FACES Pensacola | Issue 45

Publisher’s Letter

At FACES PENSACOLA, we continue our monthly publication “covering the places and faces of Pensacola” and surrounding areas. Our team has been busy covering events including runs, festivals, galas, openings, and more.

Watch out for Kristina Wright, our Lead Event Photographer, along with other event photographers to be included in the next issue. Please stay connected with us on social on Facebook @FACESpcola and Instagram FACESpensacola. We love Pensacola and all the awesome events, places, and faces it has to ofer. Reach out to let us know about your upcoming event. We would love to include you in our calendar and cover your events.

Thank you, Pensacola, for welcoming us and including us in your events. Don’t forget to check out our advertisers and give them some love.

We can’t wait to see your faces!

Steve Barber Publisher/Editor steve@facespcola.com

Team Faces

Steve Barber Publisher/Editor

Wright Lead Photographer

Contributors

Hudson Aho, Distribution

Mardi Gras Parade Route

2026 Parade Route Map Provided by: Pensacola Mardi Gras

February

14

Parade Start

The Intersection of Garden St. and Spring St.

Parade End

The Intersection of Jefferson St. and Main St.

Due to the City of Pensacola’s Reimagining of Palafox, the Parade Route takes a slight detour from previous years, but will resume it’s normal route in 2027!

2026 Pensacola Mardi Gras Season presented by the Ice Flyers Foundation.

Meet Pensacola’s Mardi Gras Town Crier Hear Ye, Hear Ye:

written by: Jessica Graña

If you’ve ever wandered into downtown Pensacola during Mardi Gras season and heard a booming voice ringing through the streets, you’ve likely encountered one of the most charming traditions of the celebration: the Mardi Gras Town Crier. Equal parts historian, hype-person, and living time capsule, the Town Crier, current title claimed by Marty Stanovich, plays a unique role in keeping the spirit of Carnival alive, loud, and proudly Pensacolian. At its core, the position of Town Crier dates back centuries. Long before social media, radio, or even newspapers, town criers were the original newsbreakers. Armed with a bell and a commanding voice, they were responsible for delivering important announcements to the public, from royal decrees to community gatherings. Today, Pensacola’s Mardi Gras Town Crier carries on that tradition, announcing parades, balls, events, and royal happenings throughout the season, all with theatrical fair and a healthy dose of local pride.

Pensacola’s Mardi Gras history itself runs deep. Often overshadowed by New Orleans, Pensacola actually boasts one of the oldest Mardi Gras celebrations in the country, dating back to the early 1700s. The Town Crier role evolved as part of the city’s commitment to preserving the pageantry, traditions, and storytelling that make Pensacola Mardi Gras special. Over the years, the position has become an honorary

and highly visible role, representing not just Carnival events, but the city’s festive heart.

Enter the newest voice of the season: Mrs. Town Crier, Jo Stanovich. Newly appointed and blessed by Pensacola Mardi Gras’s very own Danny Zimmern for the upcoming Mardi Gras celebrations, she steps into a role steeped in history while bringing her own personality, energy, and perspective to the position. Already a familiar and beloved presence in downtown Pensacola, Jo is owner of Blush and Needle Society, artist, wife, and mom … and she has built both her life and career along Palafox Street. “Pensacola isn’t just where I live — it’s where my heart and my work are rooted,” she shares. “My days revolve around creativity, community, and connection, and Pensacola has always embraced that part of me.”

Her path into Mardi Gras came the way so many good things do in Pensacola: through community. What began as attending parades and supporting friends quickly grew into joining the Krewe of Swat, volunteering, and saying yes when opportunities arose. “The joy, the traditions, and the people pulled me in,” she says. “Before I knew it, Mardi Gras became one of the highlights of my year.”

Being named Mrs. Town Crier is an honor she holds close. “It’s not just a title — it’s a responsibility,” she explains. “To uplift, welcome, and help carry forward something that belongs to all of Pensacola is deeply meaningful to me.”

