Tickets on Sale for ‘Bash for the Bay’

Friends of Rookery Bay will hold its “crystal anniversary” 15th annual Bash for the Bay signature fundraiser from 6:00 to 10:00 PM on Thursday, March 14 at the Players Club and Spa, 8060 Grand Lely Drive, Naples. The event includes a cocktail hour with meet-the-staff opportunities, plated dinner, silent and live auctions, and dancing to the Hot Topic Band. A “crystallized” patron party from 5:00 to 6:00 PM will feature readers, mediums, crystals, and live animals. Gary Lytton, who served as director of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve for 29 years, will receive the annual Lavern Norris Gaynor Environmental Champion Award. Therese and Larry Schmidt are event chairs.

Auction items include a private chef’s dinner at the JW Marriott Marco Island, a deep sea fishing trip, a hand-crafted wooden table by local artisan Bruce Robertson, an outdoor adventure with an expert venomous reptile handler from Rookery Bay Research Reserve, and vacation getaways in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Steamboat Springs, and Ontario.

Event tickets of $250 and patron tickets of $750 are on sale now at rookerybay.org/bash or by calling 239-530-5972.

The evening raises funds for education, research, and conservation programs in the 110,000-acre Rookery Bay Research Reserve, which encompasses 40 percent of Collier County’s coastline.

Bash for the Bay sponsors include Horizon Rentals Real Estate Sales and Rentals, Minto Communities USA, JW Marriott Marco Island, The Needles Group at John R Wood Properties, Law Office of Matthew P. Flores, Pat and Ray Carroll, Denise Fawcett and Don Tilton, Connie Leon, Sue and Tom Marquardt, CJ and Rick O’Connor, and Larry and Therese Schmidt.