DESTIN EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT May 12
Destin City Hall
All city meetings are being held at the City Hall Annex, 4100 Indian Bayou Trail, until further notice. All meetings are subject to change or cancellation. To virtually view the meeting, https://www.cityofdestin.com/. To view/stream is www.youtube.com/CityofDestin.
Harbor CRA-AC, 5:30 p.m. May 12
City Council, 6 p.m. May 17
Special Magistrate Hearing, 5:30 p.m. May 18, City Hall
Town Center CRA-AC, 5:30 p.m. May 19
Parks & Recreation, 4 p.m. May 25
Harbor Capacity Steering Committee, 5:30 p.m. May 26
Local Planning Agency, 5:30 p.m. May 27
Lionfish Restaurant Week
Emerald Coast Open s Lionfish Restaurant Week is back from 12-10 p.m. through May 15 in Destin. Local chefs will highlight lionfish with unique dishes to bring awareness to the lionfish invasion in the Gulf of Mexico. Restaurants include La Paz, May 12; Harbor Docks, May 13; and AJ s Seafood & Oyster Bar, May 15.
H. C. “Hank” Klein
The original Leonard Destin home site was located where the Captain Leonard Destin Park was recently built.
The Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of the park are scheduled for Thursday, May 13, at 10 a.m. It is exciting and historical for the original home site of the city’s founder to be saved and turned into a park whereby locals and visitors can visit the park and learn about the site’s history.
Our History Mystery readers might enjoy some history and background of the Leonard and Martha Destin home that was on this site until 2013.
Although Leonard Destin and Martha McCullom married on May 29, 1851, they first lived in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. It wasn’t until 1852 that Leonard and Martha permanently settled at Moreno Point Military Reservation and built their home on what would later be known as Lot 12. Because all of Township 2 south Range 22 west was a military reservation and owned by the War Department, Leonard and Martha did not own the lan
Special to The Destin Log/USA TODAY NETWORK
DESTIN The mayor, City Council, staff and special guests will host a ribbon cutting and grand opening of Captain Leonard Destin Park at 10 a.m. May 13.
The park is named after the founder of Destin, who came from New London, Connecticut, in the mid-1800s to establish a fishing village along the Florida Gulf Coast. It is located on the same plot of land as the original homestead of its namesake at 101 Calhoun Ave.
“The allure of East Pass that brought Leonard Destin here almost 200 years ago still exists today, it’s why each of us has chosen Destin to be our home. Six generations after Leonard built his homestead here, I’m beyond privileged to be a part of the city’s efforts to preserve a part of our shared heritage and identity in perpetuity,” former Councilman Parker Destin said.
Destin Mayor Gary Jarvis gave a round-up of accomplishments from last year and set future goals with the State of the City Tuesday evening.
“2020 has certainly been a challenging year,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of the strong leadership and resiliency of our staff to work hard during difficult times.”
In January of last year, the city council formally adopted their 2020 strategic plan with an extensive to-do list. Jarvis proudly announced city staff was “well on their way” to accomplishing many of the objectives.
At the top of the list was public beach acquisition. Destin’s public beach access has long been an issue as most of the beaches in city limits are privately-owned.