The time is now. Sea Turtle nesting season is happening on our beaches and Coastal Connections wants to take you on toured late-night experiences of this natural magic. A four-year-old, nonprofit organization, Coastal Connections will take 20 people at a time to the beach to watch sea turtles lay their eggs. The guided tours begin 9 p.m. Fridays with an indoor educational presentation. Guests learn about sea turtle biology, threats to their survival, and how people play a critical role in their survival story. Guests are given special cards embedded with filter paper which, when viewed through, will reveal which kind of lights are sea turtle-friendly. While the educational program goes on, scouts from Coastal Connections scour the nearby beach to find a nesting loggerhead sea turtle. “We will then bring guests to the loggerhead so they can watch her as she finishes making her nest, and, covering her nest, returns to the ocean as she says adieu to her 110 eggs,” said Kendra Cope, founding director of Coastal Connections. “It’s cool, sentimental, spiritual. It’s building that connection with wildlife, getting people up close and personal with this ancient dinosaur.” Be prepared to linger. Guests have to wait until the turtle is laying her eggs in order to eliminate negative impacts of observation. There will be a little bit of movement around the sea turtle as guests take turns kneeling down behind the sea turtle to get a good view of the nesting process. And some will want to stay and watch the exhausted sea turtle make her way back into the water. The whole experience can last until midnight. And, sometimes, guides will not find a nesting loggerhead. “It’s all based on Mother Nature’s time schedule,” Cope said. “That’s why we have planned these extra activities.” The turtle walks, underwritten by Ryder’s Gourmet Market in Vero Beach, are free. However, you need to deposit $20 when registering. That is refunded when you arrive. Of course, you can always donate that $20 to Coastal Connections. Sea turtle nesting walks are only permitted by organizations authorized by the State of Florida. Cope said other groups offering the walks include Disney, Friends of Sebastian Inlet State Park, Friends of the Archie Carr Refuge, the Sea Turtle Conservancy and Stella Maris. Coastal Connections offer the walks in June and July. Available slots are filling up fast, so to register, go to Coastal-Connections.org. If you belong to an organization and would like Cope to come talk to your group and bring a batch of those special cards that let you see light the way sea turtles do, email her at Kendra@Coastal-Connections.org.
Another unique immersive experience awaits you this weekend. It’s a most out-of-the-ordinary production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Produced by Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, the show has been created and directed by Vero Beach resident Alex Kanter. It features 25 college and high school students, many from Vero Beach. The production will bring audience members into five different locales where they will see a 1-hour, 20-minute adaptation of the Shakespearean comedy. Kanter, a well-respected teacher, director and actor with a long list of credits, wanted to make the long romantic comedy more engaging for a modern audience, so he cut it in half while maintaining the poetry, verse, plot and characters. The story involves love, both blind and unrequited, a group of would-be thespians and a meddling bunch of fairies. The action takes place mostly in an enchanted forest. Kanter’s production will bring audience members from the McAlpin Theater’s mainstage, outdoors to three different performance spots, and into a black-box theater, which is the setting for the fairy kingdom. Moreover, at one point, the audience, led by the Fairies, will be separated into two groups to watch different scenes simultaneously, then switched around so that each audience member will see every scene in the show. “I can promise that no one down here has experienced something like this,” said Kanter, who also directs at the Vero Beach Theatre Guild. “I keep joking that this is not your grandma’s Shakespeare. It will appeal to a younger audience, even kids. Yes, it’s Shakespeare, but very silly.” The show performs 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, June 10-12, and 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15. The McAlpin Fine Arts Center is at 3209 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce. Call 772-462-4750 or visit IRSC.edu.