Community Calendar

Saturday, Feb. 27

Community Yard Sale

Merchants and individuals are welcome at the Community Yard Sale at Gulf Place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 27. Call 835-1584 or e-mail permakat@gmail.com.

Florida Trail Association

Hike on Tarkin Preserve Park with the Florida Trail Association at 8 a.m. Feb. 27. Call 554-7255.

Farmers Market

The Seaside Farmers Market is held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Amphitheater behind Raw & Juicy. Find fresh produce, baked goods and other unique offerings, and enjoy local specialties, cooking demos and activities.

Art workshop

Francis X. Pavy will conduct an Art Block Printing Workshop for the Cultural Arts Association of Walton County from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Point Washington United Methodist Church on North County Road 395 in Santa Rosa Beach. The registration fee is $50 plus a $25 supply fee. All students should bring a sack lunch. To register, call 622-5970.

Needle Art in the Atrium

Sand Dunes Chapter, Embroiderers’ Guild of America, will present an upcoming show of members’ needlework, Needle Art in the Atrium, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 27 and 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 28 at Westwood Retirement Resort, 1001 Mar Walt Drive in Fort Walton Beach. Admission is free.

Sunday, Feb. 28

Sinfonia Gulf Coast

The Sinfonia Gulf Coast presents Time Travel at 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at Good News United Methodist Church in Santa Rosa Beach. The Manhattan Piano Trio and Demetrius Fuller, clarinet, will be featured. Tickets are available at www.SinfoniaGulfCoast.org or call 269-7129.

Monday, March 1

Shelter House Open House

Shelter House, local domestic violence center, will host an Open House from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 1 at  their new Santa Rosa Beach office, 78 Lynn Drive. Contact the office at 622-5411 or by fax at 622-0625. This office will also be a donation drop off location.

Talent Quest Sunshine State 2010

Karaoke Cafe continues the local portion of Talent Quest Sunshine State 2010, a Statewide Karaoke singing championship at 9 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until March 6. Local judging will be done by Top This! Resident KJ Sinatra Morgan and Marketing Director Tammy Lenhardt. The March 6 finals will feature judges from the Talent Quest of FL and include $100 in cash and prizes for each winner!

Contestants in three categories, country, pop and masters, male and female, will compete separately to reach the national finals in Laughlin, Nev., where a total cash prize of $27,500 is guaranteed and split between the winners, along with many possible entertainment contracts and sponsor prizes. Contestants wanting to join in this festive event are urged to call 424-5322 or stop by Top This! between the hours of 2 and 7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 2

Taste of Home Cooking School

The 16th annual WZEP Taste of Home Cooking School will be held March 2 at the new Walton High School auditorium in DeFuniak Springs. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and Taste of Home culinary specialist Michelle Roberts starts cooking at 6:30 p.m. Ten fresh picked favorite recipes will be prepared on stage and given as door prizes. Prior to the show, attendees may visit booths, register for prizes and pick up promotional items.

As part of the “Cooks Who Care” program, food will be collected for The Path of Grace in Freeport, a home for women recovering from addictions.

Tickets are $8 and on sale at the WZEP studios, 449 North 12th Street in DeFuniak Springs. Tickets can also be ordered by sending a SASE to P.O. Box 627, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435 or visit www.wzep1460.com. Call 892-3158.

Workshop

Seagrove Garden Club will sponsor an organic garden on the Alaqua property where the harvest will be sold to support the animals. To prepare the garden, the club will sponsor a sheet mulching workshop from 10 a.m. to noon March 2 at Alaqua, 914 Whitfield Road in Freeport. No reservations necessary. Call 916-316-6820. Bring gloves, tools, questions and hot coffee. $5 charge.

Wednesday, March 3

Art in Public Places

The works of acrylic artist Judi Bludworth will be featured during March at The Walton County Tourist Development Council and Friends of Coastal Branch Library Art in Public Places exhibit at the Coastal Branch Library. Call 267-1216.

Thursday, March 4

Panama City Music Association

The Panama City Music Association presents the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra with William De Rosa March 4 in the Panama City Marina Civic Center. Tickets may be purchased at 763-4696 or visit www.marinaciviccenter.com for more information.

