Clearing up confusion about next year ’s Sanibel Shell Show

By KAREN SILVERSTEIN

It has come to the attention of the SanibelCaptiva Shell Club that there is some confusion about the 2024 Shell Show to be held March 8-9.

The Sanibel Shell Show is one of the finest and best-known shell shows in the world For many years, our show took place inside The Community House on Sanibel The show includes scientific and artistic exhibits for judging, vendors of world-class shells and a wide variety of artistic creations

It is attended by exhibitors throughout the United States and many other countries The net funds raised at this annual show in recent years, an average of $30,000 per year are given out in grants to institutions doing ground-breaking research in water quality and other local environmental issues

We also give out grants to educational facilities to further the understanding of shell malacology A substantial portion of these funds in recent years has been donated to the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum a n d S a n i b e l - C a p t i v a C o n s e r v a t i o n Foundation on Sanibel

D u r i n g t h e S a n i b e l S h e l l S h o w , t h e Sanibel Community Association holds events outside on the grounds of The Community

House These events include the sale of floral, jewelry and animal creations made by the SCA’s Shellcrafters, food, a raffle, and sales of raw, mostly local shells Funds raised from these activities are used to support The Community House

The Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club recently made the painful decision to hold our 2024 Shell Show off-island for several reasons:

∫ We are very worried that the Founders Room, where most of our artistic exhibits were displayed, may not be ready for our use in 2024 This space was integral to our show and because of the age of the structure, it may be more complicated to rebuild.

∫ Because of Hurricane Ian, there will be fewer on-island hotel/condo accommodations for our exhibitors, vendors, judges and visitors to use

∫ Continued construction on the Sanibel Causeway could make access to Sanibel impossible for large numbers of people to get to the show

T h e s e v e r y i m p o r t a n t c o n s i d e r a t i o n s have caused us to select a new venue very close to Sanibel the Marriott Sanibel H a r b o u r R e s o r t , l o c a t e d j u s t b e f o r e t h e causeway We needed to make this decision now because other organizations were inter- ested in renting it for the dates of our 2024 show The surrounding Fort Myers area will be able to support hotel and food requirements for attendees, and there will be no causeway cost incurred by attendees We invited the SCA’s Shellcrafters to join us there, but they have decided to move their sales items inside The Community House in our absence We wish them well with their new plans and will suggest to our participants and attendees that they also attend the SCA’s festival events

We will continue, as we have always done, to promote Sanibel businesses We will encourage our participants, exhibitors, vendors and judges to visit the island and support our businesses and enjoy our beaches

We appreciate this opportunity to clarify this important 2024 event The SanibelCaptiva Shell Club looks forward to seeing you at our 2024 Shell Show at the Marriott on March 8-9

K a r e n S i l v e r s t e i n i s p r e s i d e n t o f t h e Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club She provided the guest commentary on behalf of the club's board of directors. For more information a b o u t t h e c l u b , v i s i t h t t p : / / s a n i b e l s h e l l club com