Rising Tides is an opinion column about Mobile.
Pensacola is about to hold its 12th annual Foo Foo Fest, which brings up a question that’s been bugging me for about 12 years now: Should Mobile be jealous?
For those unfamiliar, Foo Foo Fest is more of an umbrella marketing concept than an actual festival. This year’s lineup includes disparate events from Pensacola Opera, the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra and Pensacola Little Theatre as well as dozens of exhibitions, concerts, music festivals and special-interest conventions. Foo Foo Fest beckons with a promise: We’ve got a lot going on, and if you come visit us now, you’re guaranteed to find something you enjoy.
Guess what? Mobile has a lot going on this time of year, too. It’s just a fact of event planning on the central Gulf Coast. You probably don’t want to compete with the Thanksgiving-to-New Year’s holiday season, or with Mardi Gras. It’s too dang hot to do much of anything in the summer…