Pensacola's colorful 'Umbrella Sky Project' may return downtown

Pensacola’s Downtown Improvement Board has teased a possible return of the *Umbrella Sky Project*, a striking art installation featuring 300-plus rainbow-colored umbrellas suspended above downtown, after nearly a decade without the display. A May 13 social media video from the board showed the umbrellas in flight, with the caption ‘Taking flight in downtown Pensacola soon!’ The project first appeared in 2017 as part of the Foo Foo Festival, an annual event featuring art installations, performances, and exhibits. The *Umbrella Sky Project* originated in 2011 at the Agitagueda Art Festival in Agueda, Portugal, and is now produced globally by the Portuguese entertainment company Sextafeira. Pensacola was the second U.S. city to host it, with the 2017 installation funded by Arts, Culture and Entertainment Inc., the festival’s organizer. The Foo Foo Festival has previously featured other large-scale art installations, including *Afterburn* in 2023—a kaleidoscopic piece by artist Tomislav Topic inspired by the Blue Angels—and *Fire and Rain* in 2019, a 9,500-square-foot holographic display. Earlier installations like *CUBED Luminous* in 2018 and *Son et lumière* in 2021 showcased digital and light-based art, though the festival was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. The original 2017 *Umbrella Sky Project* became a community staple, blending Portuguese creativity with Pensacola’s vibrant arts scene. If revived, it would mark the first major art installation since the pandemic hiatus, potentially drawing crowds back to downtown. The project’s return would also highlight Pensacola’s growing reputation as a hub for public art and cultural experiences.