CORTEZ – After more than a year of planning, the village of Cortez is ready to host the 40th Annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival to raise money for the FISH Preserve. This two-day event, taking place this Saturday, Feb. 19, and Sunday, Feb. 20, will feature live music, arts and crafts, lots of food, drinks, prize giveaways, and plenty of opportunities to learn about Florida’s commercial fishing industry that supports the Cortez community. After being canceled last year due to COVID-19, festival planners have put in hard work to make the return of Cortez’s largest annual event bigger and better than ever.
One of the founders of the festival, John Stevely, calls the festival “the party with a purpose.” It’s a fitting description since the money from this two-day festival funds the expansion and preservation of the more than 100 acres that make up the FISH Preserve in Cortez.
“There is major restoration work currently underway at the festival and progress at the Preserve has been awesome,” Stevely said.
The FISH Preserve consists of more than 100 acres of environmentally sensitive land immediately east of Cortez. The site has long been an important fisheries habitat for the section of Sarasota Bay south of Cortez, often referred to as “the kitchen.” Over time, the seafood caught in this area has allowed local families to make a living and keep food on the table through the best and worst of economic climates. The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) is continuing to make improvements to the property so current and future generations can research, monitor and continue to learn about the fishing industry and coastal environment in Florida.
Those planning to attend this year’s festival will not only have a great time suitable for the whole family but will also know money spent is going to work for this worthy cause. With an average attendance of more than 20,000 people, this is a party not to be missed.
The Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival entrance is at the Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W. Admission is $5, and parking is available with a $5 donation to local Boy Scouts.
CORTEZ – The 2022 Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival the weekend of Feb. 19-20 has something for everyone, even folks who don’t know how to bait a hook.
The first festival in 1981 drew 500 people to the small fishing village. Forty years later, an average of 20,000 people come to enjoy live music, food, drinks, arts and crafts and a celebration of the history and future of commercial fishing and its impact on the community.
The fishing village of Cortez is sometimes overlooked as visitors to the area drive by not knowing its history and the way of life enjoyed by the residents of this small community on Sarasota Bay. For this reason, the festival is more than just an excuse to have a party, it’s also meant to educate those who attend about just how important commercial fishing is to life in Florida. The University of Florida and Florida Sea Grant have partnered with this event for 40 years to put on “Dock Talks” that educate the public on local marine life and the value of commercial fisheries.
This year’s theme is “gearing up,” a term fishermen use in reference to getting their equipment ready to head out to sea. It’s also a fitting term since the festival was canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19. This event is organized by volunteers with the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH), who are thrilled to see the return of this much-anticipated event and have been gearing up themselves, with monthly planning meetings to make sure every detail, large or small, is addressed.
If the best food in Florida, cold drinks, original artwork and live music aren’t reason enough to attend the 2022 Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival, just grab a raffle ticket and you could go home with one of the beautiful, refurbished custom boats restored by the FISH Boatworks. Admission is only $5 for adults, while kids under 12 are free. The entrance to the festival is at the Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., with plenty of parking for a small donation of $5 to the local Boy Scouts.
CORTEZ – The Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 19-20, and the Florida Institute For Saltwater Heritage (FISH) board is hard at work.
For this 40th year of the popular festival, the theme is “Gearing Up,” a term fishermen use for getting their gear ready before they hit the water.
Musical acts
Saturday, Feb. 19
10-11 a.m. Shanty Singers
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Karen & Jimmy Band
1-1:30 p.m. Awards and Introductions
2-4 p.m. Eric Von Band
4:30-6 p.m. Soul-R-Coaster
Sunday, Feb. 20
10:30 a.m.-noon Soupy Davis & The Band
12:30-2 p.m. Manatee River Blue Grass
1-5 p.m. Eric Von on the Porch (Bratton Store porch)
2:30-4 p.m. KoKo Ray Show
4:30-6 p.m. Doug Deming & The Jewel Tones
If you love fishing boats, gear, seafood and the fishing lifestyle, this event is for you. If you know nothing about commercial fishing, can’t bait a hook or wouldn’t know a crab trap if you were stuck in one, this event is also for you. FISH hopes everyone who attends will not only enjoy the great live music, delicious food, cold drinks and activities for all ages, but also leave having learned about life in Cortez, commercial fishing and its impact on Florida.
During the board’s Jan. 3 meeting, the main topic of discussion was an increase in cost for just about everything associated with the event, which is a strain on the festival’s budget. The festival is FISH’s main revenue source, and it was canceled last year due to the pandemic, which makes this year’s budget tighter to begin with. The board also expressed a need for volunteers.
Admission is $5 for adults and free to children 12 and under. The festival entrance is in the historic Cortez village at 4415 119th St. W. Find more information at the FISH website.
