My day at Pier Park – Madonnaro Street Painting Festival

I believe this is the first time I’ve spent almost all afternoon at Pier Park.  The weather was perfect, people were everywhere, kids were laughing, it was a great time.

Today and tomorrow is the Madonnaro Street Painting Festival, hosted by the Visual Arts Center of Panama City.  Local artists and a few from out of town gathered on Panama City Beach to create art that will inevitably wash away, only to be preserved in pictures and video.

The day started out cool and overcast, but around noon, I watched the clouds be pushed away by crystal clear blue sky.  The air warmed to nearly 80 degrees.  Artists shed layers as they crouched on their knees smoothing and blending fresh chalk with their hands.

Lunch time brought an original Viking Hot Dog.  Stuffed in a fresh baget with a hole in the middle the all natural dog had a crunchy skin, and perfect inside.  The flavor was exceptional, but the price for how it filled my belly was twice too much at $5. The cart was from Seaside, out here for the weekend.

As the day wore on, the artists knees and backs grew sore, but the paintings grew more vivid and elaborate.

Tracy Stums flew in from California to share her talent with The Beach.  Last year, she created an interactive piece of the Dali Lama that, when looked at from a specific angle, appeared to be sitting next to her.  This year, she is painting an Alice in Wonderland scene.  Other paintings include Jack and the Bean Stalk, Iron Man, and a dinosaur excavation site to name just a few.

The street painting festival brings out an interesting culture, something I was very glad to be a part of.  Who knows, maybe next year, I’ll paint something.

Last night rain washed away most of what was created yesterday, but tonight, all that threatens is cold, expected to get in the high 30’s tonight.  All afternoon, we could feel the temperature dropping, most likely a 25 degree change from this afternoon to 5 this evening.

Tomorrow, the artists will all return to finish off their paintings.  Provided we don’t get any rain, many will last for a couple weeks.

Madonnaro has begun!

This weekend’s street painting festival at Pier Park in Panama City Beach began yesterday with artists from around the county and around the country.  High school students started their paintings yesterday, despite the threat of rain, and the two signature artists are beginning their paintings as I write this.

As they cordoned off their square many of the artists spoke their concern of rain, as it threatened the entire festival this weekend.  Today is overcast with a chance of rain.  The temperature is a almost perfect, but a little chilly 65.

The artists will be out all day, painting in various spots around the main boardwalk area of Pier Park, and bring the kids, as there will be a special kids painting section.

The Modannaro Street Painting Festival is put on by the Visual Arts Center of Panama City.

Red Rose Jems has done it again

They’ve outdone themselves again.  The first time I ate there, it was amazing, I really wanting them to be one of our sponsors.  The readers of pcbdaily had to know about them.  The second time I ate there, it was even better.

The third time, the other night, we ordered one of their gourmet pizzas, half cheese (for the kiddos) and half deluxe with sweet sausage.  It was unbeleivable.  I hadn’t had a pizza that great since Marco’s.

I’m not a food critic or conesouir, nor do I know any fancy culninary terms, but I can tell you, if you haven’t eaten at Red Rose yet, you’re missing out.

They are located on Thomas Drive, just down from the Joan Avenue/Thomas Drive intersection.  Right now, they are giving a 10% discount if you mention you heard about them on pcbdaily.com.  Be sure to stop by.

Their number is 850 249 4367.

Edgewater gets new Conference Center

Beginning this week, the Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort conference center is undergoing a $250,000 plus facelift.  This is the first of several phases of renovations to the resort property which will take place between now and the beginning of 2009.

As one of the largest conference center properties in Bay County, the Edgewater conference center has more than 32,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space. The conference center was constructed in 2000 to accommodate the growing demand for meeting facilities in Panama City Beach and currently hosts more than 2,000 meetings, conferences, weddings and sporting events each year.

“Since 2000, our conference center has been utilized by locals and national clients,” said Tom Sparks, general manager of The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach. “We are excited about the completion by the end of November.”

Other renovations on the horizon for Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort include a kid’s pool and water feature, sports complex to include a basketball, batting cages, kids playground, resurfacing of the current tennis courts, exterior improvements to the resort towers and new landscaping.

“The additional features we are adding to the resort property will add more value to our guests,” said Paul Wohlford, vice president of sales and marketing. “The renovations will allow us to maintain a competitive edge in the vacation and meetings market.”

I’ll be here all week, in and out, shoot timelapse of the whole thing – sweet!

