Florida Frontier Days

Join us this Saturday, March 27 at the Florida Frontier Days Festival in Charlotte Harbor!

The FPAN Southwest Regional Center is excited to participate in the festival and provide information and kids' activities.

The event is put on by the Charlotte County Historical Center and held at Bayshore Live Oak Park in beautiful Charlotte Harbor. Each year, area school children, teachers, friends and families gather to experience traditional pioneer entertainment, old-fashioned games, hands-on activities and delicious frontier-style food. Period artisans work their crafts as visitors try their hand at old time activities such as candle-dipping, rug braiding, sock puppets and kite making. Games of sack race, tug o war, or horseshoes entertain as visitors listen to local musicians play traditional folk music. There’s something for everyone at the 14th annual Florida Frontier Days Festival. Admission tor the festival is just $ 3.00 for adults and $ 2.00 for children 12 and under. All proceeds benefit the Charlotte County Historical Center, its educational programs and exhibits.

Boat Tours to Mound Key

Mound House will be offering boat tours to Mound Key, the ancient capital city of the Calusa. Tours depart from Mound House (in Fort Myers Beach) on Thursday March 25 and Friday March 26 at 9:30 a.m., with archaeologist Theresa Schober giving a guided tour. Tickets are $40 per person, and proceeds benefit Mound House programming. Call Mound House at 239-765-0865 to make reservations.

On April 18, Friends of the Collier Museum will also offer a boat tour to Mound Key, leaving from Bonita Beach. Cost is $50 for members, $65 for non-members. For more information on this tour, call 239-252-8476 Monday through Friday 8am-5pm.

Irish Settlement and Identity talk March 17 at SWFAS

At the March 17 Southwest Florida Archaeological Society meeting (incidentally on St. Patrick’s Day), Julie Richko Labate, a Ph.D. candidate at University College in Dublin, Ireland, will talk about Irish settlement in Texas. The talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Bonita Springs Community Hall, 27831 Old US-41, Bonita Springs. Join us at 7 for refreshments and socializing.

Julie Richko Labate, M.A., R.P.A., is a PhD candidate with the University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. Julie earned her bachelor’s from Florida Atlantic University and master’s degree from Illinois State University in anthropology and archaeology, respectively. While attaining her PhD, she is currently living in South Florida and working as the Tribal Archaeologist for the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

And don't forget Archaeology Day at the Collier Museum, this weekend, also co-hosted by SWFAS!

Archaeology Day at the Collier County Museum

Speeding right along with Archaeology Month events, join us March 20 at the Collier County Museum in Naples to hear local speakers on Florida Archaeology, meet FPAN staff, get your free Florida Archaeology Month Poster and bookmark, visit the Craighead Archaeological Lab and much more!

FPAN at Chalo Nitka

FPAN had a great time kicking off Florida Archaeology Month at the Chalo Nitka Festival in Moore Haven on March 6. The event offered our center an excellent opportunity to meet residents of Moore Haven, Clewiston, and other nearby communities. The event was well attended, and we hope our presence increased attendees’ interest in their archaeological past.

Calusa Heritage Day at Pineland March 13

We continue full speed ahead with Florida Archaeology Month and will be attending the Randell Research Center's Calusa Heritage Day at the Pineland archaeological site complex on Pine Island. Come visit, try your hand at making a bead timeline of Florida archaeology and pick up a free Florida Archaeology Month poster celebrating Florida's Mounds.

The Randell Research Center's fifth annual Calusa Heritage Day is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The event focuses on regional archaeology, history, and ecology. Art, music, and replicative technologies, as avenues to learning/education about Pineland's heritage, are included. Activities for children and adults alike will be provided, and food and beverages will be available. Admission is $5 per person; children under 12 are admitted free. All proceeds benefit the education and research programs of the Calusa Heritage Trail, Randell Research Center.

Featured speaker this year is GEORGE BURGESS, internationally recognized ichthyologist and coordinator of the International Shark Attack File. His lecture is entitled, "Smalltooth Sawfish: America's First Federally Endangered Marine Fish."

The day-long event will take place at the Pineland archaeological site complex (13810 Waterfront Drive, Pineland) and will be centered around the Pavilion/Classroom and Calusa Heritage Trail. Visitors can expect a variety of activities, exhibits, and information stations in a festival format, as well as site tours.

www.flmnh.ufl.edu/RRC/events.htm