It's that time a year again, when the snowbirds descend from the north onto the coastline and breathe some life into the otherwise sleepy winter months in Destin.
Many of our northern friends have already arrived, including Destin Snowbird Club fishing activities coordinator Jack Boex, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisc. He arrived in October for his first Destin Fishing Rodeo, and his falls will never be the same.
"I want to spread the word to some of our members that they may be interested in coming down earlier to get into the rodeo. It was a lot of fun," Boex told The Log.
Most of those who didn't arrive early for the rodeo will be here this weekend. Monday, the Destin Snowbird Club will hold its Opening of the Roost at 2 p.m. Monday at the Destin Community Center. The event will include a ribbon cutting, followed by registration from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
"This will be our 40th year," club president George Olsen told The Log. "It's grown over the years from just a few people, to a couple hundred people, to multiple hundreds to a couple thousand."
As always, the snowbirds have a load of events scheduled, including parties, concerts and cruises. For snowbirds looking for something to do outside of the scheduled events, the group provides volunteer directors for a range of activities.
The Destin Snowbird Club is open to anyone who wishes to join in on the fun.
"If there is some activity that we don't have, we will try to see if we can get someone to volunteer to be the chairperson of that activity. And we'll start it if we have enough people that are interested. We develop whatever we need and continue the ones that are very successful," Olsen said.
For more information, including a schedule of events, contact information, photos and more, visit the Destin Snowbird Club online at destinsnowbirds.org.
OPENING OF THE ROOST
Destin Snowbird Club will hold its Opening of the Roost at 2 p.m. Monday at the Destin Community Center. The event will include a ribbon cutting, followed by registration from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.