Tickets available for Calusa Culture Night
The Calusa Waterkeeper is hosting a culture night next week to bring the community together to celebrate the culture of water.
Calusa Culture Night will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in Fort Myers.
The combination fund and awareness raiser will feature six storytellers, music, art on the wall, silent auction, bubbly and some food.
Calusa Waterkeeper Executive Director K.C. Schulberg said this is the second Calusa Culture Night they have hosted with the last one being held in April during their Big Calusa week.
It was such a great evening they wanted to break away the Calusa Culture Night and have it by itself as an annual fundraiser at the same venue, using a similar format, he added.
The storytime headliner is environmental mega activist Maggy Reno Hurchalla. He said she lives in Stewart and is 78 years old. Hurchalla recently lost a major lawsuit with the Lake Point Mine and was ordered to pay $4.4 million, he said.
“She is up against it. We are supporting her and she is telling her story. We are proud to have her here. She is sharp as a tack and a great environmental warrior,” Schulberg said.
Other featured speakers will include Paul Arsenault, a very well known painter and historian who shares environmental preservation through his artwork; Cindy Bear, coordinator of programs and services for the Randell Research Center; John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper who has made it his mission to inform the public about the historic significance and present and future of Florida’s waterways; Wayne Daltry, a growth management expert and Dave Menist, the owner of Florida’s Son Fishing Charter.
The art of photographer Clyde Butcher will be on display, as will the works of as environmental artist and recycled fashions. U.S. Air Force Captain Brendan Best and musical duo Roots 2 Vines will provide live music.
“It’s going to be a great night,” Schulberg said. “It’s nice to get around some tables together and go over the culture of water instead of the science and advocacy.”
Schulberg said there will be some laughs, music and entertainment while getting everyone attuned to water in a different way.
“Some people like to go out on the water and do testing and go back to the lab. We are finding that a lot of people enjoy being with like minded people and hearing the stories,” he said.
Schulberg said he has heard that the bottom of the Caloosahatchee River used to be sandy and clear with tape grass everywhere.
It is not that way anymore and it is nice to hear the stories from the elders and storytellers, so they can find a way to get it all sorted out.
“We like to kind of change it up with the Culture Night. It’s a different way to attract a new crowd and get people thinking about the water in fresh ways. We have a lot of momentum. People are really focused on the water issue in Southwest Florida. We have to keep going and get it over the hump and really solve some of the problems when we have some wind at our backs,” Schulberg said.
There are many ticket pricing options available: Commodore four-top tables for $300, or $75 a guest; eight-top tables for $560, or $70 a guest, or individual tickets for $80, which entitles guests to a special pre-event, invitation only cocktail party from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
There is also general seating, which includes the show, silent auction and hors d’oeuvres at intermission at $40.
Tickets can be purchased at www.calusawaterkeeper.org.
The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, is at 2301 First St.