Arts in Pensacola, October 2026: Waitress at the Saenger Oct. 26-27, Rocky Horror and Side Show from Oct. 30, Foo Foo Festival art and the symphony Nov. 7.

Last checked Oct. 14, 2026. This page is rebuilt each month. Every listing links to the organizer or the venue; check before you go, because Hurricane Isaias recovery can still change plans.

Pensacola’s arts calendar peaks in the next few weeks: a Broadway tour at the Saenger Theatre in late October, then the 12-day Foo Foo Festival from Oct. 29 to Nov. 9, when the city’s theater, ballet, opera, symphony and galleries all stage their own events. For everything else, see things to do this month and things to do this weekend.

Box offices

  • Saenger Theatre: 118 S. Palafox Place; box office 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, or Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000
  • Pensacola Little Theatre: 400 S. Jefferson St., 850-432-2042
  • Pensacola Museum of Art: 407 S. Jefferson St., 850-432-6247
  • Parking downtown: see our downtown parking guide

Exhibitions now showing

  • Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, the museum says. Its Foo Foo Festival program, Exploring the Wonder of STEAM, centers on the STEAM 2026 exhibition:
  • free tours at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, and 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6
  • a free kickoff at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, with a talk by artist Nathalie Miebach and the Palafox Quartet
  • artist talks from 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, and panels from 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6
  • free STEAM Day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7
  • Lightspill, Oct. 29 to Nov. 9. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox Place. Free. Hundreds of mirrored spheres appear to spill over the gallery building and onto the street, presented by Friends of Downtown, according to the Foo Foo Festival listing.
  • Ai-Da exhibition and artist talk, Wednesday, Nov. 4. Pensacola State College’s Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Building 15. Exhibition and reception 5 to 7:30 p.m., with a lecture and Q&A from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Free. The work is by Ai-Da, a humanoid robot artist, the college’s festival listing says. A free family meet-and-greet follows from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Pensacola MESS Hall.

Theater and dance

  • Waitress, Monday, Oct. 26, and Tuesday, Oct. 27. 7:30 p.m. (doors 6:30 p.m.), Saenger Theatre. The touring musical is part of the Saenger’s Broadway in Pensacola series; all seats reserved.
  • Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, Oct. 30 to Nov. 8. Mainstage at Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St., opening at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30. Box office 850-432-2042.
  • Side Show, Oct. 30 to Nov. 8. The Gordon Community Art Center, 306 N. De Villiers St. PenArts stages the musical about the Hilton sisters, conjoined twins who went from a circus sideshow to vaudeville. Shows at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 and Nov. 3-7, and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 1 and Nov. 8. Tickets $20, the Foo Foo Festival listing says; free music and games outside before each show.
  • Carnival of the Animals, Nov. 1-3. Ballet Pensacola’s family ballet in the Courtroom at the Clark Family Cultural Center, 400 S. Jefferson St., with 20 to 25 young dancers, large puppets and a Parade of Animals the audience can join. Shows at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1; 1 and 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2; and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. Adults $20, ages 5 and under $10, according to the festival listing.
  • Rock the Runway: Living Art, Wednesday, Nov. 4. 7 p.m. (doors 6 p.m.), Saenger Theatre. Pensacola Opera mixes opera singing, ballet dancers, runway models and projections.

Concerts and classical

  • Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, Tuesday, Oct. 20. 7:30 p.m. (doors 6:30 p.m.), Saenger Theatre. A Fleetwood Mac tribute show, listed by the Saenger.
  • PSO in the Park, Sunday, Oct. 25. 3 p.m., Museum Plaza downtown. Free. A small ensemble from the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra plays outdoors.
  • Hauntcert, Monday, Oct. 26, and Tuesday, Oct. 27. 6:30 p.m., Jane C. Noonan Center, by the Pensacola Children’s Chorus at 46 E. Chase St. A fall and Halloween program; tickets $15 to $40, the chorus says.
  • Synthetic Creativity: Ai-Da Unveiled, Monday, Nov. 2. Saenger Theatre. A live performance by the robot artist and an expert panel, presented by Pensacola State College. Tickets $35; the first 250 are free to PSC, UWF and Escambia County school district art students, the festival listing says.
  • Pensacola Symphony Orchestra: Mozart & Bizet, Saturday, Nov. 7. 7:30 p.m. (doors 6 p.m.), Saenger Theatre. Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 with pianist Carter Johnson, and Bizet’s Symphony in C, the Saenger says. The orchestra sells $10 general admission seats for the 1:30 p.m. dress rehearsal the same day.

Classes and workshops

  • STEAM workshops, Saturday, Nov. 7. Two hands-on workshops for adults and teens at the Pensacola Museum of Art, with limited tickets sold in advance on the museum’s events calendar.

Regular events

  • Gallery Night Pensacola, the third Friday of each month downtown, free. October’s theme, on Friday, Oct. 16, is “Ghoul-ery Night”; November’s, on Friday, Nov. 20, is “Festival of Living Art,” according to its 2026 dates page. The Gallery Night website posts hours and the route.
  • Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival, Nov. 6-8 in Seville Square, with more than 200 artists and free admission. Our arts festival page has hours and parking.

Send us your event

Opening a show or an exhibition in Pensacola? Email hello@pensacolalocaltoday.com with the dates, times, venue, ticket price and a photo you own, and we will add it to this page.

Frequently asked questions

What shows are on in Pensacola this fall?

The touring musical Waitress plays the Saenger Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 and 27. Pensacola Little Theatre opens The Rocky Horror Show on Oct. 30, and PenArts stages the musical Side Show at The Gordon Community Art Center from Oct. 30 to Nov. 8.

When is the Foo Foo Festival in 2026?

Oct. 29 to Nov. 9, 2026, at venues across Pensacola. Each event sets its own times and tickets on the festival’s site, foofoofest.com.

When does the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra play next?

A free PSO in the Park ensemble concert is at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at Museum Plaza. The Mozart & Bizet concert, with pianist Carter Johnson, is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Saenger Theatre.

Is there free art to see in Pensacola?

Lightspill, an installation of mirrored spheres on Artel Gallery at 223 Palafox Place, is free Oct. 29 to Nov. 9. The Pensacola Museum of Art’s STEAM Day on Nov. 7 and the Ai-Da exhibition reception at Pensacola State College on Nov. 4 are free too.