EVENTS &
PROJECTS
Here's what we are working on.
EVENTS.
Nautical Flea Market
October 7th, 8am - 12pm
This is a marine-themed yard sale where vendors pay for a space to sell fishing gear, boating and diving equipment, nautical trinkets, and other maritime flotsam and jetsam. Make sure to stop by the Friend's booth where we will be selling nautical books and maritime gear donated by the community. The museum will be open for visitors during event hours, and there will be education outreach booths scattered on the grounds. The adjacent Cortez Cultural Center will host arts-and-crafts vendors. Parking is free and plentiful, and there will be breakfast and lunch available for purchase on-site.
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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.
Christmas in Cortez
Saturday, December 9th, 1pm - 4pm
This family-centered event is our holiday gift to the community. We help keep events at the Florida Maritime Museum free all year long. Free crafts, games, and activities will be provided by FMM volunteers, non-profits, government groups, service clubs, and anyone else who wants to help us make holiday magic. This event will feature a meet-and-greet with our exceptionally wonderful Santa, face painting, large outdoor games, and more! Food trucks will be on hand and serving for a fee, but all parking, museum admission, and activities are free of charge. This event is geared towards families, especially for those with young children, but anyone is welcome to attend.
Thank you to our event sponsors!
PROJECTS.
Stories from the Gulf Coast Commercial Fishing Industry in Cortez
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"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."
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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.
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All aspects of this project will be completed by March 2023.
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*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.
