Autumn in Destin

A full day of family funECWC
Fall Festival

Saturday, November 14  ·  2:00 – 7:00 PM

Hosted by Davis-Sikes American Legion Post 296
311 Main Street, Destin · park at the church or the corner lot

A free community afternoon in the heart of old Destin, two minutes off the harbor: a chili cook-off with Florida state champions in the field, a dunk tank with the mayor and your kids’ teachers in it, and the search for the strongest kids on the Emerald Coast.

Chili cook-offTasting opens at 3:00 · state champs are entering Dunk the mayorPlus teachers from all three Destin schools Strongest kid on the CoastThree events · free to enter · separate girls and boys titles
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See the whole day Sponsor the festival

Headliner two

Dunk the mayor. Dunk your teacher.

Mrs. Madison from Destin High, Coach Tate from Destin Middle, Coach Samac from Destin Elementary, Mayor Bobby Wagner, and more still being lined up. Kids line up, throw, and watch the people who grade them hit the water. New face every hour.

Who's in the tank
  • 2–3Mrs. MadisonDestin High School
  • 3–4Coach TateDestin Middle School
  • 4–5Mayor Bobby WagnerCity of Destin
  • 5–6Coach SamacDestin Elementary School
  • 6–7And more to comeMore brave volunteers being lined up

Take a shot at it

In the tank: Mrs. Madison

DUNK TANK Still dry.
Dunks0
Misses0
Best round0/3

Three balls. Stop the needle in the gold band to soak them. Every hit shrinks the band and speeds the needle up.

Headliner one

Bring your pot. Take the title.

Florida state chili champions are entering this one, and local cooks and restaurants get their shot at beating them. Tasting runs inside the hall from 3:00 until 5:00. Five dollars gets you a cup, a spoon and three voting chips — a taste of every pot in the room. Most points takes the title of Best Chili in Destin, announced at 5:30.

How the voting works

$5 to taste, and that covers every chili in the room. You get three chips with it: one white worth three points, two black worth one each. Taste your way down the line, then put the white chip in your favourite and a black chip in each of your next two. All three go to different pots. Most points wins the plaque.

Pot Luck Flavor 0 Combo -- 30s
Pot Luck

Catch the chili ingredients. Dodge the mullet, nobody wants that in there. It speeds up every five seconds and your pot gets smaller. Drag, or use the arrow keys.

Ingredients +10 to +20   Mullet −25   Ladle +5s   Judge’s token +60   Spice jar, double points

Bring it hot and hold it at 135°F, and list any major allergens.

Headliner three

Who is the strongest kid on the Emerald Coast?

By the end of the day, somebody gets named Emerald Coast's Strongest Kid. Alex from Militia Fitness built the test to settle it — three events, his standards, his judging, same test for everybody. Six titles are up for grabs, and the trophies are already engraved and sitting on a shelf waiting for the winners.

Kids: come compete

You don't need to be a wrestler, you don't need a gym membership, and you don't need to have trained for this. Every kid who shows up gets a shot at a title, and nobody gets weeded out for being small — it's scored so the biggest kid doesn't win just by being biggest.

Free to enter. Sign up at the strength area any time during the afternoon and Alex will run you through all three events.

Parents: this is the one event your kid will talk about all week. Somebody is going home with one of those trophies. It might as well be your kid.

01

Max dead hang pull-ups

From a dead hang, as many as you can. No kipping, no swinging.

02

Sandbag carry for distance

Pick it up, keep walking. It ends when you put it down.

03

One minute of push-ups

Chest to the ground every rep. Sixty seconds, go.

Six separate titles

Girls compete against girls. Boys compete against boys. Nobody is up against the other.

Girls Strongest Girl — Elementary Strongest Girl — Middle School Strongest Girl — High School
Boys Strongest Boy — Elementary Strongest Boy — Middle School Strongest Boy — High School
Six engraved Feats of Strength trophies for Emerald Coast's Strongest Kid, three for girls and three for boys, in elementary, middle and high school divisions
They're already made. Six of them, waiting for a name.

