The Montessori Learning Center (MLC) will host a holiday fundraising event at The Gulf Restaurant on Okaloosa Island on Tuesday, December 10, featuring a showing of “The Grinch” and photos with Santa Claus.

• The event, organized in partnership with Splashboards Media and The Gulf Restaurant, will begin at 3:30 p.m. with food service and complimentary photos with Santa. The 2018 animated film “The Grinch” will be shown at 5:15 p.m. on Splashboards’ 20-by-30-foot LED screen.

Chris Kopecky, owner of Splashboards Media, whose children have attended MLC, said his company is donating all services for the fundraiser. “Even before our kids were going to this school, we almost partnered with them on a Thanksgiving event three years ago,” Kopecky said. “The kids love the boat, they love the screens, and families love these types of movies.”

Splashboards Media, known for coastal advertising and waterfront entertainment events, sees this as an opportunity to expand its community involvement. “It would be really neat if the local community, and all of our schools and organizations, could look at us as a great way to get everybody together,” Kopecky said.

The fundraiser will support MLC’s expansion plans. The school has leased city-owned property at 35 Memorial Parkway SW and plans to construct a new facility in front of the Emerald Coast Science Center. The Fort Walton Beach City Council recently extended the construction deadline to October 11, 2025, for the 2.98-acre parcel.

• Founded in 1978 by local families seeking a secular, hands-on learning environment, MLC has grown significantly over its 45-year history. The school began at First Presbyterian Church on Beal Parkway, later moving to Hospital Drive in 1992, and then to its current location at St. Simon’s Episcopal Church in 2012.

Today, MLC serves 100 students through fourth grade and recently added a French program. The school maintains a waiting list and is considering adding more Pre-K and kindergarten classes at the new location.

Event organizers recommend bringing warm blankets or jackets for the outdoor screening. The Gulf Restaurant will provide seating including chairs, tables, and couches for attendees. A portion of the food and beverage sales during the event will benefit the school’s building fund.

Kopecky hopes this event will be the first of many community collaborations. 

“As we close our summer beach season down, we would be opening our doors up to the local community,” he said. “As a young father of a three and a five year old, it’s been so neat… it would be so cool to actually put all this fun, exciting stuff with the kids to good use, especially for education and schools.”