Annual Seahorse Festival to feature activities, music and more for islands
An annual event will celebrate the post-hurricane recovery of the islands and Earth Day this year.
The Sanibel School Parent Teacher Association will host the Seahorse Festival on April 23 from noon to 4 p.m. at the pavilion at The Sanibel School on Sanibel. Free and open to the community, it will feature activities for the entire family, including inflatables, games with prizes, crafts, music and more.
Event chair Dorothy Plumb explained that in the aftermath of the storm, the PTA questioned if the school and islands were ready for a celebration and it received a resounding yes from the community.
“It’s — this particular year — a cause for celebration to be back on campus, to be back on the island,” she said, noting that the festival also offers and signifies some return to normalcy post-hurricane.
Because it is taking place so close to Earth Day, the event is Earth Day-themed this year.
“It’s celebrating our love of the Earth and our love of the island,” Plumb said.
There will be a variety of activities for all ages to participate in.
“We have what they call ‘inflatable runs,’ so they’re obstacle courses. There’s an inflatable bouncy house for the little ones,” she said. “And we will have inflatable basketball hoops.”
Attendees can test their skills at the climbing wall or dunk tank.
“Which is exciting because we have not used a dunk tank in prior years,” Plumb said.
In addition, there will be face painting and a digital photo booth.
“We have many carnival games with prizes, including a candy booth,” she said, adding that a “punch cup booth” will entail tissue-covered treasure-filled cups that attendees “punch” through to win a prize.
And there will be a range of prizes to win.
“Anything from Squishies — fidget toys — to stuffed animals, slime, and even a couple of bikes that were donated,” Plumb said. “There’ll also be some art supplies like markers that the kids can win.”
The Sanibel School will have seashell crafts for families to do.
“We plan to have the kids write messages on shells and take them home,” she said, adding that the participating children will then distribute them around the island and share that on social media.
In celebration of Earth Day, attendees can also assemble DIY bird feeders.
“We have a live band, the Kickstart Band,” she said.
Based in Southwest Florida, the group performs a mix of genres.
“They’re volunteering their time to us, which is just amazing,” Plumb said.
Food and drinks will be available. Island-based Spoondrift Island Bowls and The Shack of Sanibel will have booths set up, while The Dawg Pound will have its food truck onsite serving hot dogs and more.
“We have sponsors that are helping to make this event what it is,” she said.
They are Adventures in Paradise, Back Bay Contracting, Billy’s Rentals, Captiva Cruises, DERO Roofing, Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, duPont Residential and Commercial, Island Home Watch, Matter Brothers Furniture, Monreve, Nanny’s of Sanibel, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank, and Shoreline Lumber.
Plumb explained that in the aftermath of the storm, the school is still in “pretty rough shape.” There is no electricity at the pavilion at this time, so all of the electric-powered activities at the event will be running on generators. In addition, there is no running water, so the PTA will be pumping in the water.
“It won’t look like every other year’s festival, but it will be a really happy occasion,” she said.
The public is welcome to come out and take part.
“As a school community and an island community, we need to sort of come together to celebrate our progress,” Plumb said. “This offers an opportunity to do that, as well as have a bit of normalcy.”
For more information, contact SanibelPTABoard@gmail.com.
The Sanibel School is at 3840 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel.
…..
IF YOU GO
What
Annual Seahorse Festival
When
April 23 from noon to 4 p.m.
Where
The Sanibel School, 3840 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel
Details
Free and open to the public
To reach TIFFANY REPECKI / trepecki@breezenewspapers.com, please email