Hundreds showed their support at the 8th annual Sea Turtle Festival

GULF COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – At the height of sea turtle nesting season, people are celebrating everything turtle-related in Port St. Joe on Sunday.

Hundreds of residents and visitors showed their support at the annual sea turtle festival.

This was the 8th annual Sea Turtle Festival.

The purpose of the free event is to raise awareness for the loveable sea creatures and raise funds for the Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Conservancy.

There were nearly 100 vendors located in George Core Park for attendees to check out consisting of arts and crafts, snacks, and environmental groups.

“So we started eight years ago. We had about ten vendors in all the turtle groups in our area. We set up around the fountain and it has grown tremendously over eight years. So we’re excited to welcome everybody back. We have a lot of our repeat vendors and education groups and a lot of new faces this year,” Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center director Jessica Swindall said.

During the event, Swindall also decided to show a little thanks to one of her volunteers at the Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Conservancy. It’s named after one of the nonprofit’s first volunteers.

“It’s the Charles Gaddy Sea Turtle Steward Award, he passed away a few years ago. And so we were in his honor to carry on his the work that he did and how dedicated and passionate he was about sea turtles in our work,” Swindall said.

Volunteer, Marianne Warhol received the award Sunday afternoon.

“She just works tirelessly to help our organization win. And we are just so thankful to have her and to have her helping our sea turtles in all the ways that she does. And so it was really fitting that this year she received this award because she definitely deserves the recognition,” Swindall added.

Many of the people who came out to the event are repeat attendees. While they enjoy learning about turtle conservation, it also gives them a good opportunity to check out some of the many vendors.

“We’ve come here every year kind of a tradition thing. So we do vacation. Of course, I go every year. Oh, oh, yeah. Actually, these things right here of the bomb knock on these frozen candy things. I got the sour Skittles, regular Skittles, and some of those nerd clusters right there,” attendee Brody Kelley said.

In the end, the main goal of the sea turtle festival is to educate residents and visitors spending time on the Gulf, about why it’s important to take care of these sea creatures.

“Trying to educate people, trying to let them know that, you know, during turtle season to you know, not bother the turtles to, you know, understand what a nest looks like and to leave no trace, which is don’t leave things on the beach. And cover up holes and stuff like that. So it’s just to educate them and to, you know, share what we know about turtles,” Indian Pass Sea Turtle Patrol Annette Cederholm said.

Sea turtle nesting season began May 1st and runs through October 31st.

Officials encourage people who encounter an unmarked sea turtle nest to keep their distance and contact the FWC immediately.

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