Shell Yeah! Inaugural event planned June 20 in Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, Florida

            There’s a national day for everything, it seems, so why not National Seashell Day?

The 50 miles along the pristine beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, Florida, is among the best places to find seashells in the country, if not the world. So it only makes sense that they would proclaim a nice summer day — June 20, 2016 — as the inaugural National Seashell Day. In addition to beachcombing for shells, there will be special travel deals, seashell attractions, shelling lectures and tours, workshops with local shell artists and much more.

Some hotels, vacation rentals, beachfront accommodations and vintage RV parks are offering the fourth night free during this time. Certain properties are also offering add-ons, such as free shelling cruises to barrier islands, shell guides and bags, free breakfast and more. Visit www.nationalseashellday.com for a full list of properties participating in the fourth night free deal and to check out special events.

Don’t miss out on the chance to enter the Shell Yeah! Sweepstakes to win a three-night stay at Sanibel Inn with a Captiva Cruises shelling excursion to Cayo Costa.

Here’s some shelling tips from tourism folks:

“The best shelling locations are on Sanibel Island (Bowman's Beach and Lighthouse Beach), named the best shelling beach in the U.S., and also in less populated areas such as the uninhabited Cayo Costa, Big Hickory Island and Lovers Key State Park.  Peak shelling season in the Fort Myers/Sanibel area is May–September and shelling is best an hour before and after low tide, or high tide after storms. Walk the high tide shell line where the highest waves stop, as this is where groups of shells arrive. Another good spot is the slight drop in the surf line, where gentle waves break before rolling to the beach. It's prohibited to collect any shell with a living mollusk or creature inside. Beachcombers work to preserve this natural resource and protect live shells from being over-harvested and endangered.”
            For weather information, web cams and shelling news, visit Sanibel Island artist and ‘shell-ebrity’ Pam Rambo at www.iloveshelling.com.

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel

Here’s looking at Key Largo for a fun film fest

           If everyone in America threw a festival in honor of a film made in their city (or the story set in their city, more like it), we'd have festivals everywhere. And yet, a Humphrey Bogart festival in Key Largo works. I mean, really, a Humphrey Bogart festival in Key Largo!
            Who remembers Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall in the John Houston-directed film noir “Key Largo?” The story of a man finding a gangster running a friend's hotel who he confronts during a hurricane was set on Key Largo, the island south of Miami, and it’s here that film buffs can celebrate one of its stars in the third annual Humphrey Bogart Film Festival, Wednesday through Sunday, Oct. 21-25, 2015.

            Although the annual event — formerly held in May — celebrates Bogart's life and films, this year's festival honors the life of his wife, Lauren Bacall. “Key Largo” was the fourth and final film that paired the married actors. Click here for the film trailer.

Returning to co-host events and film screenings is Bogart and Bacall's son, Stephen Bogart, to be joined by Eddie Muller, a novelist and film historian nicknamed “Czar of Noir” and special guest Monika Henreid, a documentary filmmaker and daughter of “Casablanca” star Paul Henreid, who played Victor Laszlo in the famed movie alongside Bogart.

Festival highlights include indoor and outdoor screenings of several Bogart classics as well as special events including the Costume or Casual Cocktail Reception, Bogart Block Party and Seaside Soirée. Throughout the weekend, fans can view Bogart memorabilia, find festival collectibles and book canal cruises on the fully restored African Queen, the original boat from Huston's 1951 film of the same name that starred Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. The African Queen is docked at the Holiday Inn Key Largo, mile marker 100.

All-access and single-event passes and merchandise can be purchased at www.bogartfilmfestival.com.

In addition, the 2015 festival has partnered with the faculty and graduate students of the University of Miami Department of Cinema & Interactive Media to host a student short film competition and festival. Student film submission categories include film noir, crime, thriller, comedy, documentary, action-adventure and more. The winning films are to be shown during the festival. There will also be workshops on “Filmmaking in South Florida” as well as “Floridian Noir Storytelling,” a practicum hosted by award-winning directors Billy Corben and Tom Musca.
            For event information and schedule, visit www.bogartfilmfestival.com. For a video teaser, click here. For Key Largo visitor information visit www.fla-keys.com/keylargo or call (800) 822-1088.

Taking music underground — or rather underwater: The Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival

            Diving down to enjoy the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States is reason enough to visit the Florida Keys, but on July 11, 2015, you can do it to music.

            From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Looe Key Reef, an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary approximately six miles south of Big Pine Key, the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival will take place. Staged by Keys radio station WWUS 104.1 FM, music will be piped underwater via Lubell Laboratory speakers suspended beneath boats above the reef. Swimming among colorful tropical fish and coral formations, participants can sway to a sea-focused playlist that typically includes humpback whale songs and melodies like the Beatles' “Yellow Submarine” and Jimmy Buffett's “Fins.”

            The festival began to encourage coral reef protection and environmentally responsible diving. Now in its 31st year, it typically draws several hundred divers and snorkelers annually to enjoy the sound of music along the Keys' reef — the third largest in the world.

            Can’t quite get your mind around this? Check out the video.

Those planning to submerge themselves in the festival can stop by Looe Key Reef Resort, 27340 Overseas Highway on Ramrod Key, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, July 10, for a free dive clinic that consists of buoyancy tests and equipment checks. All divers and snorkelers participating in are encouraged to wear costumes and compete for prizes such as “best dressed.” Some might even pretend to play “underwater instruments” sculpted by Lower Keys artist August Powers, whose creations blend elements of oceanic creatures and whimsical musical instruments.

For more information on the festival or diving the Lower Keys, visit www.lowerkeyschamber.com. For Lower Keys visitor information, visit www.fla-keys.com/lowerkeys or call (305) 872-2411.

Cheré Coen is an award-winning travel writer specializing in the Deep South. She is the author of "Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History," "Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana" and "Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana" and co-author of "Magic's in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets." She also writes Louisiana romances under Cherie Claire, including "A Cajun Dream" and "The Letter." Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.