EVENTS &
PROJECTS

Here's what we are working on.

EVENTS.

The 2025 Cortez Nautical Flea Market is set to

take place at the historic Florida Maritime

Museum, located in Cortez - one of Florida's last

remaining authentic commercial fishing villages.

This unique marketplace event brings together

maritime enthusiasts, fishermen, and coastal

artisans in a vibrant setting that celebrates the

region's rich nautical heritage.

Visitors to the market can explore a diverse

selection of both new and pre-owned fishing

equipment, from rods and reels to tackle and

accessories. The event also features a wide array
of marine equipment, including boat supplies,

navigation tools, and maintenance gear. Diving

enthusiasts will find equipment and accessories

catering to their underwater pursuits.

Beyond the practical maritime offerings, the

market showcases local artisans displaying coastal-themed arts and crafts, adding a creative dimension to the nautical atmosphere. This integration of practical maritime goods with artistic elements reflects the cultural character of Cortez village itself, which continues to maintain its strong connection to Florida's maritime traditions.

Scheduled for Saturday, March 8th at the Florida Maritime Museum, this FREE marketplace is fun for local families, maritime enthusiasts, and coastal artisans. Visit FloridaMaritimeMuseum.org for more info.

Every year we partner with the Florida Maritime Museum to host free events. Our events are listed below. Please visit

floridamaritimemuseum.org to see if there are any other

activities being hosted at the museum throughout the year.

Thank you to
our Sponsors!

PROJECTS.

Sharing bite-sized oral histories through social media.

The Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum (FFMM) received a grant from the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau for a social media project focused on the commercial fishing industry. The project's main goal was to create and share "bite-sized" oral history videos on social media platforms.

Key aspects of the project:

Content: The videos featured oral histories related to Florida's maritime heritage, specifically focusing on the commercial fishing industry.
Format: The content was designed to be short and engaging, suitable for social media consumption.
Purpose: The project aimed to preserve and share Florida's maritime history with a wider audience.
Platform: The videos were distributed across various social media channels.
Impact: The project exceeded expectations in terms of viewership and engagement.
Audience Response: Viewers responded positively to the content, leaving encouraging comments and sharing personal anecdotes related to the fishing industry.
Cultural Significance: The initiative contributed to the preservation of local maritime heritage by making historical information more accessible and engaging to the public.

View the videos here between May 5th and August 26, 2024.

Funding provided through the Florida State Arts License Plate program. The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, as the designated Local Arts Agency, receives $20 from the sale of each arts tag in Manatee County. Click on the photo to the right to get yours today!

The Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum has received a $10,000 matching Community Project Grant from the Florida Humanities* with matching funds from the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau: Arts and Culture and the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce Trolley Grant.

Since its inception in 2012, the Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum mission is to support the Florida Maritime Museum to collect, preserve and share traditional knowledge, cultural artifacts and personal stories of Florida's fishing and maritime heritage through community outreach, education and financial support. FFMM also helps to bring the Museum's historical perspective full circle by educating the public on the transformations facing Florida's present day commercial fishing industries.

The generous grant and matching funds support “Stories from the Gulf Coast Commercial Fishing Industry in Cortez: Environmental Changes,” a multi-dimensional project with a primary focus on oral histories. Commercial fishing industry workers in Cortez, Florida, will be interviewed about the changes in water quality and environmental issues they have witnessed over the years. Included in the project will also be professionally shot video showing segments of the oral history/s, as well as updates and reprinting of the Vanishing Cultures signs around Cortez.

Florida Humanities awards Community Project Grants for up to $10,000 four times a year to cultural organizations to directly support the creation and implementation of engaging humanities-based public programming, such as oral history projects, historical exhibitions, lecture series, community conversations and more.

"Florida Humanities is thrilled to support the Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum in sharing the stories of our maritime history,” said Grants Director Lindsey E. Morrison. “The Sunshine State has a deep tradition in and relationship to the water, and it's important that we better understand our connectivity to this vital resource."

In addition, a free event will be held on April 23 and October 8th, 2022 where the public will have the opportunity to have a face-to-face interaction with commercial fishing industry workers. For more information, LIKE Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum on Facebook, FOLLOW the organization on Instagram, or visit FLMaritimeFriends.org.

All aspects of this project will be completed by March 2023.

*Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with Funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Stories from the Gulf Coast Commercial Fishing Industry in Cortez