Must visit historic building. Very interesting museum upstairs. It's free and worth a visit…read more Oldest continuously operated commercial building on the east coast.

The Budd Adams-Cobb Cultural Center is in the upstairs of the historic P. P. Cobb building located…read morein downtown Ft. Pierce. The P. P. Cobb building was a trading post opened in 1896 by Peter Cobb. He operated it until 1931. The stores motto was Everything to Eat, Wear, and Use. A general store is still operated on the first floor. The cultural center is in a corner of the second floor. Bud Adams is Mr. Alto Adams, also known as Bud who made a financial contribution to preserve the P. P. Cobb building. He passed away in 2017 at the age of 91. He was a rancher and an environmentalist. The center has maps, vintage photos,drawing of archeological discoveries, and other materials. Jean Ellen Wilson is the centers administrator and it is staffed by volunteers. There is no admission to enter. I enjoyed my visit to the historic P. P. Cobb building. I especially loved the wall of vintage mail slots. If you are interested in old buildings and Treasure Coast history then you will definitely want to visit this link to the past.

Katie, Lauren, and Dave were amazing. they gave good recommendations to some questions asked and…read moreoverall made the boat ride not just educational but also fun

The tour was amazing!!! Captain Lauren was the BEST! So interesting to see and hear under water.read more

The Third Annual Vero Beach Wine + Film Festival is jampacked with films that I might not otherwise…read moresee. I just finished viewing the first film of the festival, a documentary about the life and music of jazz pianist Bill Evans. It was well done and I learned a lot about a musician that I long admired but knew little. Tonight there is a vintners dinner. Over the next three days and there are number of wine tastings and movie screenings to look forward to. The Festival is using venues throughout Vero Beach so I'm getting to see parts of the city. You should check at the event website if you are interested in all the scheduled films and activities. There will be opportunities to interact with actors and directors. Overall, the Festival is well-organized. There have been a number of the last minute changes to the program, but I understand this is unavoidable with this kind of event. If you do intend to sign up this year or in the future, be aware of the fact that the films actually start 30 minutes after the posted showtime--but you should get there early because in some of the venues it's hard to see the screen if you are far back. It's not exactly Sundance, but it really is surprisingly high level. It's fun as well.

This year was the 28th annual Pelican Island Wildlife Festival. The festival is held from 10:00 AM…read more- 4:00 PM in Riverview Park in Sebastian to commemorate the birthday of the refuge on March 14, 1903. Pelican National Wildlife refuge was created by one man's determination to protect the birds he loved. Paul Kroegel was a German immigrant and Sebastian resident and conservationist. He arrived in Sebastian in 1881 and homesteaded on the west bank of the Indian River across from Pelican Island. As he watched the birds on the island he fell in love with them and became increasingly disturbed by the hunters killing them. He took to protecting the birds by guarding them with his shotgun during a time when they had no lawful protection. Paul enlisted the help of the American Ornithologists Union and the Florida Audubon Society to help protect the birds. They joined together to pass legislation for protection of non-game birds. The Florida Audubon Society hired Paul Kroegel along with three other wardens to protect the birds from plume hunters and the sports hunters who would shoot at the birds while passing by on boats. During the time Paul served, two of the other wardens were murdered. Naturalist Frank Chapman and his fellow advocate, William Dutcher went to Theodore Roosevelts New York home to plead their case for the protection of the birds. In response President Roosevelt made Pelican Island the first National Wildlife Refuge in 1903. Paul Kroegel was hired as the first national wildlife refuge manager. He passed away in 1948. Since then the land was threatened in the 1960's developers attempted to buy the surrounding wetlands but local citizens stopped them. The Indian River Area Preservation League made up of local citrus growers, commercial fishermen, and sportsmen, joined with the Florida Audubon Society to convince the State to include the islands as a part of the refuge. In 1963, Pelican Island was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior. Since then the refuge has gained over 500 more acres to help protect it from encroachment by development. There is a large parking lot with free parking adjacent to the park. Entrance to the festival is free. The event has live wildlife shows, food, environmental exhibitors, arts & crafts, a rehabilitated pelican release, raffle, amateur photography contest, native plant sale, educational presentations, historical reenactments with President Theodore Rossevelt, and for a fee boat tours to Pelican Island. I specially loved seeing all of the birds brought by the Treasure Coat Wildlife Center. Sadly because of their injuries, these birds can't be released into the wild and I was happy to donate to them. President Roosevelt is the Master of Ceremonies and is portrayed by Theodore Roosevelt interpreter, Joe Wiegand. He gave a wonderful presentation that taught about the history of Pelican Island and his efforts to protect its birds as well as other events in the life of President Roosevelt. The 2020 Pelican Island Wildlife Festival celebrated the 117th anniversary of the Pelican Island National Wildlife Reserve. The event is hosted by the Pelican Island Preservation Society and the City of Sebastian. It is a fantastic way to bring awareness to the refuge. Even though the festival is only held one day a year, you can visit the refuge 365 days a year.

This is a large arts and crafts fair being held at the Indian River County Fairgrounds January…read more15-16, Sat 10 am to 5 pm and Sun 10 am to 4 pm. The event is outside underneath cover. Admission and parking are both free. Dogs are welcome and the event is wheelchair accessible. The expo features 150 vendors selling food, wood, glass, plants, pottery, art, jewelry, accessories, clothing, and home goods. There were a variety of interesting and affordable things to look at. My favorites were the licorice and fudge, local honey, fruit salsa, sea glass wind chimes, and the copper bird baths. I love anything tropical themed with mermaids and flamingoes. In addition to the shopping there was also several food trucks, adult beverages, and live music. Next door to the Craft Expo, the Home Show was held in the David W. Fleetwood Exposition Center. It was also free admission. Parking was easy and plentiful and the weather was beautiful. Both events are going on tomorrow so come out and enjoy.

Nice stop for a little stroll or even a picnic. Restored…read morehouse and grounds from the '20s. I released a lovely reptile here one day and I'm sure he is thriving.

This powwow is usually a good one but due to some scheduling conflicts it wasn't the same. The…read morepowwow is usually held under the Agriculture Pavilion but a Dog Show was being held there at the same time so it was moved out onto the grassy field. The dance arena was also made smaller and there was not as many vendors this year either. My friends were the Head Man and Head Lady dancers so I decided to come down and support them. There were 3 Native American drums this year, two from here in Florida and one from North Carolina. They travelled a long way to get out of the cold and snow. I can't blame them for that. While some of the songs that were being sung were not familiar to me, I did my best to keep up with the beat (Yes, I do dance at powwows). I The only major downside to this powwow was who they chose to be Emcee. He said a lot of things deemed "too political" for a powwow setting where we are supposed to be sharing the culture and not putting down other countries, or stating to vets that it's "their fault" we have our freedom. Poor choice of words. I'm sure that this event will be better next year once these things get straightened out.

Gallery 14 has been a notable presence in the downtown Arts District of Vero Beach for 18 years. A…read moreleader in the development of the District, the Gallery offers a selection of fine art by 8 established artist owners, 10 esteemed represented artists and a popular guest artist each month.