Let’s Go
BIG ARTS Sanibel Island has two intriguing exhibits that are close to wrapping up.
The exhibits “Please Touch the Art” in the Founders Gallery and “Please Don’t Eat the Art” in the Phillips Gallery will end on April 28. Both have been on display start the beginning of April.
Traditionally art has been considered a visual experience, although sight is not the only way to understand it. Shaking off the traditional gallery-goer behavior, “Please Touch the Art” invites visitors to use their sense of touch to explore the exhibit. Works will include but are not limited to sculpture, paintings, weavings, mixed media and other touch encouraged pieces.
Feast your eyes on a smorgasbord of tantalizing art, represented in various mediums, expressing the necessity and often indulgent relationship with food. An art in itself, food is something we all have different taste for based on flavor, texture and color. Inspired by the food themselves, artists have recreated some of their favorite bites to satisfy anyone’s artistic hunger.
The Founders Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m to 1 p.m. Saturday; the Phillips Gallery is open from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
BIG ARTS Sanibel Island is at 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel.
For more information, call 239-395-0900 or visit online at bigarts.org.
Let’s Go
Hosted by the Sanibel Community Association, the monthly Community Potluck will take place today, April 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Community House, at 2173 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.
The guest speaker is Andre Gratesol, of Aux Delices Artisan Bakery and Cafe in Fort Myers.
The French baker will bring samples of his creations for attendees to enjoy.
Before opening Aux Delices, Gratesol ran a bakery at McGregor Boulevard and College Boulevard in Fort Myers for years. He sold it over a decade ago, working with several other bakeries in-between.
The community is invited to enjoy an evening of food, fellowship and learning.
Attendees are asked to bring a dish – appetizer, entree, side dish or dessert – that serves six to eight people. No time to prepare something? Come anyway – a $10 donation is appreciated.
For more information, call 239-472-2155.
Let’s Go
Dr. Kenneth Meyer, with the Avian Research and Conservation Institute, is the final speaker for the 2018 “Ding” Darling Lecture Series at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
He will present the free program “Swallow-tailed Kites: 10,000 Miles to Survival” on April 13 at 10 a.m. and at 1 p.m. at the refuge in the Visitor & Education Center, at 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel.
Prior to the 1900s, swallow-tailed kites nested in 21 states, but a decline from 1880 to 1940 resulted in the current scattered population mainly in six southeastern states, including Florida. Since 1996, Meyer and his staff in Gainesville have used satellite telemetry with to describe the 10,000-mile round-trip migration of swallow-tailed kites and to identify impacts on survival and reproduction.
He and his team have studied the behavior and ecology of 16 species of birds of conservation concern from eastern Canada to Puerto Rico. He is currently conducting studies on the mangrove cuckoos and reddish egrets at the refuge, funded by the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge.
Seating for the lectures is limited and available on a first-come basis. Early arrivals can save one seat extra each with a personal item. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before lecture time.
For more information, call 239-472-1100 or visit dingdarlingsociety.org/articles/lecture-and-film-series.
Let’s Go
Dr. Sidney B. Simon will host the season’s final installment of First Friday Stories for Grownups on April 6 from 2 to 3 p.m. at The Community House on Sanibel.
A known storyteller on the island, Simon held the first session in 2002 at the Sanibel Public Library. In honor of its 16th anniversary, he will highlight stories from the first year and up through 2017. Simon will tell stories for the first half of the program, then draw out stories from those present during the second half. Attendees do not have to share a story, they can just come and listen.
A retired educator, Simon was nominated for Teacher of the Year at the University of Massachusetts, where he also served as a professor emeritus. He co-authored “Values Clarification,” later appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “The Phil Donahue Show.” He was a keynote speaker at the Betty Ford Center in California and traveled the United States, Canada and Europe for workshops. In 2011, Simon received the Angel of the Arts Award as the Lee County Literary Artist of the Year.
The event is free and open to the public.
The Community House is at at 2173 Periwinkle Way.