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Community Banks Lending Despite Credit Crunch

As regional and national banks eagerly rush to accept government bailout loans in the face of frozen credit markets, local community banks are quickly becoming the go-to source for mortgage loans in Florida. Despite tighter underwriting guidelines from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and a secondary mortgage market with little appetite for Florida real estate, local community banks are still stepping in with loans designed to accommodate the local real estate market. These local banks have studied the specific needs of our local market and are offering loans tailored to the unique needs of Bay and surrounding counties.

One example is Panama City Beach. On the beach, the vast majority of properties listed for sale are condominiums which sprouted up all along the coast in the boom years of the first half of the decade. The flurry of condo development was due, in part, to the easy flow of credit and lax underwriting and property standards so prevalent at the time. Now, as investors paint all of Florida with the same broad brush, Beach condos are left with the same stigma as South Florida and labeled as “condo-tels” – a name coined by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to describe a hybrid between a condo and a hotel with resort-like facilities and daily rental desks. Though Fannie and Freddie didn’t seem to draw a distinction between condos and condo-tels in the past, they certainly do now. Financing for these properties has all but evaporated leaving many prospective second-home buyers with no options. Enter the community bank.

With deep roots all along the Florida Panhandle and in their respective markets, community banks understand our unique market and have a vested interest in its success. One such local community bank is Vision Bank. With a sincere belief in the viability of the Beach condo market, Vision Bank is lending its own money by developing portfolio products designed to provide affordable options for the local real estate market and the out of state second-home buyers so crucial to its resurgence. Vision Bank, while adhering to sound lending practices and diligent underwriting, is offering bank-held, fully amortizing mortgage products with no pre-payment penalties and no hidden fees designed specifically for the condo-tel market. Vision knows this market and knows that more condo sales will help stabilize prices and draw even more potential buyers back to the Beach and all of Bay County. That is the essence of a community bank – investing back in the community.

For this and more, visit my blog at www.activerain.com/blogs/hpalmer

Hunter Palmer

PCBDaily.com to Get New Server Home

With increased traffic, come slower load times with the same old equipment.  Over the last couple of months, as we’ve seen tremendous growth, the page load times have gone down the toilet, if you’ve even been able to get the page to load at all.

PCBDaily has been on the same old server for more than 2 years, and it is time for an upgrade.  The new server should allow much faster load times and a much more reliable connection, and we shouldn’t see those pesky “page cannot be displayed” errors any more.

We’ll be switching everything over in the next few days, but we are carefully planning everything out so as to make the transition as seamless as possible.

Thanks for your patience.

New President at Beaches Chamber

Panama City Beach, FL (November 12, 2008) — As of November 12, 2008 the Greater Panama City Beaches Chamber of Commerce has named a new President/CEO, Beth Oltman.

“The role of  President & CEO of the Beaches Chamber is key related to the coordination of communication and efforts required to ensure this region’s continued success,” states Chairman Al McCambry.  “With close to one thousand members, Beth will have the challenge of both continued growth and relationship building with key leaders throughout not only Bay County, but also NWFL.  She has demonstrated that she has the ability to accomplish what is needed.  We received many resumes from all over the country but in the end, felt our most qualified person was right here.  The Board of Directors and staff are very enthusiastic about Beth’s new role.”

Beth C. Oltman joined the Beaches Chamber as Executive Assistant / Office Manager in January 2007.  She was later promoted to the position of Director of Operations and Human Resources, and has acted as Interim Director since July 2008.  Beth relocated to Bay County in 2006 from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with her husband Brett Oltman, Account Manager of White Cap Construction Supply, and two young daughters Mary Grace 7, and Sadie 3.  Beth graduated from University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism, and graduated from Marriott’s Corporate training program in Convention Sales Management.  Her career in the Resort Hospitality industry has covered Convention Services, Catering Sales, Bed and Breakfast Management and working in the Golf Industry.

“I feel we have a very energetic, innovative chamber of commerce, and such a strong, creative team that believes in this community.  It is the people and the membership that are the treasures of this chamber,” she says.  “I look forward to strengthening these relationships, and working closely with our neighboring chambers of commerce, TDC/CVB and community organizations.”

Beth can be reached via email at Beth@PCBeach.org.  For more information please contact the Beaches Chamber at (850) 235-1159.

Auction at Towne of Seahaven

On December 13th, 2008 an auction will be held on site at Origin, at the Towne of Seahaven.

They will sell 29 condos with over 60 to choose from, including 2, 3, and 4 bedroom options.  It is being advertised as no minimums and no reserves with the auction to begin at 11 am CST.

Registered bidders will be expected to bring a deposit (listed below) and pay a 10% buyers premium on top of the final auction price they purchased at.

Deposit amounts:

Studio: $7,500

1 Bedroom: $10,000

2 Bedroom: $12,500

3 Bedroom: $15,000

4 Bedroom: $20,000

More Information