Apalachicola Home & Garden Tour May 6
Apalachicola's annual Home and Garden Tour is scheduled for May 6 and will feature a variety of homes ranging from century-old houses to charming bungalows and contemporary homes. Homes will be open on Saturday, May 6 from 10 am - 4 pm. Details.
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Cinco De Mayo Celebration May 5
The Crooked River Lighthouse invites all to join in their festive Cinco de Mayo Celebration on Sunday, May 5, from 6-9 pm in Carrabelle. Visitors can enjoy local, live music and delicious food amid the gorgeous natural surroundings of Forgotten Coast, under the evening sky. Two local favorites, A Train Stop food truck and Harry’s Mobile Pub, will be serving up tasty eats and drinks. Hot Mess, a dynamic 5-piece Zydeco Swamp Pop band, will perform. Admission is free, and donations to support the lighthouse’s mission are gratefully welcomed.
Visitors can enjoy an after-hours tour of the Keeper’s House Museum and see the exhibit for the lighthouse’s original, historic Fresnel lens constructed in 1894 in Paris, France. Guests can browse the unique nautical gifts and souvenirs in the gift shop. Visitors may also enjoy the glowing bonfire in the park (weather permitting). Details.
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Lighthouses Host Full Moon Climbs May 23
The May Sunset and Full Moon Climb at the Cape St. George Lighthouse on St. George Island will be held on Thursday, May 23 from 8-10 p.m Visitors can enjoy this opportunity to view St. George Island, the Gulf of Mexico, and Apalachicola Bay under the evening sky. Details. The Crooked River Lighthouse Full Moon Climb will also be Thursday, May 23 from 8-10 pm at the lighthouse located at Carrabelle Beach. Details.
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Spring Ghost Tour May 18
Enjoy the Apalachicola Area Historical Society’s annual Spring Ghost Tour walk of the Historic Chestnut Street Cemetery in Apalachicola on May 18. Hauntings will abound when local history enthusiasts don the garb and take on the persona of the cemetery’s notable inhabitants to tell their tale of life in Apalachicola for more than 180 years ago. The Ghostwalk will be held at the Chestnut Street Cemetery on U.S. Highway 98 in Apalachicola. Details.
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Jack Rudloe Talk in Apalachicola May 18
The Apalachicola Area Historical Society (AAHS) will host a Spring Speaker Program featuring Jack Rudloe at 4pm, Saturday, May 18 at the Raney Carriage House, 126 Market Street, Apalachicola. Jack Rudloe is the founder of Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory in Panacea, Florida, a unique environmental education center and public aquarium that supplies marine organisms to schools and research laboratories. He is the author of seven well-known books on Florida natural history and marine life. Details.
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| Camp Gordon Johnston Exhibit Through June 1
Starting April 30 and lasting until June 1, the Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum will present a special exhibit on the most violent and costliest campaign of WWII, the battle to take Okinawa. The battle started with the capture of the Kerama Islands by the 77th infantry Division on March 26, 1945, and ended 98 days later on July 2. This effort involved three marine divisions and four infantry divisions making up the Tenth Army, which had its own tactical air force, and was supported by naval and amphibious commands. The battle cost more lives on both sides than any other campaign in the Pacific. Included in the exhibit will be historic photos and Marine Corps artifacts. This exhibit opened April 1 and will be on display at the museum until Saturday, June 1 at 5 pm. There is no charge for admission but donations are gladly accepted. Details.
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| It's Turtle Time Along the Forgotten Coast
May 1 marks the beginning of sea turtle nesting season on St. George Island and other beaches throughout Franklin County and Florida. The turtles will lay their eggs from May – September, with 50-150 baby turtles hatching after 45-60 days, usually at night. One female may nest several times in a season.
May also heralds the season when local volunteer turtlers begin walking the beach in order to find, mark and protect turtle nests. When homeowners and visitors are educated about measures they can help nesting sea turtles such as turning off lights and clearing the beach of gear. Visitors interested in learning about sea turtle nesting can visit the St. George Island Visitor’s Center (at the St. George Island Lighthouse Park) to pick up turtle information. Click here to learn more about our turtles and how you can help protect them.
Please note that Franklin County has a Leave No Trace Ordinance that requires chairs, umbrellas and equipment to be removed nightly from the public beaches in order to help mama turtles more easily navigate the beaches to nest and allow hatchlings a clear path back to the water from their nests in the dunes. And, if you dig a hole on the beach during the day, fill it in!
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| Estuaries Day May 3
Mark your calendars for Friday May 3 from 1:30-5:30 pm as the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) celebrates National Estuaries Day. This free, fun and educational event features activities for kids and adults including the marine animal touch tanks as well as kid friendly nature-themed games such as cast net demonstrations, a living shoreline exploration, prescribed fire activities, a reptile room with live reptiles and a drone demonstration. Attendees also can tour ANERR’s 5,400 square-foot Nature Center with its three large aquariums filled with local estuarine and marine life, an 80-foot-long mural depicting the area ecosystems, and a hands-on Bay Discovery Room. Details.
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