In today’s Mardi Gras landscape, the Town Crier, and Mrs. Town Crier, serves as a bridge between past and present. While the bell and proclamations remain, the role now includes connecting with crowds, engaging families, welcoming visitors, and helping newcomers understand the traditions behind the beads. Mrs. Town Crier plans to honor that balance by showing up as her authentic self — joyful, creative, inclusive, and deeply respectful of those who came before her.

When asked what excites her most, her answer is simple: the people. “Mardi Gras breaks down walls and brings everyone together,” she says. “If people feel seen, welcomed, and celebrated when they cross my path this season, then I’ve done my job right.”

So when you hear that unmistakable call echo down Palafox, pause and listen. That voice isn’t just announcing a parade — it’s carrying centuries of Pensacola Mardi Gras history straight to your ears.

Buy your tickets now at uwf.edu/wilc.

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!

Dance back in time to the American wild west with Oklahoma!–a classic, feel-good musical that follows the blossoming love story between farm girl Laurey and charming cowboy Curly as they navigate rival suitors and the challenges of frontier life. With unforgetable songs like “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “People Will Say We’re in Love,” the lively “Kansas City,” and of course “Oklahoma!”, this Rodgers & Hammerstein classic captures the heartwarming spirit of a community on the brink of change.

The Merrymuse of Mardi Gras

written by: Chesley Polk

Ina city where tradition runs deep and celebration wears many faces, Chesley Polk has become a defning force of modern Mardi Gras on the Gulf Coast. As the founder of Polkadot Entertainment and the producer and host of The Fat Tuesday Drag Show, Chesley has spent the last fve years re-inspiring what community-centered celebration can look like when it leads with love, joy, and intention. And this year, as the anticipation begins and the applause continues, a ftting new distinction emerges: Chesley Polk is the Merrymuse of Mardi Gras.

Now entering its ffth year, the Fat Tuesday Drag Show has earned its place as a local institution. Voted Pensacola’s Favorite Mardi Gras Event twice, the show has grown from a bold idea into a can’t-miss fnale of the ofcial Pensacola Mardi Gras season. It blends spectacle and heart, glamour and grit, creating an experience that feels both electric and deeply personal. At the center of it all is Polk, equal parts producer, host, advocate, and heartbeat of the room, inspiring joy not just through performance but through presence.

Chesley’s guiding philosophy is simple but powerful: move with love toward understanding. It is a phrase that echoes through their work, their leadership, and their presence. Whether curating a high-energy production or navigating the realities of being a queer business owner in the South, Chesley leads with kindness without sacrifcing strength. That balance has become their signature, and it is exactly the kind of spirit the word Merrymuse was made to describe.

In 2025, Pensacola recognized that impact by voting Chesley its Favorite Infuencer. That same year, Chesley was also honored as a United Way Emerald Coast 40 Under 40 recipient, recognizing young leaders who are making a meaningful diference in their communities. Together, these honors speak less to visibility and more to real-world infuence built through consistency, authenticity, and service. Chesley does not just create events. They create space. Space for self-expression. Space for celebration. Space for joy that feels earned and shared.

At its core, the Fat Tuesday Drag Show is a love letter to community. Performers, crew, and audience members alike describe it as more than entertainment. It is a moment of belonging. Chesley has been intentional about ensuring the show refects a wide range of voices, styles, and stories, making it accessible while still elevated. The result

is a production that feels inclusive without ever feeling diluted, a refection of the joyful inspiration Chesley brings into every room.

That intentionality is rooted in lived experience. Chesley’s journey has not been without obstacles, and resilience is woven into every chapter of their story. Rather than allowing challenges to harden them, Chesley has chosen softness as a strength, meeting resistance with grace, fear with humor, and pressure with personality. Their joy is not accidental. It is practiced, protected, and ofered freely to others.

As an activist and advocate, Chesley understands visibility as responsibility. Their work champions representation not as a trend, but as a necessity. In doing so, they have helped shift perceptions, open doors, and invite new audiences into conversations they may not have otherwise entered. It is advocacy delivered with warmth, wit, and an open heart.

Five years in, the Fat Tuesday Drag Show stands as proof of what is possible when creativity is paired with courage. And Chesley Polk, the Merrymuse of Mardi Gras, remains its brightest throughline, leading with love and reminding Pensacola that celebration, at its best, brings people together.