Cayman Turtle Centre to host Sea Turtle Festival

(CMR) Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre (CTCEC) has announced its first annual Sea Turtle Festival, to be held June 16-20, 2021. The five-day-long events will celebrate all things sea turtle with activities ranging from conservation and education initiatives to art and wellness events.

On Wednesday, June 16, the Centre will celebrate World Sea Turtle Day with a special turtle release on Seven Mile Beach.

Geddes Hislop, Curator of Terrestrial Exhibits and Education Programs at CTCEC, said: “Our annual World Sea Turtle Day release is always popular with residents and visitors alike. We are pleased to be able to open this event up to the public again this year, with a limited number of spaces available for on-island guests that would like to join us for this special occasion.”

Tickets for the World Sea Turtle Day release are complimentary, but advance online registration is required due to the current public gathering limit.

On the evenings of Wednesday, June 16, and Saturday, June 19, CTCEC’s Conservation and Education Team will host two special evening hatchling release events. Due to popular demand, both Sea Turtle Festival hatchling release events are already sold out, but the center is now planning to hold more hatchling releases during the summer nesting season.

On Friday, June 18, the Centre will host a ‘Green Friday’ sale and happy hour at their Splash gift store, as well as an island-wide Green Dress Down Day to raise funds for sea turtle conservation.

“We invite all local businesses, schools, and individuals to take part in this fun initiative to help raise funds to support the Centre’s Green sea turtle conservation programs. Taking part is simple – just dress in green on the day, share your photos on social media to show your support, and make your donation online or in person,”  Natalie Porter, Marketing Manager at CTCEC, said.

On Saturday, June 19, families can enjoy an action-packed day out at the Centre’s Sea Turtle Festival Family Fun Day. The event will feature a sea turtle-themed art exhibit, short films shown in the Education Centre, a Turtle Tracks scavenger hunt, and plenty of fun games and activities for all ages to enjoy. Children aged 12 and under will receive free admission to this event when they bring along 3 items of plastic waste to be recycled by Junk Cayman.

“This initiative reinforces our message of ‘3 plastics a day’ that we share with the community in our education presentations. Something as simple as picking up three pieces of plastic a day can make a big difference. Although this may seem insignificant, the more people picking up those three pieces of garbage a day, the bigger the impact.” Mr. Hislop said.

On Sunday, June 20, Bliss Yoga will host a Sea Turtle Festival Yoga Class at Cayman Turtle Centre, on the beach beside the Turtle Lagoon. The class starts at 8 am and will be led by Bliss Yoga Instructor Manuella Rodrigues Izaacs. All class registration donations will directly support CTCEC’s ongoing sea turtle research and conservation initiatives. 
For more information on the Sea Turtle Festival, please visit www.turtle.ky or email [email protected].