Memorial Day Weekend
Filled with Activities Dauphin Island will be kicking off the summer season with a variety of activities that will include fun for the entire family. The 2019 FREE Family Movie Nights, sponsored by Greer’s Markets, will get underway at West End Beach on Friday, May 24 at dusk with the Secret Life of Pets. Movie-goers are encouraged to bring beach chairs, blankets and bug spray (just in case) but please…NO pets, glass or grills. On Saturday, May 25 engines will be revving up at Green Park during the 5th Annual DI Sunset Cruise Car Show. Stop by anytime between 9am-3pm and check out the many vintage and classic cars on site. It wouldn’t be Memorial Day weekend without music, and we’ve got that covered with a Sunday Sunset Concert at West End Beach on May 26. Yo Jonesy and the Crowned Jewelz will liven things up starting at 6 pm until the sun goes down. Admission is $5 per person (age 13 & up) with free admission for youngsters 12 & under. The Dauphin Island Veterans Association (DIVA) will host its annual Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 27 at Water Tower Plaza at 11 am, and everyone is encouraged to attend. Join us as we honor the many men and women that gave their lives while defending our great nation — wishing everyone a very safe, happy and healthy Memorial Day weekend!
Town Announces 2019 Sunday Sunset Concert Series
Back by popular demand; the town-sponsored Sunday Sunset Concerts will be getting underway again soon! The following is the complete schedule for your reference and convenience; May 5 The Swing Band (5:45-7:45pm), May 26 Yo Jonesy and the Crowned Jewelz (6-8pm), June 23 Lisa Mills (6-8pm), July 28 The Excelsior Band (6-8pm), August 11 Ja’ Rhythm (6-8pm), September 1 Eric Erdman, Ryan Balthrop & Friends (530-730pm) and October 13 Roman Street (430-630pm). Note: The first and last concerts will be held inside historic Fort Gaines while all other concerts take place at West End Beach. Admission is $5 per person (children 12 & under receive free admission), and all proceeds go to support operations at the recently renovated Little Red Schoolhouse. Attendees are encouraged to bring beach/lawn chairs, blankets and bug spray (just in case) but please…NO pets, glass or grills.
2019 FREE Family Movie Nights Sponsored by Greer’s Markets
The town is pleased to announce the 2019 FREE Family Movie Night schedule as follows; 5/24 Secret Life of Pets, 5/30 Cars 2, 5/31 Free Willy, 6/6 Finding Nemo, 6/7 Frozen, 6/13 Soul Surfer, 6/14 ET, 6/20 The Lego Batman, 6/21 Happy Feet 1, 6/27 Ice Age, 6/28 Happy Feet 2, 7/5 JAWS!, 7/6 JAWS!, 7/11 Dolphin Tale, 7/12 Finding Dory, 7/18 Zootopia, 7/19 A Dog’s Purpose, 7/25 Furry Vengeance, 7/26 Rio, 8/1 Home, 8/2 Angry Birds, 8/8 Up, 8/9 Dolphin Tale 2, 8/16 Coco, 8/23 The Good Dinosaur, 8/30 Storks. Attendees are encouraged to bring beach/lawn chairs, blankets and bug spray (just in case) but please…NO pets, glass or grills. Our sincere THANKS to Greer’s Markets for sponsoring Movie Nights again this year!
5th Annual Sunset
Cruise Car Show
Vintage and classic cars will be the order of the day when the 5th Annual Sunset Cruise Car Show rolls into town on Memorial Day weekend here on Dauphin Island! Conveniently located at Green Park, the show runs from 9am-3pm on Saturday, May 25 and includes a Swap Meet, Car Corral., live music, karaoke contest, raffle and a Poker Run for car show entrants. Raffle prizes include 3rd Place 20# shrimp, 2nd Place 30# shrimp and Grand Prize 60Qt. Bayou Cooler & 50# shrimp! Raffle tickets are $5 each. Pre-registration $20 per vehicle/Multiple Cars $15 each (add $5 per entry for show day registrants). So put it in drive, rev up those engines and head on down for the 5th Annual Sunset Cruise Car Show. Fun for the entire family!
DI Trail Life Troop 5
Golf Tournament
You’re invited to tee it up for a good 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 contests. Please sign up to play in the tournament, sponsor a hole and donate a door prize. For more information contact Jeff Caldwell at (251)786-1000. Proceeds go to support Trail Life Troop 5 summer camp, winter camp, and equipment needs.
DI Sea Lab News & Info It’s never too early to start thinking about summer fun. Your summer excursion options are posted on our website disl.org/estuarium. Take a trip to the salt marsh or through the forest, across the dunes, and onto the beach. Several date options available. Reservations are recommended. University Programs will wrap up the Spring Seminar Series on May 3 with Chris Esposito of The Water Institute. Discovery Hall Programs has a few spaces left in summer educator workshops. Opportunities are listed at disl.org/dhp. Don’t forget to join us the first and third Wednesday of the month for Boardwalk Talks at the Estuarium. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation hosts the 14th annual Cocktails with the Critters at the Bluegill on the Causeway on Thursday, May 2. Reserve your tickets at sealabfoundation.org.
