Refuge Nature Store to celebrate winter events
Beginning on Nov. 18, the “Ding” Darling Nature Store will host a series of holiday and other special events and promotions in honor of the 40th anniversary of the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge. It operates two physical stores on Sanibel and ShopDingDarling.com in support of the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
Most of the events will take place at the Nature Store2, at 2250 Periwinkle Way. Nov. 18 will mark the annual After-Hours Holiday Shopping at the store from 4 to 7 p.m., featuring food, drinks, giveaways, and free holiday gift wrapping.
The store will debut the 2022 collectible Luc Century Holiday Ornament for general sale that night. The new, limited-edition ornament for the DDWS’ 40th showcases the society’s logo bird, the anhinga. This year for the first time, the ornament annually etched by the Sanibel artist will be oval in shape rather than the traditional circular glass ornament.
The DDWS will also host a daytime Holiday Shopping event at its flagship store in the refuge’s Visitor & Education Store on Nov. 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with specials, giveaways, and free gift wrapping.
On Nov. 20, Art of Conservation will headline visits and signings by three local artists at the Nature Store2. This year’s artist in residence, Rachel Pierce, will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The store will debut holiday cards designed by Pierce that day. From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., nature photographer Clyde Butcher and his photographer-artist wife, Niki Butcher, will make meet-and-greet appearances.
The Nature Store2 also will participate in the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce’s Luminary on Dec. 3 by extending hours to 9 p.m. and offering refreshments and special buys.
In keeping with its anniversary theme, the stores will unveil one new specialty item for every decade the DDWS has been in existence supporting refuge education, research, land acquisition and restoration, and other conservation programs. The first two will be available for holiday shoppers. They include exclusive Avery Home tea towels designed especially for the refuge with seashells, manatees, roseate spoonbills, and other refuge birds. A hand-made logo coffee mug by Deneen Pottery in Minnesota in a limited-edition color scheme will also commemorate the occasion. The new items will be available at both stores and online.
Also new for the season, the stores will sell merchandise relating to the original label artwork by Latina artist Emily Alvarez on its branded Wild Daze Ale, which rolls out Dec. 4.
“All profits from Nature Store purchases go directly to benefiting wildlife and conservation,” Nature Store manager Ann-Marie Wildman said. “This always has been a fun way to get everyone into the holiday spirit with an altruistic twist. Shoppers can feel good about making a difference with their ‘retail therapy.'”