CORTEZ – Three Cortez women, local historian Dr. Mary Fulford Green, artist Linda Molto and former Manatee County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann, were honored on Friday by the Manatee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, based in Anna Maria.
The March awards highlight both Manatee History Month and Women’s History Month in recognizing women’s contributions to the preservation of the historic fishing village of Cortez, according to Manatee Chapter DAR Regent Kathy Doddridge, who presented the awards at the Kirby Stewart American Legion Post in Bradenton.
The trio are “ordinary women who have achieved extraordinary things,” she said.
Dr. Mary Fulford Green
The DAR National Historic Preservation Recognition Award was awarded to Dr. Mary Fulford Green, who was unable to attend for health reasons.
Dr. Mary Fulford Green, dressed as her grandmother during a history talk she gave recently at the Cortez Cultural Center, was awarded the DAR Historic Preservation Recognition Award. – Cindy Lane | Sun
Doddridge detailed highlights of her life. Born in Cortez in 1925, Green is the granddaughter of 1887 Cortez settlers William Thomas Fulford and Sallie Adams of Carteret County, North Carolina, whose Cortez home Fulford lives in.
She was valedictorian of her 1942 Bradenton High School class (now Manatee High School) and earned a B.A. in science, M.A. in chemistry and Ph.D. in education from Florida State College for Women (now Florida State University) in Tallahassee.
She was a founder of Hope Family Services in 1979 and served as president of Manatee County’s Mental Health Association for seven years.
Green was instrumental in establishing the Cortez Village Historical Society (CVHS) in 1984 and in getting the village of Cortez on the south side of Cortez Road on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
With fellow award-winner Linda Molto, Green wrote “Cortez – Then and Now” in 1997; they also produced the Walking Tour Map of the Cortez Fishing Village.
Robin Schoch, who accepted the award for Green, said that Green has also worked on successfully opposing a 65-foot-tall bridge from Cortez to Anna Maria Island, a proposed marina development in the village, and the proposed purchase of the Cortez Trailer Park.
Linda Molto
Originally from Toronto, Canada, Cortez artist Linda Molto also received a National Historic Preservation Recognition Award.
She moved to Florida in 1965 and purchased a 1920s home in Cortez village, next to the parsonage of the Church of God. When the parsonage was slated for demolition in 1992, she protested at a CVHS meeting, joined the group and remains an active member.
Molto worked with Green on obtaining National Register of Historic Places status for Cortez.
She has served on the board of FISH (Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage) since its inception in 1991, and was instrumental in purchasing land east of Cortez village to create the FISH Preserve. She organized the Cortez Historic Homes Tour in 2004-05 to help pay for preserve property.
Molto is currently involved in protesting the proposed 65-foot-tall bridge from Cortez to Anna Maria Island.
Molto showed the DAR group a piece of artwork she created of the first person she met in Cortez, a young boy selling mangos for 2 cents each.
Cortez is “a place that you don’t see anymore, where it feels like home,” she said.
While residents have their differences, above all, they are neighbors who are there for each other, she said.
Jane von Hahmann
FISH board member and former Manatee County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann was presented the DAR Community Service Award for her longstanding support for FISH.
Established in 1991, FISH sponsors the annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival, which provides funds to restore, maintain and enlarge the 98-acre FISH Preserve.
This year, the festival netted about $60,000, von Hahmann told the group, close to last year’s net, and attracted more than 20,000 people over the two-day event in February. She has been the co-chair of the festival for the past nine years.
FISH has removed invasive plant species from the preserve, planted native vegetation and created tidal channels.
Outside the preserve, FISH projects include the restoration of the 1890 Burton Store, turning the Church of God into Fishermen’s Hall, renovating the FISH Boatworks and the Cortez firehouse and more.
Von Hahmann also has volunteered with the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and opposed large developments including Aqua on the Bay and the 65-foot-tall bridge proposed from Cortez to Anna Maria Island.
Cortez has been battling encroachment for 135 years, von Hahmann told the group, adding, “You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”
On behalf of the board of directors of the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) and the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival committee we want to say thank you to the AMI Sun for your continued support and sponsorship of our festival.
This year and for the past 37 years, the FISH Festival has provided the funds needed for FISH to purchase the 98-plus acre FISH Preserve and to fund its ongoing restoration. The FISH Preserve will, within the next 12-15 years, be the only undisturbed parcel of land on North Sarasota Bay. Our annual festival has allowed us to purchase the old Church of Christ, now Fishermen’s Hall, and the Cortez Firehouse. These places represent the commercial industry, culture and environment on which this village was established more than 130 years ago. A strong and proud history that continues to struggle in the “Changing Tides” of time. You (the AMI SUN) are essential to our success – we simply couldn’t do it without your support, and we thank you for your many years of loyal participation.
