Friday, December 4, is the island's busiest night of the season. At 5 p.m., decorated boats line up at Sabine Marina. At 6:30 the Lighted Boat Parade leaves Little Sabine Bay, loops through Santa Rosa Sound past the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk and heads back to the marina. Fireworks go up over the Sound at 7:30. Santa and Mrs. "Mermaid" Claus stay at the Quietwater Shell until 8:30. That same morning, sailboats start racing for the Fast Eddie Cup on Quietwater Beach.
Every part of that night happens on the sound side, and you watch it from shore. That matters this year. A month after Hurricane Isaias, the Boardwalk's restrooms are rebuilt and most of the restaurants around it have reopened. The places that put you on the water or out over it are taking longer.
The Boardwalk got its work done before the crowds
The Santa Rosa Island Authority's board heard on October 28 that the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk bathroom renovation is finished, at a cost of $239,562, according to the November 5 issue of Island Times. On a parade night that draws spectators from Little Sabine to the bridge, that may be the most useful thing the island fixed this fall.
Most of the food is back too. In its October 19 recovery report, the Pensacola News Journal listed Peg Leg Pete's, The Dock, Papa's Pizza, Flounder's, Crabs on the Beach, Red Fish Blue Fish and The Barefoot as back in business, and said most of the island's core businesses had reopened.
Two places from earlier this year will be new to anyone who hasn't eaten on the island lately. Baja Coastal Kitchen took over the former Laguna's Beach Bar and Grill space at 460 Pensacola Beach Blvd. in March, the News Journal reported. Sugar Daddy Donuts, a miniature-doughnut shop at 4 Casino Beach Boardwalk, made the paper's list of 2026 Pensacola-area openings. If you're at the Turkey Trot, it's a short walk from the finish line.
The calendar, sorted by which water it faces
Lay the season out by date and the pattern shows quickly. Most of it faces the Sound. The Gulf-side exceptions are the Thanksgiving 5K at Casino Beach, Surfin' Santa on Via de Luna, and the Park West half of the Nov. 28 beach cleanup.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: The Krewe of Wicked Pirates' second annual Gobble & Guzzle Turkey Trot starts at Bounce on the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk, then moves on to Hooters, Bamboo Willie's, Senor Frogs, The Wharf and the Sandshaker.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 8 a.m.: The Pensacola Beach Turkey Trot for Thought 5K and Kids Dash start at Casino Beach's Gulfside Pavilion, with breakfast, awards and a costume contest. Proceeds go to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke and to Children in Crisis.
- Friday, Nov. 27, 6 p.m.: The Pensacola Beach Boardwalk Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive in their sled and stay at the center of the Boardwalk until 9 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 8:45 a.m. sign-in: Ocean Hour beach cleanups at two spots, the amphitheater shell on the Boardwalk and Park West. Supplies are provided.
- Friday, Dec. 4: The Lighted Boat Parade, its fireworks, and the first day of Fast Eddie Cup racing on Quietwater.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, 2 p.m.: The Surfin' Santa Beach Parade starts at Avenida 10 and runs down Via de Luna Drive to the Gulfside Pavilion. Child safety barricades run from Alvin's Island to Sidelines Sports Bar.
- Thursday, Dec. 31, midnight: New Year's Eve fireworks over Santa Rosa Sound, sponsored by the Escambia County Tourist Development Council.
- Friday, Jan. 1, 2027, noon to 3 p.m.: The Polar Bear Plunge, hosted by Paradise Inn/Bar & Grill, in Santa Rosa Sound. Registration is $20 cash with a commemorative T-shirt, $10 without one, and $10 for the Cub Club for kids in fifth grade and under.
The Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce runs its December events under the name Season Your Holidays. It says all events can change with the weather and posts updates on its Facebook page.
December 4, up close
Three things share one evening on the Sound. Here is how they line up, using the Chamber's published times.
