilts, Nils, Matt Marshak, Althea Rene and Jackiem Joyner. The evening concludes with dancing and revelry at the Jazz Under the Stars party at Pier Park’s Reggae J’s.

Great performances continue all day Saturday, starting 10:00 a.m., with high-energy artists and ending with another Jazz Under the Stars party that will send all your blues away. Saturday’s performers include Wayman Tisdale, Will Downing, Joyce Cooling, Four 80 East, Eric Darius, Althea Rene’ and more. The weekend finale is a day of live entertainment, Sunday, beginning 9:30 a.m., with performances throughout the day and evening by Boney James, Warren Hill, Nick Colionne, Brian Simpson, Nils, Jackeim Joyner, Roman Street, and Jones and Company.

“With expanded on-site parking, great beaches, extensive shopping and dining options at Pier Park, plus an abundance of hotel and condos nearby, the 2009 Seabreeze Jazz Festival will have it all,” says Mark Carter, the event’s organizer. “The weekend brings together a collection of great artists and people who love contemporary smooth jazz.”

11th Annual Zap Pro/Am Skim Jam Competition at Edgewater Beach Resort

Surf’s up! Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort, a property of The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach, announced they will host the 11th Annual Zap Pro/Am Skim Jam Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19, 2009. Edgewater was the accommodations host for this competition last year, and anticipation for this year’s event has grown so much that Edgewater is already booked to capacity. Because of this, The Resort Collection is offering special rates for Edgewater’s sister property Long Beach Resort.

Located less than a mile away from Edgewater along 1,300 feet of emerald water and sugar-white sand, Long Beach Resort offers luxurious suites, private amenities and breathtaking waterfront views. Guests can enjoy oversized balconies, the tropical Lagoon Pool, two all-weather tennis courts, seasonally heated Polynesian pools and whirlpool spas at a 15% discount, with rates starting at just $110 per night when they book online with the promotional code: SKIM.

“Skim Jam is always an exciting event at Edgewater. We are proud to be the accommodations sponsor for this fun-filled, family-friendly competition,” said Paul Wohlford, vice president of sales and marketing at The Resort Collection.

Skimboarding enthusiasts from near and far are getting ready to put on their gear, wax their boards and prepare for the most thrilling skimboarding competition of the year. Skim Jam has truly made its name in the record books and features the best pro and amateur skimboard talent in the world. This nationally recognized sporting competition, organized by Tony and Lib Johnson of Mr. Surf’s Surf Shop, offers free admission to observers. Net proceeds from contestants’ entry fees go to benefit the Boys & Girls Club at Frank Brown Park and Skim USA.

Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort is offering a weekend full of exciting events, beginning with Global Surf Industries and Surftech’s Surf/ Stand-up Paddleboard Demo and Regatta, plus a chance to meet the pros of skimboarding at pre-check-in on Friday, April 17. The annual Zap Pro/Am Skim Jam Contest will begin on Saturday, April 18 at 8:30 a.m. and will run until 4:00 p.m. A treasure hunt in the sand for kids 11 and under called Panama Jack’s Lil’ Sandiggers Treasure Hunt will be held at 1:00 p.m., along with other fun-filled family activities on the beach. Sunday’s events will begin with Church On The Beach, a non-denominational praise and worship service, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. before the Skim Jam Finals begin at 9:00 a.m. The day will culminate with an awards ceremony for the competition’s winners.

AVP Pro Volleyball Tourney Results and Pictures

After only a single day of play, the tournament ended just before sundown with 4 winners between two teams. Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers took the first title in the AVP Crocs tour in Panama City Beach Sunday. Heavy winds and rain cancelled play on Saturday and resulted in an abbreviated single-elimination tournament that ended around 7 pm. The women’s title was won by Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs.

It was a battle of Beijing Olympians in the men’s final, with gold medalists Dalhausser and Rogers facing off against fellow Team USA members and No. 2 seeds Jake Gibb (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Sean Rosenthal (Corona Del Mar, Calif.). The gold medalists bested the fifth-place finishers 19-21, 21-18, 15-9.

