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Sam Bush and his band played on a gorgeous winter day of 75 degrees during the 30A Songwriters Festival at Gulf Place. Randall Bramblett brought his saxophone and joined the band on stage for a few tunes.

Sam wore a Stinky's Fish Camp T-shirt and thanked owner jim Richard for keeping him and the boys well fed. The band got started a little late so local favorite Dread Clampitt was unable to join him on stage as planned.

From a misty morning sunrise to a serene golden sunset on Peach Creek Bayou. Mullet leap and Redfish tail, from the kayak Largemouth Bass are hooked. An Osprey (fish eagle) chirps and chases an American Bald Eagle three times his size into the bough of a Longleaf Pine. Pelicans and migrating Mallards dive and feed. Fishermen motor out for a day of trout fishing on the Choctawhatchee (chock-tuh-hatch-ee) Bay.

It was the warm and lazy last day of 2011, and it was a good one, living the dream. Summer never really ended that year.
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South Walton is almost always filled with shiny, happy people visiting our beautiful beaches. Every early morning each year on January first, the beach behind WaterColor Inn & Resort is crowded with folks who are shinier and happier than the norm, eager to start the New Year with a splash by taking a chilly dip in the Gulf of Mexico.

What better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon than kayak fishing on the calm waters of one of South Walton's hidden gems.

Peach Creek flows north from the wetlands of Point Washington State Forest, on the north side of Seagrove Beach, Florida. It's just a short distance from the Gulf of Mexico and Scenic Highway 30A.

What begins as a trickle, widens to SoWal's largest freshwater creek, opening up to a beautiful bayou flowing into the Intracoastal Waterway and the Choctawhatchee (Chock-tuh-hatch-ee) Bay.

Santa arrives in a one-horse, open sleigh and lights up children's eyes and turns on the massive Christmas tree in the middle of town, as carolers stroll in and around the merchants' open houses.

The next morning is breakfast and photos with Santa, an open-air Holiday market, Christmas trees for sale, and a Bocce Ball tournament on Western Green by the gulf.

The SoWal-sponsored, annual Flutterby Festival is returned to Rosemary Beach, Nov. 12-13, 2011, celebrating the arts and the migration of the Monarch Butterfly in SoWal. Hosted by the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA), the event also featured interactive adventures by the Seaside Repertory Theatre.

Cottages for Kids is a SoWal-sponsored, unique fundraising event that benefits Children's Volunteer Health Network, Inc., a faith based, 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that seeks to enhance the lives of uninsured and under-insured children by facilitating free immediate access to medical, dental and mental health care.

With tremendous imagination and craftsmanship, builder's and architects come together to create, construct and decorate whimsical cottages that look like they have popped out from the pages of a fairytale to modern creations brimming with creativity.

The Annual Seeing Red Wine Festival in Seaside, Florida is always one of the SoWal's best events. Decades of southern tradition in our charming beach town sets the stage for a wonderful weekend of wine, food, and music.

The wine festival offers an extensive array of tasting tents with wines sampled from around the world and a retail wine tent so you can buy your favorites to take home.

Often it's referred to simply as "Noche", and it gets more fun, more creative, and more thrilling every year. It's a SoWal-sponsored Halloween tradition that has to be seen (and felt) to be believed. The setting at Alys Beach's Caliza Pool is world class, and it's an amazing setting for lights, camera, and plenty of ACTION during the annual Noche de los Muertos costume party.