Summer arrives on the Gulf Coast well before the calendar says so. The official start came with the summer solstice on June 20, 2024, but by the first week of June the beaches were busy, the days were long and the June 2024 events calendar was full. Highlights included a month of free chamber music on the Eastern Shore, a world championship turkey calling contest in Mobile, the Flora-Bama Fishing Rodeo, World Ocean Day on Perdido Key and the 53rd Pensacola International Billfish Tournament. This look back revisits those five events and the traditions behind them.
The extra daylight of early summer is one of the great gifts of life on the coast, offering more time for biking, fishing, sailing, playing ball or simply relaxing on the sand. The month’s events reflected that outdoor spirit, with a strong emphasis on the water.
Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival Summer Series
From May 31 through June 26, the Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival presented its summer festival at multiple venues in Baldwin County. Festival artists performed classical chamber concerts at locations along the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, pairing contemporary chamber music with masterworks of the repertoire. Tickets were free and open to the public.
The festival has become a year-round presence on the Eastern Shore, with winter and summer series that bring professional musicians into churches, halls and community spaces. Its summer series, stretching nearly a month, gives residents and visitors a cool, quiet alternative to the beach on hot June evenings.
World Championship Turkey Calling Contest in Mobile
On June 7 and 8, many of the country’s top turkey callers gathered at the Mobile Convention Center for the World Championship Turkey Calling Contest. The contest has long ties to Mobile: the inaugural event was held in the city in 1940 at the Battle House Hotel, where Fred T. Stimpson took top honors.
Former world champions judged the competition, in which male and female contestants were given a turkey-calling situation to replicate using air and friction calls. Divisions ranged from 10 and under to senior and open categories, with contestants competing for world titles in each. Admission was free.
Turkey calling is a serious skill for hunters, who use mouth calls, box calls and slate calls to imitate the yelps, clucks, purrs and gobbles of wild turkeys. Alabama has one of the largest wild turkey populations in the country, and spring turkey season is a cherished tradition in rural parts of the state. Hosting a world championship in Mobile, in the city where the contest began, connects that hunting culture to the Gulf Coast’s history.
The Battle House Hotel, where the first contest was held, is itself a landmark. The historic downtown Mobile hotel was restored and reopened in the 2000s and remains one of the city’s grandest buildings.
Flora-Bama Fishing Rodeo on Perdido Key
From June 7 through 9, the 11th Annual Flora-Bama Fishing Rodeo took place at Perdido Key. Promoted as the “funnest” fishing tournament on the Gulf Coast and an “every man’s” fishing rodeo, the event was a three-day Captain’s Choice tournament with anglers competing for first, second and third place in 30 categories, ranging from catfish to billfish and including red snapper and spearfishing divisions.
The tournament came with a three-day beach party and awards ceremony, with daily weigh-ins, a fish viewing area, live music, food, vendor booths and hospitality in true Flora-Bama fashion. The famous bar on the Alabama-Florida line is known for turning just about anything into a party, and a fishing rodeo is a natural fit for a place surrounded by the Gulf, Perdido Bay and Old River.
World Ocean Day on Perdido Key
On Saturday, June 8, Perdido Key celebrated World Ocean Day with a morning of fitness, family activities and beach vendors. The day began with a free beach yoga session led by Bliss Yoga at Perdido Key Beach Access No. 4, followed by story time for children, vendors and activities on the beach. The celebration concluded with an ocean-themed family movie at the Southwest Branch Library on Gulf Beach Highway.
The local chamber of commerce and multiple partner organizations organized the day, and all activities ran from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at no cost. World Ocean Day, observed internationally each June 8, encourages people to learn about and protect the world’s oceans. Perdido Key, a barrier island with long stretches of protected beach and dune habitat, including areas within Gulf Islands National Seashore and Perdido Key State Park, is an appropriate place to mark it.
53rd Pensacola International Billfish Tournament
From June 12 through 16, the Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club hosted the 53rd Annual Pensacola International Billfish Tournament. The entry fee was $3,000 per boat for four anglers, with each additional angler costing $150. The awards banquet was held at 10 a.m. at Heritage Hall in Seville Quarter.
With more than half a century of history, the tournament is one of the oldest billfish events on the northern Gulf Coast. Anglers head offshore in search of blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish, which gather along the edges of the continental shelf and around underwater structure in the deep waters south of Pensacola. The event is part of a summer billfish circuit that draws serious offshore teams from across the Gulf.
Why June Belongs to the Water
Three of the month’s five featured events centered on the Gulf, and that is no coincidence. June is when the waters off Alabama and Northwest Florida come alive, with warm temperatures drawing pelagic fish close to shore, calm seas more common than rough ones and daylight lasting well into the evening. It is also when environmental awareness events like World Ocean Day remind residents and visitors that the Gulf’s health underpins the region’s economy and way of life.
- Fishing tournaments support local marinas, charter captains and restaurants.
- Beach events highlight conservation and responsible use of the shoreline.
- Free cultural events such as the chamber music festival offer a break from the heat.
Planning for Future Summers
Most of these events recur annually, but dates, fees, venues and formats change. Anyone hoping to attend a future chamber music series, turkey calling championship, Flora-Bama Fishing Rodeo, World Ocean Day or billfish tournament should check with the organizers for current information. As always in June, pack sunscreen and water, watch for afternoon storms and enjoy those long summer evenings.