Somebody once said there is nothing more constant than change. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a statement more true than this. It seems the landscape in Destin changes almost daily and if it has been more than six months since you traveled down Highway 30A, be prepared for lots of construction and having to search for familiar landmarks.

Change is necessary in the newspaper business too. As an arts and entertainment guide for visitors and locals along the Emerald Coast, we strive to be as inclusive as possible and list as much as possible happening every fortnight. To that end, in this issue, we are introducing The Barcomber. This handy (we hope) calendar can be excised from the paper and folded into a purse or wallet and allow people to give it a quick scan to find out who is playing at which venues each day until we publish again. It does not replace On Stage, which will still list free concerts at the shopping centers and other places, area stage plays and symphony concerts. It does replace the bar guide however, where we listed house bands. It also does not replace Stuff to Do where we list the numerous things area residents can take advantage of. I’m often stunned at the amount and variety of things going on in this community. What we make up for in population we more than compensate for in terms of interesting things to investigate.

One of our more popular innovations over the last couple of years has been the mystery photo contest. My hat is off to our winners of these contests. Call me clueless, but I simply don’t absorb the ambiance at most of the places I visit. I’m there to eat or have a drink, but I take no real notice of much, unless the bar stools are too high or something more or less negative. In short, with a gun to my head I couldn’t identify most of the photos. Even knowing what they are, I have to take the word of whoever took the picture, even in places I have frequented. But our readers are awesome and often very fast at identifying these photos. In more than three years, we have stumped the readership only twice. Amazing.

Because we like contests and like giving stuff away, we are starting a new contest. No, we’re not abandoning the mystery photo feature, because everyone enjoys it. Instead we are adding something that will take closer inspection.

We are introducing The Dude, a caricature of the ubiquitous characters seen around here. You know, shorts, Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops and shades. A dude. Drawn by our very own talented Breanne Boland, your task will be to find him and call and tell us where he is. He might be quite small, upside down, sideways or tilted. He might be in an ad, buried in a story, or tucked into a crevice. It will not be easy for you to find him, but the point is to get you to look at the ads, see what’s being offered, and read the stories. Our advertisers and our writers deserve it and everybody wants to win.

We are not sure what the prize will be and it won’t be the same with every issue. Trust me when I tell you it will be a prize worth winning.

There is not much point in making changes to a publication unless we know such changes are welcome and improve readability and fun. So please don’t be shy. Let us know what and who you like, what we could do to improve this paper and we will take all comments under consideration.

Now off with you. Look for The Dude.

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