Rick's Blog

Downtown Pensacola vaccine drive Friday, Aug. 20 (podcast)

After announcing the cancelation of August 20 Gallery Night in person event, Gallery Night Pensacola has been working hard to plan a virtual event and vaccine drive in lieu of the popular Downtown event.

A Vaccine Drive will be held in Artel Gallery located directly on Palafox Street and will run from 5 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 20. Vaccinations will be provided by Community Health Northwest Florida. This service is free and open to all unvaccinated individuals 18 and older.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Gallery Night Pensacola to provide access to COVID vaccines for our community. Being able to increase the number of people vaccinated in our area will help to decrease COVID hospitalizations. Now more than ever, it is important for the health and safety of our community to get vaccinated.” Said Chandra Smiley, CEO, Community Health Northwest Florida. Individuals may choose to receive either the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson shot.

Those interested can schedule an appointment for their vaccination by calling Community Health Northwest Florida at (850) 439-3358, or by walking in between the hours of 5 and 7:30pm on Friday to Artel Gallery.

“Artel Gallery is proud to be a part of the solution,” said Artel President Randy New about their involvement in the event.

To incentivize participation, Community Health Northwest Florida is providing $25 gift cards for the first 100 participants and Gallery Night has partnered with downtown merchants to provide coupons and other promotions from World of Beer, Graffiti Pizza, The 5 Barrel, Casks and Flights, Tin Cow and more.

In addition to the vaccine drive, Gallery Night Pensacola will be hosting a virtual show and art auction, presented by Publix, on Friday, August 20. The event will feature live music from Ben Loftin and the Family and a live art auction highlighting local artists and performers. The art auction will feature work from local artists Joe Hobbs, Jaime Shevat, Dillweed’s Custom Wood and more.

The live event will be produced by Pensacola Artists Live and will be streamed on Facebook on the Gallery Night Pensacola page. The show is free to watch and viewers are invited to bid on art items
and donate to the performing artist.

“We know that Gallery Night is one of Pensacola’s treasured community events, and we thank community and local businesses for their continued patience and understanding during the
pandemic,” said Gallery Night Pensacola Board President Bobby Switzer.

Gallery Night Pensacola is closely monitoring updates provided by trusted resources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Escambia.

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