Gulf County preps for Fourth of July
There will be no shortage of festivities for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend in Gulf County and surrounding areas.
Know of an event you don’t see listed? Email details to [email protected].
Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Festival
The festivities will get started on Sunday, July 3, with the sixth annual Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Festival. The Festival will include music by The Hunter Wall Band, the first Annual Sea Creature Parade at the Festival site, food trucks, turtle talks, educational displays, arts and crafts vendors, and activities for kids.
The Festival is free to attendees and will take place rain or shine at George Core Park in Port St. Joe from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT.
For more details, visit the event’s Facebook page.
Sandy Shoes 5k Run
All ages are invited to participate in this family-friendly race, which will kick off at 7 a.m. CDT on July 4 at Under the Palms Park in Mexico Beach. A very easy course that will allow any stage of runner to enjoy. Runners will start and end at the same location, with water stations along the road to route runners through the course. Spirited volunteers and onlookers will be cheering on each racer as they cross the finish line.
This is a non-chipped, non-official timed race. All runners will be responsible for capturing his/her own time. A race clock will be provided, displayed and visible to all runners as they cross the finish line.
Park. Registration fee includes race bib and t-shirt. Registration will close on June 24. There will be no day of race registration. To register, click here.
City of Port St. Joe Fireworks Display
The Gulf County TDC and The City of Port St Joe will be putting on a spectacular firework celebration at 10:00 p.m. EDT on July 4. The show will be visible from the Port St. Joe downtown area and the George Core Park area.
City of Wewahitchka Fireworks Display
The Gulf County TDC and The City of Wewahitchka will be putting on a spectacular firework celebration at Lake Alice Park on July 4. The fireworks display is scheduled to begin at dark.
City of Mexico Beach Fireworks Display
Mexico Beach’s Blast on the Beach Firework Show will begin around 8:30 p.m. CDT. This show can be seen throughout the entire city, and it will be one show you will not want to miss.
For those who will be enjoying the show on the beach, the city asks that they be mindful of their “Leave No Trace” ordinance that states all personal belonging must be taken off the beach when beachgoers leave for the day.
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.