Choctawhatchee Audubon Society

“Native Plants for Birds and Butterflies” will be presented by gardener Marie Harrison at 6:30 p.m. March 4 in the Learning Resources Center LRC Room 128 at NWF State College in Niceville. Programs are free and open to the public.

Friday, March 5

Choctawhatchee Audubon Society Eventures

Discover the sights and sounds of nature at night with Nonie’s Ark Animal Encounters on a free hour-long night walk for the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society at 5:30 p.m. March 5 in Niceville. All are invited but focus is on ages 4-10. Bring a flashlight/. RSVP for location to 862-9588 or nonie@noniesark.com.

First Friday

The First Friday ArtWalk will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. March 5 at Ruskin Place & Central Square. Enjoy live music and view works of art and artist demos at the galleries and shops.

Seaside Repertory Theatre

The Seaside Repertory Theatre will present two short plays, How to Succeed in High School Without Really Trying and Variations on a Theme, at 7:30 p.m. March 5 and 6 in the Seaside Meeting Hall Theatre. Tickets are $10 each, and can be purchased at 850-231-0733 or online at www.seasiderep.org. All proceeds from the intern shows directly benefit the Seaside Repertory Theatre Intern Program.

Saturday, March 6

Relay for Life fundraiser

The Walton County Clerk of Courts office will hold a Relay for Life fundraiser, Scrapbookin’ 4 a Cause, from 8 a.m. to midnight March 6 at the DeFuniak Springs Civic Center. Bring supplies. RSVP by March 3 at 333-3521 or 892-8115, Ext. 2246.

Bird Walk

Members and non-members of all levels of experience are invited on a bird walk caravan around the Valparaiso area on March 6. Bring binoculars, bird book and weather appropriate clothing. Meet at Niceville Badcock Furniture parking lot at 7:30 a.m.

Topsail tour

A 2010 Step-Up Florida dune ecosystems hike will be held at 10:30 a.m. March 6 at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach. Visitors will be guided down the paved tram path to get to the beach where they will learn about the plants and animals that live in a dune ecosystem. A $3 park entrance fee is required. Outside tours are canceled during severe weather. For information call 267-8330.

Artists at Gulf Place

The following events will be held from March 6 through April 10 at Artists at Gulf Place, Corner of 393 and 30-A in Santa Rosa Beach. Call 622-0400.

•Recycled Art Workshop, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Monday.

•Jewelry Making, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Tuesday and 2 to 4:30 p.m. every Thursday.

•The Dye Workshop, 3 to 5 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday.

•Kids Art Workshop, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday.

•Happy Sign Painting with Wendy, 2 to 5 p.m. every Wednesday.

Green Thumb Garden Club

The Green Thumb Garden Club of Santa Rosa Beach will host a program by author, entertainer, columnist, artist and floral designer Mark Ballard from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 6 at the Sandestin Hilton Golf & Beach Resort. Proceeds will benefit the Genevieve Mercer Horticulture Scholarship. Tickets are $40. Make reservations at 880-6066 or coolbreeze485@hotmail.com.

Upcoming

Cash 4 College workshop

Northwest Florida State College will hold a free “Cash 4 College” financial aid workshop to help students and parents complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid from 1 to 4 p.m. March 7 on the Niceville campus in building C-1 and C-2. Call 729-5370 or e-mail bennettp@nwfstatecollege.edu.

Steak & Burger Dinner

The University of Alabama’s Team Chaplain and former NFL Player, Jeremiah Castille, will share his personal story on what it takes to be a champion at The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast DeFuniak Springs Teen Center’s second annual Steak & Burger Dinner at 6 p.m. March 11 at the DeFuniak Springs Community Center. Proceeds will support the annual operating costs of the Teen Center.

Corporate and community sponsors are being sought for the event. Tickets are $25 and available at The Teen Center or Tax Collector’s Office. If interested in sponsoring the event, contact Fundraising Chair Mike Morris at 585-1718 or mmorris@chelco.com.