The buzz around town last week was who is this Ann Curry that we read was celebrating her birthday at The Shell Factory’s Nature Park? Is it Ann Curry from the Today’s Show on TV?

The mystery unfolds as Ann Curry, (not from the Today Show) the zebra came out to celebrate with us at her very own birthday party! How many zebras can say they had their own birthday party! Ann is the beautiful zebra at the Shell Factory’s Nature Park in North Fort Myers, Florida.

The Shell Factory celebrated Ann Curry’s actual birthday on November 19th with a home made birthday cake made of all her favorite foods. Ann Curry felt so special by the is special event in her honor. We only wish that Ann Curry, from the Today’s Show, could have joined us for our celebration with our Ann.

Happy Birthday Ann Curry, we love you!

Don’t forget to keep checking for more upcoming events and join us for the fun at the 70 events in 70 days celebration of the Shell Factory’s 70th Birthday/Anniversary Celebration! We love you Shell Factory!!

For students, here’s a little information on the Zebra from the Wikipedia.

“The Zebra is an odd-toed ungulate of the Equidae family, native to eastern, southern and southwestern Africa. They are best known for their distinctive white and black stripes which come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals and can be seen in large herds with other grazers.

In addition to their stripes, zebras have erect, mohawk-like manes and communicate with each other with high-pitched barks and brays. They are generally 2.3 m (8ft) long, stand 1.25-1.5 m (4-5ft) at the shoulder and a weigh around 300kg (660 lbs) although some can get over 410 kg (900 lbs). Unlike their closest relatives: horses and donkeys, zebras have not been truly domesticated. There are four species of zebra. The Plains Zebra, Grevy’s Zebra, Cape Mountain Zebra and the Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra. They can be found in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains and coastal hills.”

One of the events on The Shell Factory’s calendar of 70 events in 70 days was the ‘Kite Festival’ which was held on Sunday, November 18, 2007. When was the last time you flew a kite? The Shell Factory hosted event included the kite festival and contest with great prizes for the winners.

Adults and kids alike attended the event and this is just a little sample of the people and kites that flew high above The Shell Factory and Nature Park in North Fort Myers, Florida.

So next time someone says to you “go fly a kite“, do it! You would be surprised how relaxing it is!

To see other upcoming events click here to view our calendar of events for our 70 events in 70 days celebration.

Interesting history on kites from the Wikipedia.org.

“Approximately 2800 years ago the kite was first invented and popularized in China, where materials ideal for kite building were readily available: silk fabric for sail material, fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying line, and resilient bamboo for a strong, lightweight framework. The kite was said to be the invention of the famous 5th century BC Chinese philosophers Mozi and Lu Ban. By at least 549 AD paper kites were being flown, as it was recorded in that year a paper kite was used as a message for a rescue mission.[1] Ancient and medieval Chinese sources list other uses of kites for measuring distances, testing the wind, lifting men, signaling, and communication for military operations.[1] The earliest known Chinese kites were flat (not bowed) and often rectangular. Later, tailless kites incorporated a stabilizing bowline. Kites were decorated with mythological motifs and legendary figures; some were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying.”

November 17, 2007

The Shell Factory was the host to another 70 events in 70 days Celebration for their 70th year Birthday/Anniversary - the Southwest Florida Bluegrass Festival.

Here’s a few pictures from the event. Don’t forget to check our event calendar to see what events we have lined up next.

For those of you that don’t know what bluegrass music is, here’s a little information on the subject from the Wikipedia.

“Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music. It has its own roots in Irish, Scottish and English traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants in Appalachia), as well as that of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. In bluegrass, as in jazz, each instrument takes a turn playing the melody and improvising around it, while the others revert to backing; this is in contrast to old-time music, in which all instruments play the melody together or one instrument carries the lead throughout while the others provide accompaniment. Bluegrass is distinctively acoustic, rarely using electrical instruments.

Unlike mainstream country music, bluegrass relies mostly on acoustic stringed instruments. The fiddle, five string banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin, and upright bass are often joined by the resonator guitar (popularly known by the Dobro brand name). This instrumentation originated in rural black dance bands and was being abandoned by those groups (in favor of blues and jazz ensembles) when picked up by white musicians (van der Merwe 1989, p.62). Instrumental solos are improvised, and can frequently be technically demanding.

Debate rages among bluegrass musicians, fans, and scholars over what instrumentation constitutes a bluegrass band. Since the term bluegrass came from Bill Monroe’s band, The Blue Grass Boys, many consider the instruments used in his band the traditional bluegrass instruments. These were the mandolin (played by Monroe), the fiddle, guitar, banjo and upright bass. At times the musicians may perform gospel songs, singing four-part harmony and including no or sparse instrumentation (often with banjo players switching to lead guitar). Bluegrass bands have included instruments as diverse as the resonator guitar (Dobro), accordion, harmonica, jaw harp, piano, drums, washboard, electric guitar, and electric versions of all other common bluegrass instruments, though these are considered to be more progressive and are a departure from the traditional bluegrass style.”

We, here at the Shell Factory look forward to dressing up and expanding our imagination. That is why we had an employee Halloween costume contest, we also had trick-o-treating throughout the store which was followed by an age group costume contest. Here are some pictures that were taken.

Have a spookalicious day!