“Jake and Sean played really well the first set and halfway through the second,” said Dalhausser. “Coming back was such a mental boost. We rarely play this many matches in a day, but we’re in pretty good shape as a team.”

Dalhausser and Rogers advanced to Sunday’s final after defeating No. 4 seeds Brad Keenan (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Florida State graduate Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 21-12, 21-10. Gibb and Rosenthal reached the final by eliminating No. 6 seeds Matt Olson (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Kevin Wong (Honolulu) to the tune of 21-15, 21-10.

On the women’s side, the top seeds also bested the second-seeds, with Branagh and Youngs toppling Jen Kessy (San Clemente, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) in three games:16-21, 21-18, 15-9.

“Jen and April came out on fire serving,” said Youngs. “But we put the pressure on them with our serving and Nicole played incredible defense. When you play single elimination, you go point by point, balls to the wall, play smart, play aggressive.”

Youngs claimed her 43rd career title, solidifying her spot in the Top 10 career wins on the women’s side. 2008 AVP Crocs Tour Most Improved Player Branagh claimed her 8th.

Branagh and Youngs advanced to the final by defeating No. 4 seeds Angie Akers (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Tyra Turner (Fort Myers Beach, Fla.) 30-28, 21-13. Kessy and Boss took out No, 3 seeds Annett Davis (Valencia, Calif.) and Jenny Johnson Jordan (Wexford, Pa.), 21-19, 19-21, 21-19. Source: avp.com

The weather yesterday was perfect, the crowds mild and the action intense. Being Sunday, I was only there for a bit, but managed to get some great pictures and video (which will be posted later this week).

Check out the pictures uploaded to our Flickr gallery below, and don’t forget to check our Facebook Fan Page for exclusive pictures and video.

Despite Nasty Weather, AVP Show Must Go On

With wind gusts of up to 30 mph and heavy downpoor expected all day, the volleyball pros still plan to play, even though there won’t be many there to watch. I was told by someone that the last event they had attended 18 out of the 25 games they watched were in bad weather.

They play, rain or shine. I was told the qualifiers went well yesterday; the players got wet, and had to fight the wind, but they played. Coming from one direction, the players barely had to tap the ball to serve it over the net, but from the other way, hitting it as hard as they could, the ball sometimes wouldn’t even make it. I guess the advantage of wearing bikinis and boardshorts while you play your pro sport is that getting wet just doesn’t matter.

I was up on the roof of Seahaven, Origin, and felt like my Blackberry was going to be blown out of my hand; my jeans were flapping in the wind, and I don’t wear baggy jeans. My hair was even blowing, and I keep it too short for it to move.

On the ground, flags were flapping in the wind, near the brink of ripping. I overheard one worker screaming “that’s all you got!”, then it started raining – hard. Luckily I was under the covered area of Sharkys. Cameras and rain don’t mix.

Play was postponed until 10 am when I was there. Not sure if they are playing right now (its 1020). It isn’t raining right now, but it is very windy still. Tomorrow, however, is supposed to be nice. We’ll see.

Flo Rida, NERD Rocked the House, Crowd More Tame

After the Lil Wayne show last week organizers came away with valuable experience on how to handle “big” names in our little beach town. I thought it was pretty crazy, but didn’t realize the chaos that was actually unfolding all day – I guess that was one of the reason the media was kicked out. If last week’s show was a cat 3 hurricane, yesterday was a tropical depression. Of course, the turnout wasn’t quite as hefty either. Good show guys, good show.

Unfortunately I was unable to make the finals for the USA Rock Paper Scissors (otherwise known as USARPS) competition, but one lucky (or strategically cunning, ‘eh Matti?) college student walked away with a hefty $20,000 check payable to his college tuition. He’s a mechanical engineering student at Syracuse, so he needs the money. Congratulations “Naco”. More on USARPS later.

