Dine + Dive 2025 At Grand Boulevard April 30th Benefits Underwater Museum Of Art

Join the SoWal community for an evening of wonder and discovery in Grand Boulevard Town Center on Wednesday, April 30 from 6 - 9 p.m. for Dine + Dive, a fusion of fine art, food and wine event igniting all of the senses to benefit the nation’s first Underwater Museum of Art.  

The Cultural Arts Alliance Of Walton County (CAA) and South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA) are pleased to expand the former Under the Sea event to feature more than a dozen restaurant tasting stations, scores of incredible wines to sample as well as incredible continuous live music from headliner J & The Causeways!  

Dine + Dive serves as the official kick-off for Art Month Walton County, a month-long celebration of the arts featuring a diverse lineup of cultural events throughout May.

The CAA and South Walton Artificial Reef Association(SWARA) are delighted to elevate the former Under the Sea event into an immersive celebration of fine art, exquisite cuisine, exceptional wines, and marine conservation. This multisensory experience will feature an extensive selection of incredible wines to sample, more than a dozen tasting stations showcasing exclusive dishes from the area’s most renowned restaurants and celebrated chefs, and a cash bar serving signature cocktails and craft beer. Attendees can indulge their senses while supporting marine conservation in an evening of artistry, flavor, and purpose.

In a serendipitous sequence of events, Dine + Dive headliners J & The Causeways was formed at the legendary Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans. A juggernaut soul/R&B ensemble, the group is filled with heavy backbeats and a soaring horn section, all swirling around the magnetic vocal stylings of lead singer / keyboardist Jordan Anderson.

“We definitely shine live because each and every member of this band loves to be onstage and in that genuine moment of performance,” Anderson says. “New Orleans is home to some of the finest singers and musicians on the planet, which also means you have to bring your A-game to every single show — you’re representing this city and the long history of beautiful music that’s been created here.”

With J & The Causeways, Anderson is fronting a band that finds itself mentioned in the same breath as the likes of St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, and The Marcus King Band — all modern-day entities of passion and purpose, each summoning the pulsating, endless energy of soul/R&B music.

“I like to help people find joy. And I find that a lot of people just don’t know how to be vulnerable enough to find that joy,” Anderson says. “I want our music to help unlock that beauty that resides within each of us, to let out that vulnerability of what it means to be in the presence of live music, and of each other — music has always lifted me up, and I want to lift up the listener every single time I’m on that stage.”

In addition to continuous live music, Dine + Dive party-goers will have an opportunity to meet UMA artists from current and previous installations as well as receive an exclusive preview of several of the original works created for the 2025 installation before the sculptures are deployed to the UMA site over the summer.

There will be a full cash bar on site and all event net proceeds will help fund the sixth deployment of sculptures into the Underwater Museum of Art in 2025 bringing the total number of deployed art works to 53.

Tickets are on sale now for $100 in advance and $125 on the day of the event, if available. Event sponsorships are available, contact Gabby Callaway for details.

The Cultural Arts Alliance (CAA) of Walton County has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $20,000. The grant will support the 2025 installation of sculptures to expand the nation’s first Underwater Museum of Art (UMA). The NEA awarded 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants.

“The CAA’s very first NEA grant was received in 2018, making it possible for us to collaborate with the South Walton Artificial Reef Association to create the nation’s first Underwater Museum of Art. So it is incredibly rewarding to be recognized again by the NEA now that the UMA is approaching its seventh anniversary,” said CAA President & CEO Jennifer Steele. “The NEA is a necessary and valued American institution, and we are honored to be included alongside an impressive list of grant recipients who provide Arts programming and services across the country.”

Funds raised through Dine + Dive ticket sales and sponsorships will directly support the seventh deployment of sculptures into the UMA. A collaborative initiative with SWARA, the UMA is the nation’s first permanent underwater sculpture museum. Recognized as one of TIME magazine’s 100 World’s Greatest Places (2018), National Geographic’s Best Trips (2019), and a 2023 CODA Award winner, the UMA continues to gain international acclaim for its unique fusion of art, marine conservation, and eco-tourism.

The UMA is a signature initiative of the Cultural Arts Alliance’s Art in Public Spaces program, developed in partnership with SWARA. Designed to serve both ecological and artistic purposes, the UMA enhances marine habitats and supports the growth of fish populations while also enriching South Walton’s cultural landscape. By blending art, conservation, and education, the museum offers residents, students, and visitors unique opportunities for learning, exploration, and economic growth.

The 2025 UMA installation will include the following pieces of sculpture: Concretion by William Braithwaite (United Kingdom), Seahorse by Jessica Bradsher (Greenville, NC), The Neptunian Oak by Nathan Hoffman (Highlandville, MO), Happy Hour by Sarah Wilkinson (United Kingdom), and Hometown by Mandy Yourk (Panama City, FL), and The Menina of the Reef: An Infinite Message by Antonio Azzato (Spain).

Select sculptures, including The Menina of the Reef: An Infinite Message, which is a special collaboration between the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation and Cultural Arts Alliance, will be on display at the fundraiser and throughout the weekend during the 37th annual ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival in Grand Boulevard’s Town Center May 3  and 4 and will then be transferred to Orange Beach, AL to be prepared for their deployment into the Gulf this summer to expand the museum as they join the previously deployed 47 sculptures. The UMA site is located less than one mile off the coast of Grayton Beach State Park in a one-acre permit patch of seabed.

The UMA project is produced with support from Visit South Walton, the National Endowment for the Arts, Walter Marine / The Reefmaker, the St. Joe Community Foundation, the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation, Beachy Blooms 30A, The Ellis Family, and Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa. For more information, visit www.UMAFL.org.