ANNA MARIA – In celebration of Anna Maria Island’s past and present were celebrated at the Anna Maria Island Historical Society held its annual Heritage Day Festival on Wednesday, March 18.
The annual Heritage Day Festival serves as a fundraiser for the historical society and the Anna Maria Island Historical Museum at 402 Pine Avenue in Anna Maria.
The museum and the adjacent Belle Haven Cottage were open for free tours, with volunteer docents on hand to discuss the history of the Island.
The fundraising activities included strawberry shortcake sales, Settlers Bread sales, raffles and silent auctions that featured items donated by local businesses and – with the assistance of the Anna Maria Island Privateers – the capture of Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short, who was held in the “Old City Jail” until enough ransom was raised to secure his release.
The mayor’s two-year-old granddaughter, Quinn Cunningham, was among those who placed ransom in the ransom bucket.
Unable to participate in this year’s event, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, her husband, Steve, and Shoreline Construction donated $500 to help free the Anna Maria mayor.
Anna Maria-based Pizza Social sold pizza by the slice and Dole Whip Fruit Soft Serve sold a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan ice cream-like frozen treat.
The children’s activities included face painting, oversized checkers, a scavenger hunt and the museum’s fundraising “The Sand Beneath Your Feet” Discovery Station that replicates mining for rocks and minerals in a river.
The participating vendors sold homespun wool yarn and yarn products, art, crochet pot holders, local honey, jewels and crystals, historical books and more.
The participating non-profit organizations included AMI Turtle Watch, Wildlife Inc. (with a live kestrel and a live great horned owl), Islanders 4 Clean Water, the Holmes Beach Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee, the Island Branch Library and the UF | IFAS Extension for native plants.
Performing solo, Trevor Bystrom provided the live music.
Historical Society President Carolyn Orshak served as this year’s festival chairperson and she expressed her gratitude and thanks for everyone who attended, assisted, volunteered or participated in this year’s event.
Shortly after the mayor was released, Orshak said, “The money raised today helps us keep the museum open for free admission, as we’ve done since the museum first opened its doors in 1992. We’re very proud of that. We’ve had some pressure to start charging for admission like most other museums do, but we want everybody to be able to enjoy this museum.
“The Privateers did a great job of raising money to get the mayor out of jail. They volunteer their time to do that for us and they give the ransom money to the museum,” Orshak said.
Standing within earshot, Privateer Terry “Colonel Krash” Kilpatrick said, “We’re here out of the goodness of our hearts, as black as they may be.”
“We have so many beautiful silent auction and raffle gifts,” she said. “Pizza Social is here selling inexpensive pizza. We have dairy-free, gluten-free ice cream (Dole Whip Fruit Soft Serve) that’s amazing and he’s been letting my granddaughter help him serve it.
“We have a beekeeper selling local honey and we have a lot of other interesting vendors. We also have a lot of informational and educational booths this year that help raise awareness about those organizations,” Orshak said.
Standing beside Orshak, Holmes Beach Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee member and Anna Maria Island Real Estate Company owner Bill Romberger said, “We’re just trying to raise awareness to the local community and the tourists about keeping the waters around the Island clean.”
Orshak said Detwiler’s Farm Market donated the strawberries this year and Anna Maria-based Hometown Desserts once again provided the shortcake.
“We have four amazing sponsors this year: Anna Maria Island Real Estate Corporation, Island Real Estate, Moss Builders and Solid Rock Construction. They generously sponsored us with $500 each, which helped us pay our expenses and fund our programs,” Orshak said.
Heritage Day Festival photo gallery