NERD rocked the house. The lyrics weren’t exactly kid-friendly, but the music was actually quite awesome. They played with two drummers who were both amazing and refused to shy away at showing off their talent. Being a drummer at heart that hasn’t played in years, I still love a great drum solo. Maybe one day I’ll own a set again.

There weren’t as many in attendance, but I would say that thousands were still there. I think I was the only press allowed in – I feel special.

Encouraged by the performers, the audience practiced copious amounts of crowd surfing and were egged on to create a mash pit. The energy was high and the crowd seemed to jump with every beat. Most everyone was college age, but I saw a few younger and older – some with parents.

As I was heading up to the roof, I asked a friend that works for Boardwalk, “So, where’s Flo’s tour bus,” remembering the craziness getting Lil Wayne from his bus to the stage. “No buses are allowed on property. He was escorted in earlier quietly to prevent pandemonium.” I asked where he was, her reply: “I can’t even tell you, Jason.” I thought I was special.

Flo Rida was on time, right on time, actually. Of course, I think his maturity as a performer was evident. He was professional at getting the crowd hyped often joining the crowd at their level and at one point offering to give away his diamond cross necklace, “. . . diamonds are a lady’s best friend,” he said. I didn’t see him actually give the necklace away, I’m sure that would have been greatly discouraged as it was probably worth tens of thousands of dollars. I think we would have surely seen a mash pit then.

On this particular sunny day, the sand was warm, and the water was warmer than last week, although it was still a brisk 68 degrees. But, the air temp was close to 80, but in the sweaty crowd, it felt like 90.

I took a couple hundred pictures, here are the best 40-something. If you aren’t following us on Twitter, you missed some great live updates. Follow us now so you can keep up with all the live action in the future. Plus, you can keep up with what we are doing throughout the day and be notified of new posts.

AVP Press Conference – 2009 AVP Crocs Pro Beach Volleyball Touney

Tuesday March 10th, AVP (stands for Association of Volleyball Players for you cheeky ones) will be holding a press conference announcing its first-ever Spring Break event, the 2009 AVP Crocs Tour Panama City Open, as well as its exciting new partnership with Seahaven and Sharky’s Beachfront Resturant. A light lunch will be provided.

Attending will be top VP athlete Nick Lucena. In 2008, Lucena and partner Sean Scott finished the season as one of the Tour’s highest-ranked teams. He is a Florida native and played volleyball collegiately at Florida State University. He will be competing in the 2009 Panama City Beach Open.

“We are excited to bring the AVP to Spring Break for the very first time,” said Leonard Armato, CEO and Commissioner of AVP Pro Beach Volleyball. “The biggest beach party in the country is the perfect atmosphere in which to kick off our 2009 season.” – A recent press release.

The press conference will be held at Origin in The Towne of Seahaven at 12 noon on the Observation Deck. I’m not sure if they mean the 15th floor observation deck, and if so, which side, but I would assume the “public” side. Either way, however, I’m sure the person at the front desk will know where to direct you.

I should be there.

PCB Sand Sports Offers Free Introduction to Beach Tennis

PCB Sand Sports in partnership with Beach Tennis USA will be hosting the first annual Sharkys Beach Tennis Doubles on Saturday March 14th.

This is a FREE tournament to introduce the sport of Beach Tennis to the community and provide local FUN between the Spring Break week.
Did we say Free! Yes this is a benefit to the locals to come out and play during the transition day of Spring Break and have some fun.
If you currently play Tennis or have never played any Tennis at all come out and try it at Sharkys on the Beach.

Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m. and play will begin at 11:00. The first 16 teams to register will receive a “free” Beach Tennis t-shirt.
The tournament will be double elimination or pool play depending on the number of teams as we begin to promote and introduce this “new fun” sport to the community.
We are going to provide the first place team with a dinner for two coupon to Sharkys.

Come out and watch the Beach Tennis tournaments through March 18th daily to see the College vs. College competition.
Or just come out to pick up a few tips from the Pros since leagues will begin at Sharkys In May for Beach Tennis.

