Marianne Paton Among buinesses participating in the Singing in the Rain scavenger hunt during Creative Coast weekend for locals will be Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery in Matlacha.

During the winter months, many year-round island residents will avoid the hustle and bustle of the crowds that fill the restaurants and shops in Matlacha until the snowbird population returns north for the summer. On the heels of another successful “season” the galleries and gift shops of Matlacha will provide an opportunity usually reserved for part-time residents. On the weekend of June 11 and 12, participating galleries and specialty shops will host a Creative Coast weekend for locals and to show appreciation for the patients of those who had to endure the traffic during the traditional Creative Coast season, for the fourth consecutive year, a scavenger hunt will be added to the typical art night event. Locals can participate by stopping in at any of the participating businesses to pick up a punch card. The card will be presented with a clue and, on discovering the answer, the card will be punched. After visiting all nine of the businesses, the completed cards will be entered into a special drawing. This year’s prize is a gift basket filled with art items and gift certificates with a total value of more than $1,000. The theme for this year’s scavenger hunt is Singing in the Rain.

“It seems like every year we hold this event it rains, so this year we decided to embrace the idea and incorporate it into the event rather than letting it dampen our spirits,” said gallery owner, Peggy McTeague. “Here at WildChild and other participating shops people will find colorful umbrellas and rain ponchos to celebrate the rainy season.”

Participating businesses in the scavenger hunt are the WildChild Art Gallery, Traders Hitching Post, Island Visions, Great Licks Ice Cream, Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery, Syzygy Gallery, Matlacha Menagerie, Frills and Footprints in the Sand Shoe Gallery. Those participating in the scavenger hunt can spread their search over the two-day event and the businesses can be visited in any order. The winning punch card will be drawn on Sunday, June 13, and the recipient of the gift basket will be notified on that day. During the two-day event, everyone is invited to visit the participating galleries and shops on Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Typically during the Creative Coast seasonal events, participating galleries will offer free finger foods and beverages as well as entertainment, demonstrations, artists receptions and other special events and the Creative Coast for locals event will offer the same.

At Pine Bay, Matlacha author Robert Macomber will be at the gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. to personalize copies of his books during a special Father’s Day Book Signing. Those visiting Pine Bay can get copies of any of Macomber’s books from his Honor series and listen to tales of his adventures while researching each of his novels. Also on Friday evening, beginning at 4:30 p.m. nationally acclaimed musician and songwriter, Annie Wenz will be performing her original tunes as well as a few familiar covers.

On both Friday and Saturday, the featured artist at Pine Bay will be Davio Ribeca. On display will be a collection of his astrophotography of images of the night sky. All of Ribeca’s photos were capture from his own Cape Coral backyard.

Among the stops for the scavenger hunt, folks may want to linger at WildChild to enjoy more photography from a local shutterbug. A member of the North American Nature Photography Association, Cindy Cone has captured images of creatures great and small depicting every imaginable animal from ground squirrels to giraffes. An avid hiker, Cone has treked many National Parks in the United States snapping photos to add to her collection. In addition, as a participant with Earthwatch Institute, she spent time as a volunteer doing research projects in Kenya, Bolivia, Brazil and Costa Rica which aided in further expansion of her portfolio.

According to McTeague, WildChild also will offer guests a variety of treats, beverages and live entertainment in the backyard garden of the gallery.

Two businesses housed under one roof also will be actively participating during the scavenger hunt and Creative Coast weekend for locals. Everyone is invited to stop in at Great Licks and meet ice cream maker Queenie who will offer up free samples of her homemade ice cream. After enjoying a cold treat, several local artists will greet visitors and live entertainment will be provided by a local performer.

For more information about the galleries on Pine Island and in Matlacha, visit galleriesofpineisland.com