Seventy years of losing the city
Fort Walton Beach is an Okaloosa County city of 20,922 people, by the 2020 Census, set on Santa Rosa Sound. Its most famous tradition has nothing to do with sunbathing. It is a mock invasion.
The Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival is named for William Augustus Bowles, the legendary pirate better known as Billy Bowlegs. The 2026 edition was the 70th. It opened on a Thursday with the Pre-Invasion downtown, when Captain Billy and his Krewe of Bowlegs rolled in aboard their pirate ship float, the Blackhawk, to hand out treasure and pose for photos.
Friday brought the Skirmish at Fort Walton Beach Landing. A scouting party came ashore by water, the mayor's forces threatened arrest, and the evening ended with fireworks over the Sound. On Saturday afternoon the full Krewe landed with allied krewes from across the country, the mayor lost again, and the pirates spent the rest of the day celebrating their newly captured city. The following Monday night the Torchlight Parade carried them up Eglin Parkway from First Street to Hughes Street, tossing loot to the crowd.
Weeks before any of it, Captain Billy hides coins around town. In 2026 the treasure hunt ran on weekdays from April 10 to May 14, each new clue went up on social media in the evening, and no family could claim more than two coins.
Older than the pirates
Long before Bowles, people lived well off these waters. Heritage Park and Cultural Center, run by the city on Miracle Strip Parkway, tells the story of the area from 12,000 B.C. through the 1950s. The grounds hold the Fort Walton Temple Mound, the Indian Temple Mound Museum, the Camp Walton Schoolhouse Museum, the Garnier Post Office Museum and a Civil War exhibit building.
One note for anyone planning a visit this fall: the city reported that the Indian Temple Mound Museum was badly damaged in the recent hurricane, and the Heritage Park museums are closed until further notice. The regional tourism office's October update on Hurricane Isaias says power and essential services are largely back, but some disruptions remain, so call ahead before you build a day around any one stop.