News from Dauphin Island Heritage and Arts Council (DIHAC)
Dauphin Island Heritage and Arts Council and Dauphin Island School invite everyone to view the students’ art show featuring work created this school year as part of DIHAC’s School Art Program. Each grade studied a different artist and created a tribute to that artist. The show will be available for viewing May 15 through May 22 at Dauphin Island School during school hours. Come by the school office, sign in and enjoy a tour of the amazing art by the children of Dauphin Island. Join us at Dinner’s Ready (next door to the Dauphin Island Gallery in the Lighthouse Building) 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! For more information, send an email to info@dauphinislandarts.org, follow DIHAC’s Facebook page or call The Gallery at 251/861-3300. You get to eat the food you cook! Bring your own beverage. Creative Monday resumes on April 22nd, 10 am – 1 pm at Dauphin Island Gallery. Be creative and have fun painting your own canvas beach bag with instructor Barbara Teare. For more information, send an email to info@dauphinislandarts.org, follow DIHAC’s Facebook page or call The Gallery at 251/861-3300. Last Friday Art Night, an Island tradition, will be held on April 26, 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 will feature an art demo by Island resident Jean Cockrell, and the work of Gigi Hackford, a new Gallery member artist. Donations are requested to help with expenses.
DIVA Memorial Day
Ceremony Set
Join members of the Dauphin Island Veterans Association on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27 at 11 am at Water Tower Plaza for a patriotic and solemn event. The program will also include adding the name of US Army Veteran Claude (John) Gaspard, Sr. to the Memorial Walls. Mr. Gaspard was born on May 29, 1931, passed on March 16, 2018, and served active duty during the Korean War. Please make plans to attend as we recognize and honor the many men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending our great nation.
Move Over Shore Birds; It’s Sea Turtle Nesting Season Too
The Alabama Gulf coast is expecting some special visitors as female loggerhead sea turtles, some weighing as much as 400 pounds, pull themselves onto shore in preparation to lay their nests. The nesting season starts May 1, and while most nests will be laid by late August, hatchings will continue until the end of October. During these months, it is especially crucial for homeowners to turn off bright lights that face the shoreline as they can attract hatchlings, leading them away from the water and to their eventual deaths. It is highly recommended that beachfront property owners convert exterior light fixtures to ones that are “turtle friendly” with red or dark amber bulbs. The Share the Beach program, Alabama’s sea turtle conservation project, has been working for over 16 years protecting nests and the broader nesting habitats. For more information and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit www.ShareTheBeach.com or call 866-732-8878.
ArtDoesIt News & Info
Please join us in celebrating our artist-run gallery on monthly “Second Sundays with the Arts” featuring May’s Artist Marsha Grant and her show “Spring is in the Air at ADI.” Live music with Phillip Grant and Melissa Robertson. Sunday, May 12, 3-5 pm. Have “Fun with Mud” during our monthly first Wednesdays “Beginner’s Hand-building Ceramics Class” with ADI artist Julie Day, May 1st, 10am-1pm. Each session is $25.00/person and includes materials and firing. Space limited to 15 people. Call Julie 251-377-0054 to reserve your space. Starting August 21st, join ADI ceramic artist Jenn DeBose in her “Handbuilding with Clay First and Third Wednesday Evenings” classes 6-9pm at the Art Does It Gallery. Cost is $25.00/class but does not include clay ~$1.00/lb or firing. Space is limited; please contact Jenn at jenndebose@gmail.com to register and ask questions. Are you interested in “brushing-up” your skills in painting? Join ADI painter Margie Delcambre for weekly Monday painting classes 10am-1pm. Please bring your own supplies. $10.00/session. Calling all young artists–join us for our monthly Youth Arts Club led by ADI artists. The next meet is Monday, May 13 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. next to the DI Town Hall, 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.
Church of the Island Offers “Trip Up the Nile” Kid’s Praise invites you to a production of “Spend Awhile on the Nile.” The event will be held at Church of the Island’s (COI) new location (across the street from the Methodist Church) on Friday & Saturday, May 24-25 at 6 pm. Join “Mrs. Cruise” (an overly enthusiastic tour guide) and her faithful daughter “Liza” on a boat trip up the Nile as they retell Bible stories. But there’s a problem: The stories are all wrong, and it takes the kids of COI to set the record straight! Fun evenings for the entire family.
DI Police Offering CPR Course A “Friends and Family CPR Course” will be offered at the town hall on Saturday, May 18 at 9 am and is open to the first 20 registrants. The course is ideal for community groups, parents, caregivers, school groups and others. However, the course does not provide a course completion card for certain jobs or other requirements. The cost is $4 per person (funds go to the American Red Cross), and refreshments will be provided to those in attendance. Contact the DI Police Dept. at 861-5523 for more info and to sign up for the class.