Photographs by Nancy Pezzella

Things are always changing at The Shell Factory and Nature Park, but occasionally there is something that sparks our interest because it is really unusual. This weekend the landmark tourist attraction is opening Gator Dave’s Swamp. HUM, you may say is this about Florida Alligators (the reptiles) or the award winning blue and orange critters that inhabit the area from Gainesville south? Interestingly enough it is about both. The fun little outdoor area that serves food and beverages looks like the sloughs of the everglades and has blue and orange shelves that frame Saturday Football! Fans are close enough to have their children ride the bumper boats, play miniature golf or shoot water wars balloons at one another and they can still root their team to victory.

And, so, how does it get its name? Gator Dave is the legal hunter that provides the Shell Factory with the hides, claws and other Gator paraphernalia that the locals and tourists adore.

Is Gator Dave a real fellow? Why, yes he is! Enamored with alligators since about the age of 13 this interesting man has been fascinated with how the swamp critters looked and felt since his first encounter with them.

Does Gator Dave understand conservation management?

Since this early age he became very concerned about how the Gator population would be maintained. Once, the alligator was an endangered species, but that is not true today. We call them a nuisance because there are over a million alligators in Florida. It is the desire of Gator Dave and The Shell Factory and Nature Park to live in harmony with all animals, plants, flora and fauna.

The opening of Gator Dave’s Swamp is yet another of the festivities of the 70th Anniversary celebration of The Shell Factory! Can you imagine, 70 EVENTS In 70 DAYS.

The children from New Testament Baptist Church located in Cape Coral, Florida and their parents joined us for hot dogs and painting in the Nature Park at the Shell Factory Today! A big thank you to all who came out to help out today with this event.

Some other special guests joined us as well and some of those special guests included; Puffy the Alpaca; our new addition “bearded dragon”; & Maggie the miniature horse.

Everyone had a great time while giving our Nature Park some beautiful artistic additions that will be treasured for years to come by all.

Why now come out to the Shell Factory’s Nature Park and view these pieces of work which will be displayed for all to see. They will be placed throughout the Nature Park just as soon as they dry.

Some kids took a break and played miniature golf at the Shell Factory’s Miniature Golf course behind Capt’n Fishbones’ Restaurant.

This was part of our 70 Events in 70 days as part of our 70th Anniversary Celebration!

On Monday there was someone from just about all aspects of Lee county that attended the “Shell Factory’s 70th Anniversary Bash kickoff”.

Also featured was the grand opening of “Pirate’s Cove” which was a dream come true to owner Tom Cronin. He put his personal touches and thoughts into every little detail in that park.

Pirate’s Cove would be a great event venue for class and family reunions, company parties, and family gatherings. If you’d like more details please call 995-2141 ext 145 and we’d be happy to help you plan your next event at Pirate’s Cove.

Pam Cronin looking lovely as always greeted every guest that attended with her famous radiant smile. The night went with out a hitch.

The delicious food at this memorable event was prepared by the famous “Captain Fishbones”, located on the Shell Factory property. Capt’n Fishbones is known for it’s excellent food, catering services, and staff.

Nancy Michell the CEO of the Shell Factory and Nature Park, welcomed all the guests at the door and garnished them with color coordinating beads for the event.

Sunny Lee Grabert a long time friend and fabulous artist, painted while the guests watched. She was painting a new “photo op” that will be placed in the remodeled miniature golf course at the Shell Factory located behind Captain Fishbone’s Restaurant.

The atmosphere of the evening was graced with Victor’s smooth Jazz melodies. The smoothness of the horns gave guests the sense that they were in a smooth jazz club.

The Shell Factory celebrated their 70th Anniversary on Monday, October 22, 2007 which kicks off 70 days of events. Everyday until the end of the year there will be a different event going on. To see the events for today and until the end of the year, click on the image below to see a larger image of the events calendar for this special celebration!

You can find an article about this very special celebration on both the North Fort Myers Neighbor and Cape Coral Breeze and both articles were written by Andrea Galabinski.

The Shell Factory has been around for 70 years of pure enjoyment for families over the years.  Generations of families in the area and outside of our area keep coming back to enjoy the Shell Factory and Nature Park.  There is never a dull moment at the Shell Factory, as they have so many events going on daily.

I, like others in Southwest Florida, have very fond memories at the Shell Factory.  I came as a small child with my mother, then as a teen with my school, as an adult with my sons, and now with my grandkids.

The Shell Factory is a place you can come over and over and every time you will see something new.  Each of us have a bit of kid in us and the Shell Factory seems to bring the kid out in all of us.

It’s a place to come and smile and just have a great time; from enjoying a great meal at Capt’n Fishbones, to exploring the millions of shells & coral inside the Shell Factory to feeding the animals in the Nature Park.  The Shell Factory is a great family event place!

Please come join us as we celebrate our 70th anniversary at the Shell Factory which has been entertaining us Floridians and others alike.

Click on link or image above to see larger image.

At the Shell Factory Nature Park we are proud to have Dr. Huff  a wonderful caring vet from Cape Coral aboard.  Pictures of Dr. Huff helping out a hurt turkey & teaching our staff member, Scott Goad how to work with the exotic birds.

Dr. Huff is only a phone call away & we appreciate his teaching skills & true love for all animals.