How it's scored: we record your raw numbers in all three events, then rank everyone inside your own division. Each event gives you placement points, and the best combined score takes the title. No weight classes and no advantage for being the biggest kid — it rewards grit and staying power more than size.

The strength contest is run by Alex of Militia Fitness here in Destin, so the standards and the judging are the real thing.

Bar Fight Reps 0 30s
Bar Fight

Hold to pull. The second your chin clears the bar, let go. Snap off the top and you string together clean reps; hang up there and your grip burns. 30 seconds.

On the patio

Live music from Norah Bass

We talked a Panhandle songwriter with a real following into playing our lot. She goes on at four and plays until six, right as the light goes.

Norah Bass playing acoustic guitar at a microphone, wearing a cowboy hat
Norah Bass · Panama City Beach
Norah Bass performing on stage with her full band at Roberts Hall
Norah Bass and her band at Roberts Hall
4:00 – 6:00 PM · the patio

Norah has been playing stages across the Florida Panhandle since middle school. She cut her first original in Nashville at fifteen with a producer who has worked with Luke Combs, and she has written and recorded more than a dozen songs since, now backed by a full live band. Her music has been featured on WJHG's "Today's Tunes," and you can find tracks like "Northern Florida Skies" and "No Bridges Burned" wherever you stream.

She’s seventeen. Come see her on a patio in Destin while you still can.

Your favorite Floridian country singer.

norahbassmusic.com Instagram TikTok Listen
28K+followers on TikTok
12+original songs recorded
4–6on our patio, Nov 14

And everything else

The rest of the day

Three headliners, and plenty more going on around them. Inside the hall, out in the lot, and on into the evening.

I.

Live music

Norah Bass and her band play the patio from 4 to 6, right as the sun goes down. She is seventeen and on the way up.

II.

Off the smoker

Hot dogs and sausage dogs by the back patio, with cotton candy and kettle corn alongside.

III.

Cake walk

Inside the hall, next to the bake sale.

IV.

Carnival games

Built by hand. A prize for everyone who plays.

V.

Bounce house

For the little ones, in the back lot.

VI.

Raffle table

Local businesses are loading us up. The prize list is still growing and it is going to be good.

VII.

The Legion bar

Post 296's canteen is open to the public that day. Grab a drink inside while the kids run the lot.

VIII.

Meet the club

Coaches on hand, sign-ups open for the spring season. No experience or gear needed.

Run of the day

Two to seven, hour by hour

Something going on outside in the lot and inside the hall the whole time. Come for an hour or stay for all five — the titles and the raffle land at the end.

All day Carnival games · Bounce house · Off the smoker · Cotton candy & kettle corn · Hot cocoa · Raffle tickets · Bake sale · Spring sign-ups
Outside — the lotInside — the hall
  • 2:00 Gates open. Games, bounce house and the smoker fire up. Dunk tank: Mrs. Madison Bake sale, raffle and auction table, merch and spring sign-ups all open. The Legion bar is open to the public.
  • 2:30 Strength contest opens, run by Alex of Militia Fitness. Sign up and compete any time. Cooks setting up. Pots coming up to temperature.
  • 3:00 Dunk tank: Coach Tate Chili tasting opens. $5 for a cup, a spoon and three voting chips. Cake walk, first round.
  • 4:00 Norah Bass and her band take the patio until 6. Dunk tank: Mayor Wagner Tasting rolls on. Cooks top up their pots.
  • 5:00 Last call for the strength contest. Dunk tank: Coach Samac Voting closes. Last chips in the buckets. Cake walk, second round.
  • 5:30 Last call on the dunk tank. Best Chili in Destin announced. Trophy to the winning pot.
  • 6:00 Awards. Emerald Coast's Strongest Kid, all six titles. Band wraps. Silent auction closes.
  • 6:30 Raffle drawing and the total raised for the club. —
  • 7:00 Good night. Drive safe. —

Getting there

Where to park

The whole festival happens at the Legion, inside the hall and out in the lot. The lot itself is full of the festival, so park at the church across Main Street or at the corner lot just south of us, both a short walk away.