Time | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
10 a.m. | Fast Eddie Cup racing begins, daily through Dec. 6 | Quietwater Beach, north of Key Sailing |
5 p.m. | Parade boat lineup | Sabine Marina |
6:30 p.m. | Lighted Boat Parade departs | Little Sabine Bay |
About 7:15 p.m. | Larger boats join the parade | Bob Sikes Bridge |
7:30 to 8 p.m. | Fireworks, sponsored by the Boardwalk Merchants Association | Over Santa Rosa Sound |
7:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Santa and Mrs. "Mermaid" Claus greet children for sleigh photos | Quietwater Shell |
The Chamber names three good places to watch: Little Sabine, the Boardwalk, or any business along the parade route. Fireworks and Santa start at the same time, so families with small children will have to choose between them. Anyone who wants to enter a boat has until Monday, Nov. 23 at 5 p.m. to register. The fee is $35 per boat, and the "Most Merry" and "Best of Show" awards are up for grabs. Bigger boats that would rather skip the Little Sabine loop can join at the Bob Sikes Bridge around 7:15.
Fast Eddie Cup sailors practice December 1 through 3 before racing all weekend. If you're on the Boardwalk that week, you'll see boats on Quietwater days before the parade.
Where Isaias still shows: the places that put you on the water
The regatta's location points to the season's one weak spot. Key Sailing, the rental and boat-tour shop at the Boardwalk, posted in the November 5 Island Times that it is "recovering from Hurricane Isaias damage" and asked customers to "check back for our re-opening date." The Fast Eddie Cup races just north of that shop. Watching from shore is easy this December. Renting your own boat on the same water is still waiting on the shop to reopen.
The Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier is in a similar spot. Island Times reported on October 22 that both the Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach piers were damaged. In the paper's November 5 fishing column, the writer said that as of October 29 they were "still looking forward to Pensacola Beach Pier reopening very soon." The same column reported whiting, redfish, pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and cobia coming off the Navarre Pier. The Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle Pompano Tournament is already running and goes until April 30. Anyone who signs up on the island will want to know where they can fish from.
Smaller access points are on the same list. Visit Pensacola's storm recovery page says the island's public beaches are open and the Park East parking lot is open. It also lists one Park East boardwalk and the steps into Santa Rosa Sound on Panferio as closed. If your morning walk or paddle launch uses either one, check the current status before you go.
Farther west, the Seashore came through well. On October 26, the National Park Service said Gulf Islands National Seashore had reopened all areas after Isaias, Fort Pickens included. Superintendent Rick Clark said in that release that "Isaias caused no substantial damage to buildings or infrastructure in the park's Florida or Mississippi Districts." The park still asks visitors to use caution on trails and stay out of signed closed areas. A Fort Pickens afternoon before the Surfin' Santa parade is a good option again.
The bridge changes in the middle of the season
Getting to these events will change partway through December. Isaias pushed back Escambia County's Pensacola Beach Gateway Improvements Project. County public information manager Andie Gibson told Island Times the project should be done by the end of the year, with demolition of the Bob Sikes Toll Facility "now expected in mid-December." That puts the demolition between Surfin' Santa and New Year's Eve. Bob Sikes tolls are also waived until further notice to help with storm recovery.
So the holiday trips you make in November and early December cross the bridge with the booth still standing, and the New Year's Eve trip will likely come after it's gone. The SRIA's full board also meets on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. at #1 Via de Luna. The meeting is open to the public, and remote dial-in details are posted at sria-fla.com.
On New Year's Day, the Polar Bear Plunge is the one event on this calendar that asks you into the Sound instead of just watching it. Registration opens at noon at Paradise.
Planning a holiday season on the island, or thinking about a place on the sound side where parade night is right outside your door? The team at Avenue Realty knows how each part of Pensacola Beach works from the water to the bridge, and we're glad to share what we know. Schedule a Free Home Consultation.
