The City of Fort Walton Beach will celebrate the completion of a multi-year renovation of the Fort Walton Beach Landing with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, 2026.

• The ceremony will be incorporated into the first day of the 2026 Musical Echoes Native American Flute Festival, the first event to use the newly renovated park. Festival organizers agreed to include the ribbon-cutting as part of their opening day.

Fort Walton Beach-based GLC Contracting Inc. completed the renovations in three phases. Improvements include a heavily reinforced seawall along 700 feet of waterfront, a new concrete boardwalk with railings along Santa Rosa Sound, a circular performance stage with a roof and amphitheater seating tiers.

The project also added terraced seating areas on the east and west sides of the park overlooking Santa Rosa Sound, a new fishing pier at the west end of the park and a “pocket beach” with a kayak and paddleboard launch on the park’s eastern edge.

Additional upgrades include new lighting throughout the park, additional electrical boxes for vendors, new sidewalks and stairs leading down to the waterfront, and a living shoreline with an oyster shell and seagrass barrier designed to prevent erosion. The parking lot on the park’s east side was expanded by 34 spaces, and dedicated golf cart parking was added.

Funding for the improvements came from the Fort Walton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, Okaloosa County’s Tourist Development Tax, the Half-Cent surtax for infrastructure improvements and a Natural Resource Damage Assessment grant.

Several events are scheduled at the park in the coming months.

The Concerts at The Landing series will run every Friday night from May 8 through June 5, followed by the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival on May 15-16 and a Fourth of July celebration featuring live music and a fireworks show on Saturday, July 4.

The Fort Walton Beach Landing is located at 139 Brooks St.