Let’s Go
The Shell Point Retirement Community hosts a weekly Farmers Market on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Center Court, located in The Woodlands neighborhood off of Shell Point Boulevard.
Take a leisurely stroll through the shaded court while shopping from a selection of one-of-a-kind products. There is locally-grown produce, freshly-caught seafood, homemade baked goods, honey and barbecue brisket, along with other great finds like jewelry, clothing, soaps and lotions, and more.
Open to the public, the market also serves as a way to support local vendors.
The only form of payment accepted is cash.
For more information, call 239-466-1131 or visit www.shellpoint.org.
Shell Point Retirement Community is at 15101 Shell Point Blvd., Fort Myers.
Let’s Go
Organized by the Sanibel Community Association, the monthly Community Social will take place today, Aug. 22, at 6 p.m. at The Community House on Sanibel.
The theme for the event is “Pasta Night.”
Resident Chef Jarred Harris prepares all of the food, so attendees simply need to show up, relax and enjoy. This month’s menu will feature vegetable lasagna, spinach ravioli and spaghetti carbonara.
Adults are $15 per person; children ages 10 and under are $10. For an additional $5, attendees can partake in the ice cream sundae bar and dessert topping sauces, which are handmade by Harris.
Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.
For more information, call 239-472-2155 or visit sanibelcommunityhouse.net.
The Community House is at 2173 Periwinkle Way.
Let’s Go
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation will host a weekly program called “Turtle Tracks” on Aug. 16 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Nature Center, at 3333 Sanibel Captiva Road, Sanibel.
Sanibel had one of the first sea turtle monitoring programs in the country. Learn about the life cycles and habits of the sea turtles and shorebirds that nest on the island’s beaches, SCCF’s monitoring activities and what the organization is doing to protect them.
Now through August, Turtle Tracks is held on Thursdays at the same time and location.
In April, SCCF volunteers began monitoring the beaches every morning during the week on Sanibel and Captiva, with the kickoff of sea turtle nesting season. Each nest is staked, numbered, recorded and monitored until the eggs hatch. The nests are also screened to keep predators from reaching the eggs.
Loggerheads are the most abundant nesters, with green sea turtles nesting every other year.
The program is free for members and children and $5 for non-members.
For more information, contact the SCCF at 239-472-2329 or visit www.sccf.org.
Let’s Go
Noah’s Ark will host its annual Bag Day event on Aug. 10 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church on Sanibel, where the thrift store is located.
Customers may buy marked bags in the parking lot for $4 each, fill them with store goods and walk away with as many items as the bags will carry. They can purchase as many $4 bags as they wish.
Any items that do not fit into a bag are 80 percent off of the regular price.
Operated by the Women of St. Michael’s, the thrift shop offers merchandise of all kinds at bargain prices, including women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, bedding, kitchen electronics and housewares, furniture and home furnishings, along with a variety of books at the “Barnes & Noah” book station.
Proceeds from Noah’s Ark go to more than 25 local, regional and global charities and agencies.
Bag Day marks the end of the summer season for the store, which closes afterward for cleaning and any repairs. Deep price reductions are also available in August in the days leading up to the event.
Noah’s Ark will reopen on Oct. 2; it does not accept donations between Aug. 10 and Sept. 1.
For more information, call 239-472-2173 or visit online at saintmichaels-sanibel.org.
St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church is at 2304 Periwinkle Way.
Let’s Go
The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge will host a program on the Baikalsky Nature Reserve in Siberia on Aug. 3 at 1 p.m. at the Visitor & Education Center on Sanibel.
It will be presented by Anastasia Lukovenko, head of the tourism department for the site.
The multimedia program will cover the nature reserve, which holds the biggest and deepest recorded lake in the world, along with its wildlife and work on a new visitor center that has been completed.
“Ding” Darling Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland traveled to the reserve in 2012 for three weeks to assist with visitor services. Over the years, she helped to guide the staff with its center.
Lukovenko recently arrived at the refuge to shadow Westland for three weeks. She will learn more about visitor services, from working with a friends’ group and concessions, to marketing and fundraising.
The program is free and open to the public.
For more information, call 239-472-1100 or visit www.fws.gov/refuge/jn_ding_darling.
The Visitor & Education Center is at 1 Wildlife Drive.