Month: March 2021

During the last 30 years, the Florida chicken turtle has been rare on Sanibel, with only four verified sightings between the 1980s and 2019.  But that changed recently when Doug and Leah Beck, who are major supporters of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s terrestrial and freshwater turtle research, alerted them to a strange-looking turtle crossing the street near their home.

They were excited to learn that it was in fact a pregnant female Florida chicken turtle,  » Read more

Talk about a virtual success!

We received this delightful note from the organizers of the Sanibel Shell Club’s recent “all virtual” festival.  Note that you still have a chance to catch it all “on demand”!

Thank you so much for featuring the Sanibel Shell Club’s all Virtual Show.

It was a huge success with over 5,500 views during our premiere weekend from 27 states plus Asia,  » Read more

Sam Sifton on one of his stops to The Today Show.

Join Sam Sifton, founding editor of the New York Times Cooking app, to hear about the joys and frustrations of home cooking during COVID.  For the last year, he has been working — and cooking — at home, and that is where Sifton will speak from virtually on Thursday, March 11 at 4 p.m.  » Read more

“A walk on the beach is worth a thousand words.” 

but we think

these two are especially timeless …

Should you have any photos you’d like to share,  » Read more

The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge will virtually celebrate International Women’s Day tomorrow, March 8, with a film about trailblazing conservationist Rachel Carson.

The global observance, which began in 1911, applauds the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women all over the world.

As part of its ninth annual “Ding” Darling Film Series, DDWS will air A Sense of Wonder,  » Read more

If you’ve visited us in March in the past, you may have been lucky enough to enjoy a Peek at the Unique island home tour courtesy of Zonta San-Cap.  For nearly 20 years, this unique fundraising event — which has raised more than $1 million for non-profits that work to improve the lives of women and girls — has earned its reputation as an island tradition and has become a sought-after day out for residents and guests alike.  » Read more

Today’s the day!

The free 2021 Virtual Sanibel Shell Show premieres today from noon to 3 p.m. on the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club’s YouTube channel … and continues tomorrow starting at noon to 3 p.m., as well.

The virtual festival will include 35 videos, with topics ranging from creating shell art to tours of a museum collection, a “behind the scenes” tour of the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum’s new aquarium,  » Read more

Who was the most unusual visitor to Sanibel Island this year?  It might just have been this Iceland gull!

The Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation said staff members and volunteers participated in the 13th Annual Florida Winter Shorebird Survey last month, where they counted 2,443 individual birds representing 25 different species.

One of the most interesting, and unexpected, observations happened when researchers noticed an all-white gull on the East End of the island.  » Read more

BIG ARTS is excited to announce the opening of their new, main lobby gift shop!

The BIG ARTS gift shop features one-of-a-kind gifts hand made by local artists and craftspeople. You can visit the gift shop during BIG ARTS regular operating hours: Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  » Read more

“These gifted artists combine guitars of the Gipsy Kings,

the harmony of Simon & Garfunkel and the colors of Van Gogh

in a show that inspires the Human Spirit” – Chicago Tribune

Patchouli & Terra Guitarra make up the #1 charting international guitar duo coming to the Alliance of the Arts Outdoor Amphitheater on Saturday,  » Read more