ArtFest Fort Myers

Weekend Returns to Riverfront

ArtFest Fort Myers, Southwest Florida’s premier outdoor art festival, brings more than 200 professional artists from across the country to the downtown waterfront in Fort Myers the weekend of February 4 & 5. There is an Opening Night Party the evening of February 3 at the Caloosa Sound Amphitheater., where the Gulf Coast Symphony will perform a free pops concert, ‘Symphony on the Sound’, from 7- 8:15pm.

ArtFest also features high school art and street chalk art competitions, children’s art activities, live entertainment and food. Admission is free.

ArtFest attendees can see a wide variety of art, meet the artists and buy ceramics, jewelry, glasswork, and wearable art, as well as paintings, drawings and sculptures.

The work of high school artists is on display at the Art Under 20 exhibit and competition. Students can create large street paintings in the Chalk Block and the We Are Overflowing exhibit features the message about recycling, reuse, and upcycling. Children will enjoy the Publix Art Yard and Community Stage, offering creative opportunities for children of all ages, and Art for All, where kids (and adults) with motor skill challenges create large pieces using adaptive tools and devices that turn wheelchairs into giant paintbrushes or chalk drawers. There is also a Publix Run To The Arts 5K timed race Sunday morning at 8am. Visit RunToTheArts.com to register.

VIP Club memberships are available. Membership includes: reserved weekend parking; admission to the Friday Night Opening VIP Club, located at Caloosa Sound Convention Center; unlimited access to the VIP Club area with breakfast, lunch, and drinks; front-row seats at the ‘Symphony on the Sound’ concert.

Parking lots adjacent to the festival, street parking, and City Garages are open. Trolleys are available from remote lots.

ArtFest Fort Myers is open February 4, 10am-5pm and February 5, 10am-4pm. The Opening Night Party is February 3, 6-9pm. Admission is free. ArtFest is located in Centennial Park on Fort Myers’ riverfront, along Edwards Dr. Call 768-3602 for information.

Artists Wanted for All Florida Exhibition

The Alliance for the Arts is hosting the 37th Annual All Florida Exhibition featuring pieces created by artists working in a wide variety of media from all over the state of Florida.

Artists in Florida are encouraged to submit their work for this juried exhibition. Categories for entry are sculpture, painting (oil, acrylic, collage, watercolor and mixed media), photography, prints and drawing. An entry may consist of 1-3 artworks. All entries are due by January 23. If you would like to be considered for this show, please download the prospectus found on the Alliance for the Arts website: ArtInLee.org/ AllFlorida2023.

Accepted entries will be displayed in an exhibition at the Alliance for the Arts March 3-April 1 in March 2023 representing Florida’s contemporary artists. Awards include $1,000 cash for Best In Show, a 2nd place gift certificate, $100 cash for 3rd place and Juror’s Choice

Awards of Alliance for the Arts memberships.

The Alliance for the Arts is a nonprofit community arts and cultural center with a mission to facilitate and nurture the creation, development, promotion and education of arts and culture in southwest Florida.

The Alliance for the Arts is located at 10091 McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers. Galleries are open Tuesdays-Friday 9am-7pm & Saturday 9am-1pm.

For information, call 939-2787.

Rookery Bay Reserve Celebrates Birds

The Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is hosting its annual Festival of Birds, January 14-21. During the week-long ornithological celebration, visitors can attend workshops, classes and presentations by birding experts, including Keynote Speaker Tabitha Stadler, Executive Director of Environmental Protection in the Caribbean. Events begin at 7am, with the last at sunset.

Visitors can also participate in guided wildlife viewing field trips, backcountry swamp buggy trips, and bicycle, boat and kayak tours.

Workshops at Environmental Learning Center include: Decoy Painting Workshop, ScrubJays, Chasing Migration, Beach Nesting Birds.

Boat tours include: Sunrise Flyoff Boat Tour, Sunset Roost Boat Tour, Big Cypress National Preserve Kayak Tour.

Birding walks include: Clam

Pass Park Birding the Boardwalk, Corkscrew Swamp Morning Birding Walk, Eagle Lakes Park Birding for Beginners, Fakahatchee Strand Swamp Trom, Big Cypress Birding Caravan & Boardwalk Tour, Bunche Beach Birding Walk, Tigertail Beach Lagoon Birding

Rookery Bay’s Festival of Birds features birding walks, boat and kayak tours, and workshops, January 14-21.

There is also a Bear Island Bike Ride and Corkscrew Swamp Backcountry Swamp Buggy Trips. Pre-registration required for all activities.

Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is located at 300 Tower Rd. in Naples. The Environmental Learning Center is open Monday-Saturday 9am-4pm. Call 530-5972 for information.

Exhibition Features

Paintings of Cottages and Waterways of Old Naples

Hurricanes, affluence and modern housing expectations have forever changed the ambiance of Old Naples. The iconic cottages and hidden tunnels of mangrove trees to the beach are becoming a rare sight. The contemporary art gallery, Things I Like by Catherine will host an opening reception on

January 26 for an exhibition of paintings and photographs of the cottages and waterways of Old Naples by Mark Hunt.

Hunt has been coming to the area for 20 years, visiting his mother and escaping the brutal Boston winters for two weeks every February. An avid roller-blader and professional photographer, Mark would cruise around the neighborhoods taking pictures and capturing that special splitsecond moment in time which makes a great photograph.

A book of Old Naples Cottages that his mom had in her home piqued his interest and he began seeking them out to photograph and eventually paint. As the years went by, he started to notice the cottages disappearing, being replaced with much larger homes. Where there were once small houses with expansive lawns and large palm trees, there are now large homes with no open space. While progress cannot be stopped, looking at the paintings in this exhibition will make you smile, feel nostalgic, and think of your own childhood experiences.

The reception is January 26, 5-8pm. Admission is free. Things I Like by Catherine Contemporary Art Gallery is located at 3954 Bayshore Drive in Naples. For information, call 778-4665.