Eagle ($2,500+): * Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program * Charlotte Sun * Mosaic

Florida Panther ($1,000+): * Charlotte County Community Services * CF Industries

* Mote Marine Laboratory * Tents & Events * WGCU Public Media

Osprey ($500): * Fish Florida * Lemon Bay Conservancy * Peace River Audubon Society

* South Florida Water Management District * Waste Management

Sea Turtle ($250): * Charlotte County Utilities * Coastal Wildlife Club * Four Circles Learning

* Janicki Environmental * Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority * Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte Association of Realtors

Dolphin ($100): * Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc. * Berntsson, Ittersagen, Gunderson, Walksler & Widekis, LLP

* Butwell Stone & Soil * Friends of Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves * Florida Native Plant Society Mangrove Chapter 

* Sierra Club Charlotte Harbor Chapter * U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 9-2

Raffles and Silent Auction: Whether you have your eye on a pair of Mote Aquarium tickets or a piece of art, we are offering a wide range of gift certificates and unique items. Fabulous prizes will be given away at 11:00, noon, 1:00 and 2:00 so continue buying new raffle tickets throughout the day. Winners of each drawing must be present to win. Winners will pick an item from the prize table. A few items will be available through a silent auction. It's easy! Buy your tickets, win a gift and support the festival!

$1 for 1 chance * $2 for 3 chances * $5 for 10 chances

The festival is supported through the generosity of sponsors and you, when you purchase raffle tickets. Thanks to the exhibitors and others who generously donated items.

Would you support the festival by becoming a sponsor?

All support is appreciated but acknowledgement is provided if more than $100 is provided. Sponsor donations are accepted at any time but your sponsorship will be acknowledged as soon as the funds are received. Because of this, it is to your advantage to provide sponsorship as soon as possible. To sponsor, please send an email to mhilgendorf@swfrpc.org with the name as you would like to be acknowledged and the amount. Please then send a check payable to SWFRPC¹, include "CHNF" in the subject line, and mail to Maran Hilgendorf, CHNEP, 1926 Victoria Ave, Fort Myers FL 33901. The SWFRPC is not able to accept credit cards. If you prefer to pay by credit card, please let Maran know and you'll receive guidance on how to donate to the Friends of Charlotte Harbor Estuary, Inc., which is the CHNEP's 501(c)3 support organization.

¹ The fiscal agent for the twelfth annual Charlotte Harbor Nature Festival is the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, a 170(c) 1. As a government entity any donations and contributions are tax deductible as they are exclusively for a public purpose. The SWFRPC federal tax identification number is 59-1515448. SWFRPC does not engage a professional solicitor and 100% of the funds generated by this request will be used to support this or future Charlotte Harbor Nature Festivals. The consumer certificate of exception as issued by the Florida Department of Revenue is 46-07-113386-53C.

Exhibitors are asked to donate item(s) for the onsite raffle. Additional exhibitor guidance is available. Donations are accepted from others who wish to support the festival in this way.

Wagon rides will begin at 10:15, 10:45, 11:15, 11:45, 12:15, 12:45, 1:15, 1:45 and 2:15. The wagon rides are limited to 20 people per group.

• 10:15 walk led by Margaret and Bill Dunson: Birds, Bugs and Blooms

• 11:15 walk led by Margaret and Bill Dunson: Birds, Bugs and Blooms

• 12:15 walk led by Denny Girard: Native Plants

• 1:15 walk led by Jack Lyons: Native Plants

Music in Arts of Nature Tent

• 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Richard Ghent and Danny Keene will play a mix of acoustic music including bluegrass, roots and traditional songs.

• Noon to 1 p.m.: Still Friends featuring former members of the celebrated group Steve Blackwell and Friends, southwest Florida’s very own Still Friends performs original acoustic music with a unique and memorable delivery combining strong songwriting with elements of folk, rock, bluegrass, jazz, and soul music.

• Other musicians may perform throughout the day.

Exhibitors

Entrance/Raffle

• Coastal Wildlife Club

Environmental Stewards

• Babcock Wilderness Adventures

• Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife

• CF Industries

• Charlotte County Community Services

• Charlotte County Solid Waste

• Charlotte County Utilities

• Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program

• City of North Port

• Conservancy of Southwest Florida

• CREW Land & Water Trust

• Florida Department of Environmental Protection, South District

• Four Circles Learning (with CREW)

• Friends of Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

• Friends of the Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves

• Friends of Oscar Scherer Park, Inc.