MAIN STREET LEGION DRIVE Festival grounds Inside and out · festival only, no public parking American Legion Post 296 Chili · cake walk · bar Out back: games, music, dunk tank, smoker $ Tickets Turn in here Corner lot Park here Safe Harbor Presbyterian Park here Cross at the light Cross here at the light N
Festival grounds — the Legion, inside and out Parking — the corner lot and Safe Harbor Presbyterian across Main

Rough diagram, not to scale. 311 Main Street, Destin, at Main and Legion Drive. Park at Safe Harbor Presbyterian across Main Street or at the corner lot just south of the Legion. If you park at the church, cross at the light and our crew will help you across.

Where the money goes

Why we're throwing a party

Emerald Coast Wrestling Club started this year with a room at the Legion and a handful of volunteers. Every dollar this festival raises goes straight back to the kids on the mat.

72kids on the mat this season
4states wrestlers traveled from to train here
100%volunteer run
0kids turned away over money — families who need help get sponsored

None of this happens without them

Thank you, Davis-Sikes
American Legion Post 296

Post 296 has given our club a home since day one. They hand us their hall every Tuesday night so 72 kids have a place to wrestle, and they are giving us the hall and the lot for this festival free of charge — no rent, no catch, just veterans who decided Destin's kids were worth it.

A home for the club

Practice every Tuesday, April through October, in their hall. We could not run this club without that room.

The whole festival, donated

The hall, the kitchen and the parking lot for the day, given to us at no cost so every dollar raised goes to the kids.

Veterans serving again

The same people who served this country are now volunteering their building for a youth sports club. That is who they are.

Their canteen is open to the public all afternoon, so stop in, grab a drink and thank them on November 14. Better yet, come back on a Sunday for breakfast, catch bingo on Monday or karaoke on Friday — they are open to the public, and supporting them supports every kid in our club.

Davis-Sikes American Legion Post 296 · 311 Main Street, Destin · (850) 837-3818

Before you ask

Questions

Does it cost anything to come?

No. The whole festival is free and open to the public, inside the hall and out in the lot. Kids play everything — carnival games and the bounce house — on a $10 wristband, $25 maximum per family. Chili tasting is $5, the dunk tank is $5 for three balls and raffle tickets are $5. Food and drink are priced at the stand, and the Legion bar takes cash. Nobody gets turned away — if the wristband is tough, come see us at the money table.

Where exactly do I park?

At Safe Harbor Presbyterian Church across Main Street, or at the corner lot just south of the Legion. Both are a short walk. The Legion lot itself is where the festival is, so it is not open for parking. If you park at the church, cross at the light and our crew will be out there helping.

Is it kid friendly?

That's the whole idea. Bounce house, carnival games, a cake walk, cotton candy and kettle corn. The kids' area stays well away from the smoker and the bar.

Can my restaurant enter the cook-off?

Please do. Restaurants and businesses cook in the same field as everyone else, pots are numbered rather than named, and the bragging rights are real.

What if it rains?

The chili, cake walk and bake sale are inside the hall either way. If the weather turns we move what we can indoors and post the call on our Facebook page that morning.

Can I set up a vendor table?

Yes, and we especially want anything aimed at kids — face painting, caricatures, balloons, crafts, sweets. A table is $50, or free if you donate $75 or more in value to the raffle table. Email info@ecwrestlingclub.com and we'll get you a spot.

Can I help?

Yes, and we need it. Volunteers work one short shift and spend the rest of the day enjoying the festival with their families. Email us and we'll find you a spot.

We need hands

Run a game, pour cocoa, flip the smoker, work the ticket table, keep the corner crew in signs, or help tear down at the end. Volunteers are the only reason this happens at all. Take a shift or take the whole day — whatever you can give, we'll use.

Or just call Autumn at 509-344-9796. Kids 13 and up can volunteer alongside an adult.