Carrabelle Chamber of Commerce E-Newsletter for May

Activities around town.... Mark your calendars! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! The 32nd Annual Riverfront Festival was a huge success!! We had beautiful weather and visitors coming and going all day! This was amazing teamwork in our community and we showed how strong and dedicated we all are! We are most grateful to so many people who helped and supported financially, physically, and behind the scenes. Thank you again to our sponsors for the event: We sold all of our t-shirts (pictured above) except for a few mediums and smalls so stop by the chamber and pick up one if it's your size! $20.00! Crooked River Lighthouse 1975 Hwy 98 W, Carrabelle Upcoming markets will be June 3 and June 17 The open-air market at the foot of the lighthouse features local vendors with perfect gifts and goodies like farm-fresh produce, grass-fed beef, delicious baked goods like cinnamon rolls and artisan breads and cookies, batch roasted coffee, gorgeous art, handcrafted balms and soaps, and handmade goods and craft items. Guests can also visit the free Museum and browse inside the Lighthouse Gift Shop for unique, nautical-themed holiday gifts. You may also get a ticket to climb to the top of the lighthouse for a breathtaking view of the Bay! The Market is actively recruiting new and returning vendors. Vendors may sign up at any time. Cost to be a vendor is $10 a market. For more information: call: 850-697-2732 email: carrabellelighthouse@gmail.com visit: www.crookedriverlighthouse.com Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council. “All Together Now" Summer Reading Program Eastpoint & Carrabelle Libraries!! 6-week program!   Both library branches will have fun activities for both kids and adults during this program under the theme of “All Together Now”. These programs are free and open to the public and participants do not need a library card to participate.  First 2 weeks schedule: Week 1 “Friends Forever” June 19th Friendship Bracelets 2:00 PM @ both branches. Bring a friend and make beaded friendship bracelets. 20th Bad Art Contest 2:00 PM @ both branches. Are you a Michelangelo or more of a Michelangel-no? Create art that is purposely bad for a chance to win a trophy and a prize. 21st Kindness Rock Painting 2:00 PM @ both branches. Paint rocks with kind and uplifting messages for our rock garden. 22nd Photo Collage Making 11:00 AM @ Eastpoint; 2:00 PM @ Carrabelle. Make a beautiful photo collage of friends and family on canvas. 22nd Story Time 11:00 AM @ Carrabelle; 2:00 PM @ Eastpoint. Story Hour for ages 4-6 centered around the theme of friendship. 23rd Friends Trivia Game 2:00 PM @ both branches. Bring a friend and enjoy a friendship-themed trivia game. Week 2 “Community Connections” June 26th Disaster Preparedness for Kids with Franklin EOC 2:00 PM @ both branches. A presentation and activity for kids about disaster preparedness. 27th Youth Nutrition Program with Franklin UF/IFAS Extension Office 10:00 AM @ Eastpoint; 1:00 PM @ Carrabelle. Kayle Mearse with the UF/IFAS Extensions office will have nutrition books and healthy snacks for kids. 28th Story Time with FCSO 2:00 PM @ Eastpoint. Sheriff Smith will be at the library to host story time. 28th Coffee and Cards 10:00 AM @ Carrabelle. Social meetup for adults to enjoy free coffee, cards and games. 29th Coffee and Cards 10:00 AM @ Eastpoint. Social meetup for adults to enjoy free coffee, cards and games. 29th Story Time with Franklin County Property Appraiser Rhonda Skipper 2:00 PM @ Carrabelle. Property Appraiser Rhonda Skipper will be hosting story time. 30th Community Recipe Swap 2:00 PM @ both branches. Bring in your favorite shareable recipe for others to sample and take home some new recipe cards to try.  Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum Commemorates D-Day! Opening on the Anniversary of D-Day! Tuesday June 6 until July 1 Camp Gordon Johnston opened in 1942 in Carrabelle, FL, at 1873 Hwy 98 West, directly across from the very beach where the beach assault training occurred in 1942-1943. Carrabelle Beach was the site of many practice beach assault landings. It's main purpose was to train entire infantry divisions, including the U. S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division and their support units in amphibious warfare. This training and the men who trained here would be put to the test on the heavily fortified beaches of Normandy, France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The first amphibian infantry assault teams to arrive on French soil were from the 4th Infantry Division at Utah Beach. The D-Day invasion was the largest seaborne invasion in history and included over 100,000 Allied troops. This D-Day exhibit will include the personal papers and other items from the family of Capt. John E. Mellen, who commanded the 818th Amphibious Truck Company and was with them from their training at Camp Gordon Johnston through the end of the war and beyond. The 818th trained at Camp Gordon Johnston late 1943-early 1944, and deployed to England to prepare for the invasion of Normandy, and was attached to the 1st Engineer’s Special Brigade and landed on Utah Beach, June 6, 1944. For this they received a Meritorious Unit Citation and Croix de Guerre with palm. Five members of the 818th received Bronze Stars for their actions on that day.   