• FWC Manatee Program and Florida Marine Mammal Stranding Network

• Golisano Children's Museum of Naples (with WGCU)

• Greater Charlotte Harbor Sierra Club

• Hardee Outdoor Classroom

• Keep Charlotte Beautiful

• Lemon Bay Conservancy

• Peace River Audubon Society

• Peace River Wildlife Center

• Southwest Florida Water Management District

• U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 9-2 North Port

• WGCU Public Media

• Waste Management

Arts of Nature (this tent is also the food court)

• Earth Preserver / Remitri & Co.

• Face painting by Claire Miller

• Indigo Press L.L.C.

• Musicians Richard Ghent and Danny Kenne (performing 10:30-11:30)

• Nature In My Pocket

• Still Friends Band (performing noon to 1 p.m.)

• Rotonda Rock Inc.

Stand Alone Exhibits

• LemonBayMetalArt.com

• Native Gems & Rock Shop

• Robert Marek, Woodcarving & Carolyn Marek, Woodburning

• Runningbears Trading Post

 Florida-Friendly

• Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc.

• Beautiful Ponds, Inc.

• Charlotte County Pest Management Division - Mosquito Control

• Charlotte County UF/IFAS Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Program

• Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, Inc. (CHEC)

• Florida Native Plants Inc.

• Florida  Native Plant Society Coccolaba Chapter (with Pine Forest)

• Florida  Native Plant Society Mangrove Chapter

• Peace River Butterfly Society

• Pine Forest Fruit & Flower Farm

 Knowing Nature

• Mound House

• Randell Research Center

Children’s Discovery Zone: There will be many activities for children, including tosses, coloring and more.

• Barrier Island Parks Society: Guessing games about marine animals.

• Canoe Outpost-Peace River : See what’s upriver through an outdoor display of nature shots, paddling and fossils.

• Charlotte County Community Development: Learn about planning for the environment by using boxes and Legos to create your own plans!

• CHNEP What’s an Estuary? Children will receive their own 3-power binoculars after learning about estuaries.

• CHNEP touch tank: See up close an underwater view of an estuary.

• J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge: Enjoy a fun nature-craft for children.

• Nature On Wheels: Dress-up with animal costumes and use the photo booth. Enjoy the children's craft table.

• Storytelling by Carol Mahler, author of Adventures in the Charlotte Harbor Watershed, and a professional storyteller, will bring the story alive during her presentations scheduled for 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, and 1:30.

• Face up to nature with free face painting by Claire Miller, featuring Florida creatures

• Fishing poles will be given to the first children who go through a short class and demonstration led by Charlotte County Parks & Natural Resources Dept and Fish Florida. The children must be between 4 and 14, able to read, able to cast after instruction. If a child received this gift at an earlier festival, please leave these for those who haven’t received one.

• Mosaic Fossil Dig: Discover prehistoric fossils of native animals that lived in Florida millions of years ago! You might just find pieces of ancient megaladon sharks’ teeth, turtle shells, wooly mammoth ribs or whale vertebrae uncovered while mining for phosphate in Central Florida.

Stand Alone

• Lemon Bay Myakka Trail Science Highway Committee: Hammer leaves and berries onto paper.

• Mote Marine Laboratory Mobile Exhibit: See upclose some of the animals that live in our waters!

• The Green Bus Experience introduces students to the 4 Rs of Sustainability: Reduce, ReUse, ReThink, and Recycle. This experience is designed to highlight current and on-going waste issues and inform students of ways to enhance their lifestyles and minimize ecological impacts. The pre-program curriculum, as well as the experience itself, has been designed to meet Sunshine State Standards in Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Music and Visual Arts. Teachers and students should expect to learn the basic concepts and objectives regarding waste, the proper disposal of waste, and recycling.

• Aquatic Systems / Mosquito Education (with Green Bus) displays living local aquatic insects (many of which help us to control mosquito larvae), cases of both native and exotic insects, and take-home activities related to mosquito education. We provide environmental science instruction to public and private school students throughout Lee County. We are able to provide the program due to the collaborative effort of three agencies: Lee County Mosquito Control, the Lee County School District, and Florida Gulf Coast University.

Promotional material will be posted as items are available.

• Flier 8.5x11" in English ~ Flier 8.5x11" in Spanish

• Radio spot on WGCU Public Media