Welcome to PENSACOLA

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2007, the estimated population was 54,283. However, the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, comprising Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, had a population of 453,451.

Pensacola is a sea port on Pensacola Bay, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico. A large United States Naval Air Station, the first in the United States, is located southwest of Pensacola (near the community of Warrington) and is home to the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The main campus of the University of West Florida is situated north of the city center.

Pensacola is nicknamed "The City of Five Flags" due to the five governments that have flown flags over it during its history: those of Spain, France, Great Britain, the Confederate States of America, and the United States. Other nicknames include "World's Whitest Beaches" (due to the white sand prevalent along beaches in the Florida panhandle), "Cradle of Naval Aviation" (the National Museum of Naval Aviation is located at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, home of the legendary Blue Angels), "Western Gate to the Sunshine State," "America's First Settlement," "Emerald Coast," "Redneck Riviera," and "Red Snapper Capital of the World."

On February 19 of 2009, the King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sofía, took part in commemorating Pensacola's 450th anniversary, as America's first European settlement.

Sports Teams

Pensacola is home to several semiprofessional sports teams, including the Pensacola Lightning NAFL team (ranked fourth in the nation out of 147 teams in 2007) ,the Pensacola Pelicans of the American Association (of Independent Baseball) (AA), and the Gulf Coast Riptide of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA), who earned 8 consecutive Division Championships when they were the Pensacola Power of the National Women's Football Association (NWFA). Roy Jones, Jr., named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1990s by the Boxing Writers Association of America and a former pound for pound champion, fights out of Pensacola. Pensacola also had a ECHL hockey team by the name of the Pensacola Ice Pilots which recently had its membership terminated on June 23, 2008. However, hockey will return to Pensacola in fall 2009 when the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the Southern Professional Hockey League hit the ice.

Festivals and Holidays

Major holidays in Pensacola include Memorial Day (Memorial Day Weekend), Mardi Gras, and the Fiesta of Five Flags. Celebrations of note in Pensacola are the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival, the Seafood Festival, Crawfish Festival, Gay Pride(LGBT), (Memorial Day Weekend), The King Mackerel and Cobia Tournament, Florida Springfest (although canceled in 2006 through 2008), Gracefest (a Christian music festival), Lobsterfest, University of West Florida Festival on the Green, The Diesel Dee Diesel Dyow Attempts, the Bushwhacker Festival and the Bill Fishing Tournament. Independence Day and Blue Angel Weekend also attract many locals and tourists at nearby Pensacola Beach.

Historic Seville Square and its adjacent parks, Fountain Park and Bartram Park, are the sites of most of Pensacola's festivals. In the summer on Thursdays and on the Thursday in the beginning of the Christmas season, the Pensacola Heritage Foundation presents local bands in its famous gazebo for free and very popular concerts. In December the Pensacola Christmas Market is a popular event in Seville Square as is the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival and Seafood Festival are in the fall and the Cajun Crawfish Festival in in the spring. Festivals in Seville Square is a successful tradition begun by local preservationists in the early 1960s led by Mary Turner Rule Reed and the Pensacola Heritage Foundation who started the movement to save and restore this square and Pensacola's old settlement around it.

The Arts and Theatre

Pensacola has an active art scene thanks to the University of West Florida and the folk music subculture of the area. A recent revival in Dada and surrealism has also surfaced in the area and art shows have become more and more frequent. Events are planned by the Arts Council of Northwest Florida, including Gallery Night; a monthly event in which downtown businesses host artwork from featured area artists.

There are a number of different performance venues in the Pensacola Area, including the Pensacola Civic Center, often used for big ticket events, and the Saenger Theater, used for performances and mid level events. Currently the Saenger Theater is closed for renovations and is due to reopen in March of 2009.

Pensacola Christian College hosts its Fine Arts Series each year, attracting prominent artists that include the late Jerome Hines of the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Atlantic Brass Quintet, Christopher Parkening, the Vienna Boys' Choir and the Gregg Smith Singers. Other performances include operas, Shakespearean plays, and Gilbert and Sullivan musicals.