This is a great family sport and is growing rapidly worldwide.

For more information email beachresearch@yahoo.com or call 850-769-4802.

Beach Tennis is Here

Beach Tennis is here, along with the pros to help you figure out how to do it. Behind Sharky’s Beach Club two beach tennis courts are set up with a station to “rent” the racquet from along with deflated tennis balls. Rent is free and equipment is provided by sponsors and is actually quite nice.

The concept behind beach tennis is to provide a fun beach-oriented sport that is easy on the knees and cinch to learn.

Here are the rules:

Court dimensions are 30 by 60 feet with the net at a height of 5’10”.
Beach tennis is only played in the doubles format, no singles.
Scoring is 15 – 30 – 40 with no-advantage.
At deuce, receiving team chooses which player will receive the serve.
Only one hit per side. Unlike volleyball, no setting up your partner for the kill.
Only one serve allowed per point. If the serve hits the net, goes over and lands in bounds a “let” (do over) will be played. If the serve hits the net, goes over and lands out of bounds the serving team loses the point.
Serves must go cross-court.
Players change ends at odd game totals.
Touching the net in any way or breaking the plane of the net – that is, reaching over the net with your racquet, even on the follow through – will result in a loss of the point.
Each match consists of one eight-game pro set. The match must be won by two games (e.g. 9-7). If the match score is tied at 8-8, a 12-point tennis tiebreaker (first team to 7 points wins) will be played to determine the winner.
A ball that strikes the line is considered in bounds.

If you want to play, it is free for anyone and everyone. You should get out there and put your skills to the test.

Grills Gone Wild is Back, To Cook 1,000's LBS of Meat for Charity

The success of Grills Gone Wild 1 was so immense they decided to do it again, for a different charity this year.

The original Grills Gone Wild, meant to be a tongue in cheek stab at the Girls Gone Wild garbage our area was going through last year with Joe Francis, was a refreshing positive twist our area surely needed. The goal was to raise money for Aaron Nichols, son of Gary Nichols, the band director of Arnold High School. Aaron was injured and paralyzed from the neck down in a car accident. When insurance money ran out, the Nichols family still had a little more than $20,000 in improvements they needed to make to their home to accommodate their son. The event raised $24,000 and provided the much needed modifications to the house.

The original goal was to sell 500 tickets last year for $12 a piece, but the event “mushroomed” as Alan Graham put it and benefited from a turnout that was much greater than expected. “We ended up cooking ten 200 pound pigs and 180 Boston Butts and fed 2,500 people.”

There was such a demand for this again, that they actually sought out a charity to help this year so they could bring the party back to the beach. Benefiting this year is the new Miracle League baseball field currently being constructed at Frank Brown Park. The field is padded to prevent injury, the bases are painted on, and the dugouts will all be wheelchair accessible. Proceeds from Grills Gone Wild 2 will go towards building the fence for the field, which costs about $20,000.

The event is sponsored by Counts Real Estate and The Rotary Club. “All the meat has be to purchased up front,” Graham said, “we’re trying to sell the tickets up front, but what we don’t get sold, we’ll come up with the money to buy the meat.” If you’re a griller, you can still enter for the Boston Butts, the chicken and the rib category, but if you want to cook a pig, you’ll have to wait until next year as they’ve already been ordered.

“The pigs take about 22 hours to cook,” said Graham, “we cook ’em low and slow.” The best way to cook pork is at a low temperature for a long time, that way the meat just falls right apart. They will have the grills set up around the pavilion by the playground and pool at Frank Brown Park with tables set up inside where the basketball courts are and outside around the pavilion in the lawn. The party will start with the grills firing up early Friday afternoon March 13th and food will be served all afternoon Saturday March 14th.

Tickets can be purchased at any Counts Real Estate Office, by contacting any Rotary Club member or at the event. Tickets are being sold for $10 this year. If you want to grill the cost is $100 per grill.

You should come out and support this great cause and hang with the community. For more information, contact Alan Graham at 850 896 2648.