ART DOES IT News and Info
Please join us in celebrating our artist-run gallery on “Second Sundays with the Arts” featuring April’s Student Art Show “Art Explorations by Budding Artists” on Sunday, April 14, 3-5 pm. Have fun with the mud during our monthly first Wednesdays “Beginner’s Hand-building Ceramics Class” with ADI artist Julie Day, Wed. April 3, 10am-1pm. Each session $25/person and includes materials and firing. Space limited to 15 people. Call Julie 251-377-0054 to reserve your space. Are you interested in “brushing-up” your skills in painting? Join DI painter Margie Delcambre for weekly Monday painting classes 10am-1pm. Please bring your own supplies. $10/session. Calling all young artists–join us for our monthly Youth Arts Club led by ADI artists. Next meet is Monday, April 15, 4-5:30 pm. Free to all youths. Art supplies provided through the generosity of the St. Edmund Men’s Club. The ADI gallery, located at 1101 Bienville Blvd. is open Thursday and Friday 12-6pm, Saturday, 10am-4pm and is home to many local and seasonal artists. For more information regarding exhibition opportunities and arts instruction, please contact Regina Kollegger 251-214-6485, regina@artdoesit.com or visit our Facebook page @artdoesit.
Mobile Pops Concert
Water Tower Plaza is the place to be on Saturday, April 6 at 6 pm to enjoy the
refreshing sounds of the Mobile Pops! Sponsored by the Town, DI Chamber and DI Foundation, you’ll be treated to a variety of tunes including Lord of the Rings, Solas, Festive Overture, Andrew Lloyd Webber: A Symphonic Portrait, Vesuvius and many more. Please bring lawn chairs, blankets and bug spray (just in case). FREE admission!
Vrooom, Vrooom…Motorcycle Show Revving Up Soon!
The annual DI Motorcycle Show & Competition, sponsored by the Dauphin Island School PTO, is scheduled to roll onto the island on Sunday, April 7 and gather this year at Green Park. The event runs from 10am-3pm and will offer live music, food & beverage, raffles and scores of motorcycles of all makes and models. Proceeds from the show will go to support an educational and fun field trip for the entire school. For more info, please contact Chasity Hall (251) 680-4223 / chacha9081@aol.com or Joleen Vinson at (251) 214-6863.
News from Dauphin Island Heritage and Arts Council (DIHAC)
Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 30, for DIHAC’s inaugural Dauphin Island Native American Festival at historic Fort Gaines! The event will feature living historians, storytellers, hands-on demonstrations of Native American arts and crafts such as pottery, finger weaving and basket weaving, and much more. Admission for the Festival and tour of Fort Gaines is $6 for children age 5 – 12; $12 for ages 13+. Children under age five will be admitted free. The Festival will be fun and educational for the entire family! For more information, visit DIHAC’s website at www.DauphinIslandArts.org, send an email to info@dauphinislandarts.org, follow DIHAC’s Facebook page, or call 251/861-3300. Last Friday Art Night, an Island tradition, will be held on March 29, 6-8 pm at Dauphin Island Gallery (the Lighthouse Building). Join friends and neighbors at LFAN and enjoy local art and heritage, music, food and socializing. This month’s LFAN is also the opening reception for a special art exhibit featuring work by Susan Roullier, Guest Artist for April. Susan’s objective as an artist is to “paint and photograph the natural world.” Meet Susan and see her amazing work and all the other wonderful local art in the Gallery! DIHAC’s Art Program at Dauphin Island School resumed in March with fourth graders learning about the life and art of Henri Matisse. As part of the artist study, the students created their own versions of art in the style of the artist. Join us at Dauphin Island Gallery on Friday, April 19th, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, for a fun and exciting class we call “Coastal Cooking” (including a bit of “cuisine” heritage education), with Teresa Ridgeway, owner of Dinner’s Ready! The April lesson will be Jambalaya and space is very limited! If interested, send an email to info@dauphinislandarts.org, follow DIHAC’s Facebook page or call 251/861-3300. Best of all…you get to eat the food you cook!
DI Sea Lab News
The Sea Lab at Dauphin Island invites you to take a journey with our researchers and students through Alabama’s watershed and into the Gulf of Mexico during Discovery Day on Saturday, April 6 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Find out what our team is working on, learn about our coastal environment, and discover why it’s important to conserve our precious and unique environment. Making your plans for the summer? The summer excursion dates are set. Salt Marsh excursions will take place June 20, July 11, July 16, July 25, and August 1. The Beach, Dune, and Maritime Forest Excursions will be June 4, June 11, June 25, and July 2. More details can be found at disl.org/estuarium.
