Halloween Film Festival candy buy-back among treats

Whether you love Halloween scares or prefer something tamer, you should be able to find an activity to your liking in today’s cover story.

If you’re wondering, the suggested time for trick-or-treating is 6-8 p.m. on Halloween.

A unique event this year is the Halloween Film Festival sponsored by the Productions Services Association of Northwest Florida.

Local filmmakers were invited to submit 2-9 minute films with a “fright” or Halloween theme rated PG-13 or lower.

RJ Murdock, president of PSAnwf, said 15 filmmakers made the cut. The premiere screening of these films will take place noon-4 p.m. on Halloween Day at Cinema Plus movie theater in downtown Fort Walton Beach.

“We plan to loop the films several times within this time period to allow moviegoers to walk in at any time,” Murdock said in a press release.

Admission is $1. Concessions will be available for purchase.

After the screening, the films will be posted on the group’s Web site, PSAnwf.com, for two weeks. Viewers will be able to vote for their favorite.

The winning films and awards will be presented at 6 p.m. Nov. 11 on the second floor of Fokkers Pizza & Sports Pub in Fountain Square in downtown Fort Walton Beach.

Prizes include cash awards ($100 for first, $60 for second, $40 for third) as well as prize packages donated by downtown merchants.

Call 244-7100.

If your children collect way more candy than you think they should have, the Gulf Coast Dental Center is offering a Halloween Candy Buy-Back 1-3 p.m. Nov. 1 at the center, 4566 E. State Road 20, in Bluewater Bay.

According to a press release, they will buy back children’s Halloween candy at $1 a pound – (up to 5 pounds) and then send it to military troops overseas.

The center will provide refreshments, goodie bags, and face-painting. There also will be an art table for children to make signs and cards to send to the troops.

Feel free to wear your costume, and bring a friend. For more details, call 582-9217.

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I attended the Destin Festival of the Arts last Saturday and — if I’d remembered sunscreen and a hat — could have stayed all day, it was that wonderful.

The art was amazing. The weather was perfect. The planning and organization were exemplary.

The band Emerald Gold was performing while I was there, and the crowd was loving them.

A tip of the painter’s palette to the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation and all others involved for another incredible edition of the festival.

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An update to something I wrote about a few weeks ago: Nancy Veldman moved her popular shop, Magnolia House, from Grayton Beach to Grand Boulevard in late August.

The move was reported in our Retail Corridor column last month, but I missed it, and the sign for her shop was still out during my last visit to Grayton earlier this month.

Sorry for the confusion.