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Week of June 2, 2008 The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel hosted 434,671 visitors during the month of April 2008, Davidson Peterson Associates reported this week to the Lee County Tourist Development Council (TDC). The greatest percentage of U.S. paid accommodations visitors came from the Midwest (49 percent). Occupancy rates averaged 60.3 percent. Contacts: Suya Davenport (SDavenport@leegov.com) and Nancy Hamilton (NHamilton@leegov.com), 239-338-3500, www.leevcb.com.
During April 2008, Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers accommodated 835,000 passengers, a decrease of 9.8 percent compared to April 2007, when Easter came later. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is down 4.4 percent over the same period last year. Contact: Victoria B. Moreland (vbmoreland@ flylcpa.com), 239-590-4504, www.flylcpa.com. At Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers, meeting planners can benefit from its 10 percent Credit for Groups program. Through Dec. 31, 2009, any new group that books 10 room nights or more receives 10 percent credit toward the master account based on actual room revenue. Contact: Autumn B. Mayfield (autumn@proofcreative.com), 850-443-2212, www.sanibel-resort.com. Combination accommodation and Edison & Ford Winter Estates packages are available throughout 2009 at the Best Western Fort Myers Waterfront in North Fort Myers . The package for two includes a one-night stay with tickets to the Estates in Fort Myers and dinner at Pincher’s Crab Shack. Package rates are as follows: Jan. 1 through Feb. 19, $182; Feb. 20 through April 9, $232; and April 10 through Dec. 30, $142. Contact: Sandy Moxley (sales@bestwesternwaterfront.com), 239-997-5511, www.bestwesternwaterfront.com. Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers has designed its Healthy Bites…No More Fights three-night summer program to encourage families to engage in a healthy lifestyle. Rates start at $785/per family of four, available now through Dec. 23, 2008. The package includes a welcome cookbook gift, kids healthy cooking lessons, a four-person kayaking excursion, and other outdoor activities. Contact: Autumn B. Mayfield (autumn@proofcreative.com), 850-443-2212, www.sanibel-resort.com. Sanibel Arms West Condominium on Sanibel Island offers its Activity Packages through Aug. 15, 2008. Guests booking a four-night stay have their choice of one adventure: four biking rentals for the duration of the stay, a 90-minute Segway tour for two, or a dolphin or sunset cruise for four. Contact: Jeanette Rollins, (jeanette@sanibelarmswest.com), 239-472-1138, www.sanibelarmswest.com. The Boating & BBQ package at Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers starts at $1,877.90 per family of four and is available through Dec. 23, 2008. The package includes a three-night stay in Grande Bay accommodations and free boating for a day with water sports and a stocked picnic basket. Following the outing, families can enjoy dive-in movies, a kids ice cream social, and a complimentary take-home container of the resort’s special BBQ sauce. Contact: Autumn B. Mayfield (autumn@proofcreative.com) , 850-443-2212, www.sanibel-resort.com. autumn@proofcreative.com Southwest Florida Yachts in North Fort Myers announced exclusive dockage discounts at major marinas in the Lee County Intracoastal Waterway cruising area as part of the ongoing celebration of the chartering company's 25th anniversary in 2009. Anniversary discounts of 12 to 25 percent apply for Southwest Florida Yachts charters at selected marinas on Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Cabbage Key, and Boca Grande. Contact: Bill AuCoin (wmaucoin@verizon.net), 727-522-2371, www.swfyachts.com.
Lee County Parks opened a new $2.1 million preserve in May 2008, the first of its Conservation 20/20 projects where it built recreational facilities. Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve in North Fort Myers offers a canoe launch, more than 2,700 feet of trails, three observation decks, restrooms, and picnic facilities. Conservation 20/20 is funded by a special property tax that Lee County residents voted on specifically to preserve environmentally critical land. Contact: Peter Winton (PWinton@leegov.com), 239-533-2777. On June 9, the City of Sanibel will open its new Pond Apple Park Trail, a 1.62 mile loop trail with an interpretive kiosk, bike rack at the trailhead, picnic pavilion, park benches, and bathroom. The trail, at the intersection of Bailey Road and Periwinkle Way, meanders through various upland and wetland plant communities including a tropical hardwood hammock, a wetland marsh, and a pond apple slough. Contact: The City of Sanibel's Natural Resources Department, 239-472-3700. When 4-year-old Make-A-Wish recipient Grayson Easely chose a shelling vacation to Sanibel Island as his dream vacation, Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum stepped in to help grant his wish with a tour of the Sanibel museum, his own personal Sanibel Shell Collection, a video and digital photographic record of his explorations, and a gift bag filled with shell toys, books, and other treasures. Contact: Kathleen E. Hoover (khoover@shellmuseum.org), 239-395-2233, www.shellmuseum.org. Schoolhouse Theater on Sanibel Island has announced its lineup for its 2008-2009 season: Steppin’ Out, Play On! The Holly Jolly Holidays, Out of Order, Classic Broadway Abridged, Little Shop of Horrors, and Murder at the Howard Johnson’s. Contact: Jason Parrish (jasonparrish@floridarep.org), 239-332-4665 ext. 35, www.floridarep.org. Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers has released its 16th season lineup for 2008-2009. Its main dinner theater will feature Disney’s High School Musical, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Singin’ in the Rain, All Shook Up, Wedding Singer, and Peter Pan. Its Off Broadway Palm Theatre venue will host Forbidden Broadway and Church Basement Ladies. Scheduled for Broadway Palm Children’s Theatre are Pinocchio, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Disney’s Mulan, Jr. Contact: Susan Johnson (sjohnson@broadwaypalm.com), 239-278-4422, www.broadwaypalm.com. Upcoming major events/festivals: (For details, access the online calendar at: www.FortMyersSanibel.com.)
Through July 26, 2008
Through Aug. 3, 2008
Through Aug. 4, 2008
July 3, 2008
July 4, 2008
July 4, 2008
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July 4, 2008
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July 11-13, 2008
July 12-13, 2008
July 15-16, 2008 For details about any of the above news items, contact the Communications Department, Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau:
Nancy Hamilton/
NHamilton@leegov.com
or call us at 800-237-6444/239-338-3500. For immediate general
information about |
Lee
County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB)
Dr.
José Leal, director of the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum on
Sanibel Island, has discovered an entirely new genus of bivalve
mollusks he has named Dilemma frumarkernorum (r). Dr. Leal
published his description of the new creatures, originally collected in
deep Key West waters, in the May 7, 2008, volume of the international
electronic journal Zootaxa. Contact: Kathleen E. Hoover (