The Carrabelle Beach Assault video will be shown throughout the day running every 10 minutes. This Army training short film shows the D-Day training as it happened on Carrabelle Beach during March of 1943.  There are several well-recognized photos of the Carrabelle Beach assaults taken from this video footage, which was filmed by the U.S. Signal Corps. The amphibious training conducted at this site was to be the last training before shipping out to England.   Also during this exhibit there will be other displays to honor D-Day, including an interview of a 28th Infantry Division veteran that trained at the Camp, the three WWII military vehicles, and the replica Higgins Boat on display. For more information, contact Camp Gordon Johnston Museum at (850) 697-8575 or museum@campgordonjohnston.com. Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council. Gulf Recreational Red Snapper   Florida's 2023 Gulf red snapper season will open on June 16 and run consecutively through July 31, 2023   The season will reopen in the fall for 3-day weekends during October and November (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).    This season applies to recreational anglers fishing from private vessels in Florida Gulf state and federal waters.   For-hire operations that do not have a federal reef fish permit may also participate in the season but are limited to fishing for red snapper in Florida Gulf state waters only..   2 per person (included in the 10 per harvester per day state snapper aggregate bag limit)  Charter captain and crew: zero Here’s what forecasters predict for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season (tampabay.com) After years of predicting above-normal hurricane seasons, meteorologists are anticipating a slightly below-average 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. But they added these important caveats: There’s still plenty of uncertainty in the forecast, and all it takes is one storm to turn a hurricane season from calm to chaotic. Colorado State University, which has a renowned tropical weather and climate research team, is predicting 13 named storms, of which six will become hurricanes and two will reach major hurricane strength (with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour or higher). That’s according to the university’s first hurricane season forecast unveiled Thursday morning, which will be updated each month between June and August. The call for a below-average season — and the uncertainty around that forecast — stems from two conflicting factors: the possibility for a strong El Niño, when an enhanced jet stream threatens to erode stronger hurricanes, and an “anomalously warm” Atlantic, which can fuel hurricanes. “The tug-of-war between the hurricane-unfavorable potential of a robust El Niño and the hurricane-favorable potential of a much warmer-than-normal (Atlantic) is why the forecast is for a slightly below-average season at this point,” said Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at the university. In other words: The combination of those two factors could lead to the hurricane season falling on different sides of the spectrum. For now, though, the forecast is trending toward below-average because of an anticipated shift to El Niño for the peak season, according to the report. Watch vs. Warning: Do you know the difference?   A watch means that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are possible within the specified area. A watch is issued 48 hours in advance of anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds in an area.   A warning means indicate that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are expected somewhere within the specified area. Because hurricane preparedness activities become difficult once winds reach tropical storm force (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph), the hurricane warning is issued 36 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds to allow for important preparation. Have a plan: Make sure you and your family know what to do in the event of a hurricane or serious tropical storm. You can visit Ready.gov for more information about making a plan, building an emergency preparedness kit, determining an evacuation route, and more. Build a Kit: It’s important to have enough food, water, and other supplies on hand in the event of a major storm.  Be informed: It’s important to both prepare for a potential storm and to stay informed should one impact your area. FEMA has a useful app you can download here that will provide real-time alerts for up to five different locations and locate emergency shelter places If you have not renewed or signed up to be a member of the Carrabelle Chamber of Commerce please get signed up! We need your support:) Thanks for all your support through the years! Our 2023 Membership Applications are available on our website, or you may also stop by or give me a call 850-697-2585 We're all in this together!  ‌

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