2019 Sunset Concerts
Coming Soon
The popular Sunset Concert series, sponsored by the town of Dauphin Island, will be getting underway in just over a month and the first (and last) event will once again be held at historic Fort Gaines. All other concerts will be held at West End Beach (WEB). While all of the musical groups are currently not secured, you can bet each of the seven concerts will be enjoyable ones. The schedule is as follows; May 5 (Fort Gaines), May 26 (WEB-Memorial Day Weekend), June 23 (WEB), July 28 (WEB), August 11 (WEB-Reggae Weekend), Sept. 1 (WEB-Labor Day Weekend), and Oct. 13 (Fort Gaines). Start times will vary, but concerts usually begin about 2 hours prior to sunset. Admission is $5 per person (Age 13 & up) with children 12 & under receive free admission. Mark your calendars and join in on the fun!
Hippity, Hoppity,
Easter’s On Its Way!
The Easter Bunny will be at Green Park on Saturday, April 13 at 10 am as children of all ages participate in the town’s annual Easter Egg Hunt! Youngsters are encouraged to bring their favorite basket (or some other container) to collect colorful eggs filled with a variety of goodies. Parents will also want to take a memorable photo or two of their child with the Easter Bunny during the event. The Community Easter Egg Hunt will be held the following Saturday, April 20 at Cadillac Square. NOTE: Easter Sunrise Service will be held on the great lawn inside historic Fort Gaines at 630am on Sunday, April 21. Please bring lawn chairs and blankets. Everyone welcome!
7th Annual St. Francis Episcopal Church Arts & Crafts Festival
With over 50 artists setting up their wares and the church women selling their famous chicken salad, baked goods, pickles, soups & casseroles, Saturday, April 27 (9am-4pm) will certainly be a day to remember! The annual fundraiser provides support to a variety of charitable organizations including Feed the Need, Wilmer Hall, Penelope House, SOMI, Victory Health Partners and Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy in Mobile. Come and enjoy the fun… and it’s all for a good cause. For info or questions contact Cissy Napper at (318)548-4376.
3rd Annual DI Bicycle
Poker Run
Please ride with us in the 3rd Annual Dauphin Island Bicycle Poker Run on Saturday, April 27. Registration kicks off at Waves DI at noon with the event winding down around 430pm. A poker run is not a race of any kind. Our island version is a very family friendly way (children are encouraged to attend!) to raise money and awareness for an awesome cause. This year will be even more fun than last year with food and drink specials at each stop/venue, fun ways to collect your cards, and a chance to win other prizes at the last stop which will also include a live band. Tickets are $10 per rider and go on sale the day of the event. Best poker hand wins $100! All proceeds will benefit Share The Beach (Alabama’s nesting sea turtle program). For more information, please see the event page at www.facebook.com/diseaturtles. We will be adding more details as the event approaches.
Events at Historic Fort Gaines
On Saturday, April 6, history buffs, community leaders and preservationists will aid in the maintenance and restoration of numerous sites as a part of Park Day, the American Battlefield Trust’s annual hands-on preservation event. Thousands of volunteers across the country will participate as Park Day celebrates its 23rd year with events in 32 states including historic Fort Gaines. Volunteers are encouraged to arrive by 9 am to assist with painting and other repairs. You will also have an opportunity to learn about the significance of Fort Gaines as told by a local historian. For more info contact Melinda Oalmann or Machelle Steiner at (251) 861-6992 or fortgaines@outlook.com. On April 27-28 you’re invited to celebrate the upcoming 155th anniversary of the Battle of Mobile Bay, sponsored by the 6th Alabama Cavalry and the Alabama Division of Re-enactors. A mock Battle of Mobile Bay will take place at 2 pm on Saturday with a Surrender Ceremony at 3:30 pm. A Tactical will get underway at 1 pm on Sunday. Battle times subject to change. For more info call 861-6992.
DI Trail Life Troop 5
Golf Tournament
You’re invited to tee off for a great cause on Saturday, May 4 at Isle Dauphine Golf Club when DI Trail Life Troop 5 hosts the annual 4-person scramble golf tournament fundraiser. Entry Fee $40 includes; Cart & Green Fee, food & soft drinks on course, and Longest Drive & Closest To Pin Contest! Please sign up to play in the tournament, sponsor a hole and/or donate a door prize. For info contact Jeff Caldwell (251)786-1000. Proceeds go to DI Trail Life Troop 5 for summer camp, winter camp and equipment needs.
DI Gumbo Festival & Cook-Off
Sponsored by the DI Chamber of Commerce, the 10th Annual Gumbo Festival & Cook-Off will be held on Saturday, April 20 from 11am-2pm at the rodeo site. Tickets are $10 each. Children age 10 & under receive free admission. Enjoy delicious gumbo, cooking demonstrations, live music and more! Proceeds will support the construction of the new DI Community Center. For more info check out the Dauphin Island Gumbo Festival Facebook page.