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Race for Clean Water – appropriate for those 11 and older
Big Calusa hosts the first annual ACA-sanctioned Kayak & Paddle Board Races starting at 8:30 a.m. and running until 2 p.m. The race takes competitors through a 2.8-mile course under two bridges           spanning the Caloosahatchee River and back to North Shore Park. The public is welcome to view the race from the beach or from their boats.

  • Sailboat Rides – appropriate for all ages
    Edison Sailing Center takes groups of four at a time on their four Hobie Cat Sailboats, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting until 4 p.m.
  • Master Naturalist Laboratory – appropriate for all ages
    Master Naturalists Captain John Cookman and Kathy Cookman, owners of MANATEE & ECO RIVER TOURS, welcome visitors onto the 42-foot “River Queen” 42-foot floating laboratory to teach all             about the natural wonders of our region.

At 2:30 pm the first 42 participants to register will take a one-and-a-half-hour tour of the river with Nature Talk aboard the “River Queen” master naturalist 42-foot vessel.

  • Fishing Camp – appropriate for children ages 10-16
    Free fishing poles will be given away to the first ninety children ages 10-16 who sign up for “best practices” fishing safety techniques, provided by CHNEP.
  • Calusa Clean-Up – appropriate for families of all ages
    Just 1 mile away at Moody’s Boat Ramp. The public is welcome to participate in a kayak clean-up of Hancock Creek from 8-11 a.m. organized by Keep Lee County Beautiful. Bring your paddle craft or         use one of the 12 kayaks and canoes provided to join dozens of others in cleaning up local waterways
  • Land to River to Estuary: Connections For Life – appropriate for children ages 4-12
    Booth includes an estuary aquarium teaching kids how to do water sampling and watershed run-off modeling, provided by Lee County environment education teacher Susan Hassett
  • On-land rowing tutorials – appropriate for all ages
    Provided by Caloosa Coast Rowing Club
  • The “ABC’s of Boating Safety” – appropriate for adolescence and adults
    Enjoy a 45-minute tutorial on boating safety basics provided by the FORT MYERS POWER SQUADRON.
  • Fossil hunting with paleontologists – appropriate for children ages 4-8
    Enjoy fossil hunting and a presentation by Dr. Charles O’Connor at 10:30 a.m.
  • Fire boat tours and water display – appropriate for all ages
    A Fire Boat from the Cape Coral Fire Department will be docked and open to the public before heading out into the river to shoot off its water cannon at noon.
  • Rare coin hunting with a numismatic expert – appropriate for children ages 4-8
  • Yemaya, the real-life mermaid – appropriate for children ages 4-8
    Listen to stories from the deep sea about how Yemaya and her friends cope with a sometimes-dirty ocean.
  • The Little Toot Magic Tug Boat – appropriate for children ages 4-8
    The magic tugboat pays a visit at 11:30 a.m. and her skipper, Captain Christopher Robin, regales children with valuable life lessons about caring, compassion and how it’s fine to be a little bit different.
  • Musical entertainment by Collier County-based Electric Acoustic Guitar duo, ROOTS 2 VINES.
  • Exhibitor Booths – appropriate for all ages
    Sierra Club, Citizen’s Climate Lobby, VegFest, CMCS Sailing Club, Oceans Habitat Inc., Responsible Growth Management Coalition, LaBelle Fossil Camp and Pachamama

 
WHAT: Big Calusa Day
 
WHEN: Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Race for Clean Water – appropriate for those 11 and older
Big Calusa hosts the first annual ACA-sanctioned Kayak & Paddle Board Races starting at 8:30 a.m. and running until 2 p.m. The race takes competitors through a 2.8-mile course under two bridges           spanning the Caloosahatchee River and back to North Shore Park. The public is welcome to view the race from the beach or from their boats.

  • Sailboat Rides – appropriate for all ages
    Edison Sailing Center takes groups of four at a time on their four Hobie Cat Sailboats, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting until 4 p.m.
  • Master Naturalist Laboratory – appropriate for all ages
    Master Naturalists Captain John Cookman and Kathy Cookman, owners of MANATEE & ECO RIVER TOURS, welcome visitors onto the 42-foot “River Queen” 42-foot floating laboratory to teach all             about the natural wonders of our region.

At 2:30 pm the first 42 participants to register will take a one-and-a-half-hour tour of the river with Nature Talk aboard the “River Queen” master naturalist 42-foot vessel.

  • Fishing Camp – appropriate for children ages 10-16
    Free fishing poles will be given away to the first ninety children ages 10-16 who sign up for “best practices” fishing safety techniques, provided by CHNEP.
  • Calusa Clean-Up – appropriate for families of all ages
    Just 1 mile away at Moody’s Boat Ramp. The public is welcome to participate in a kayak clean-up of Hancock Creek from 8-11 a.m. organized by Keep Lee County Beautiful. Bring your paddle craft or         use one of the 12 kayaks and canoes provided to join dozens of others in cleaning up local waterways
  • Land to River to Estuary: Connections For Life – appropriate for children ages 4-12
    Booth includes an estuary aquarium teaching kids how to do water sampling and watershed run-off modeling, provided by Lee County environment education teacher Susan Hassett
  • On-land rowing tutorials – appropriate for all ages
    Provided by Caloosa Coast Rowing Club
  • The “ABC’s of Boating Safety” – appropriate for adolescence and adults
    Enjoy a 45-minute tutorial on boating safety basics provided by the FORT MYERS POWER SQUADRON.
  • Fossil hunting with paleontologists – appropriate for children ages 4-8
    Enjoy fossil hunting and a presentation by Dr. Charles O’Connor at 10:30 a.m.
  • Fire boat tours and water display – appropriate for all ages
    A Fire Boat from the Cape Coral Fire Department will be docked and open to the public before heading out into the river to shoot off its water cannon at noon.
  • Rare coin hunting with a numismatic expert – appropriate for children ages 4-8
  • Yemaya, the real-life mermaid – appropriate for children ages 4-8
    Listen to stories from the deep sea about how Yemaya and her friends cope with a sometimes-dirty ocean.
  • The Little Toot Magic Tug Boat – appropriate for children ages 4-8
    The magic tugboat pays a visit at 11:30 a.m. and her skipper, Captain Christopher Robin, regales children with valuable life lessons about caring, compassion and how it’s fine to be a little bit different.
  • Musical entertainment by Collier County-based Electric Acoustic Guitar duo, ROOTS 2 VINES.
  • Exhibitor Booths – appropriate for all ages
    Sierra Club, Citizen’s Climate Lobby, VegFest, CMCS Sailing Club, Oceans Habitat Inc., Responsible Growth Management Coalition, LaBelle Fossil Camp and Pachamama

 
WHAT: Big Calusa Day
 
WHEN: Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE:
North Shore Park, Fort Myers

WHY:
To reconnect our community in a positive way with all we love about our waterways.
CONTACT: Josh Milton, Vice President of Media Relations at CONRIC PR & Marketing, 239-690-9840, [email protected]
 
: North Shore Park, Fort Myers
WHY: To reconnect our community in a positive way with all we love about our waterways.
CONTACT: Josh Milton, Vice President of Media Relations at CONRIC PR & Marketing, 239-690-9840, [email protected]
 

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