Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival

With the onset of beautiful weather and more folks thinking about getting away, Amelia Island ramps up the events calendar to provide our visitors with a variety of concerts, shows and festivals to provide a reason to stay “just one more day”.  May 11 through June 2, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival returns to the island for its 13th season.  World-class artists from around the globe descend on the island to offer virtuoso performances in venues ranging from the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church to the Palace Saloon.

Next up is the annual Wild Amelia Nature Festival the weekend of May 17th – 19th celebrating “our local bio-region”.  Tours, classes, exhibits and sea turtle releases are but a few of the offerings of this educational and fun event for all ages.  Flora, fauna, clouds and stars are touched upon, and there is even a photographers’ field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo being offered.  We’re very fortunate to reside in an extremely bio-diverse area, and this is the weekend that we get to share some of the secrets with our visitors.

Memorial Day weekend brings the annual Ed Gaw Open Water Challenge for swimmers interested in competing in either a one-mile or 5K ocean swim. Experience is required, but if you’re looking for a way to make room for more great food from Amelia Island’s excellent restaurants, this is a great way to burn off some of those Memorial Day celebrations.

June brings fishing, barbecue and the inaugural Country Rocks the Beach concert.  You’d better get your reservations now for the first weekend in June because this island will be piled high with fishing, music, food and fun.  From March through October, the first Friday of every month brings a free concert downtown in the form of the Sounds on Centre stage.  Music will fill the air downtown from 6-8, courtesy of the Beech Street Blues Band.  Come join the fun and be sure to bring your dancing shoes.

Goin’ Coastal BBQ and Music Festival

June 6th – 9th brings the Fish ‘N Fest to our Fernandina marina.  Local anglers and kindred spirits will be sharing a weekend of laid-back camaraderie on the water, and they invite you to join in.  On that same weekend, the Georgia Barbecue Association will be hosting the Florida State BBQ championship in Central Park on Saturday, June 8th, in the form of the Goin Coastal BBQ Competition, followed by the Goin’ Coastal Music Festival.

Finally, in its inaugural year, a new music festival will hit the island on Saturday, June 22nd, called Country Rocks the Beach.  This benefit event is selling tickets fast, and our rooms are disappearing with the tickets, so you should make a reservation with your favorite bed and breakfast now.  If you can’t make any of these events, you can be assured that there is always something going on on Amelia Island.  We look forward to sharing your summer with you.

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Loaded with activities, music, fine arts and crafts, antique booths, pirates, shrimp boats and as many ways that you can think of to prepare fresh local shrimp, the festival is a main stay of island life here on Amelia.  While celebrating their local traditions, islanders welcome guests with open arms throughout the festival weekend.  Many even find it an opportune time to hold yard sales and open houses for real estate.

While visiting the festival, be sure to consult the schedule for the various bands, pageants and events scheduled throughout the weekend at a number of venues.  The Friday night invasion of the pirates and fireworks are always popular, as are the concerts on the main stage and side stages.  This year’s Saturday headliners are Pablo Cruise, and Sunday’s tradition of closing the festival with the Swingin’ Medallions is firmly in place for the 50th anniversary.  But you can also find diversions in the rock climbing wall, the Shrimp boat parade, the Blessing of the Fleet, an ice cream eating contest – and you can even learn to be a pirate with lessons from our local Pirates’ Club.  If you’re so inclined, you can enter the beard contest, or take part in Saturday morning’s 5K race.  Be sure to peruse the full schedule of events to make your plans.

Most of Amelia Island’s bed and breakfasts are within an easy walk to the festival, and guests of our beach bed and breakfasts can find park and ride options as well as park and walk lots.  Scattered rooms are still available, but don’t delay booking your room because the island gets sold out every year, and it’s an event that you won’t want to miss.  Check with your favorite bed and breakfast for availability now.  See you at the fireworks!

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Amelia Island Cooke Tour

The aroma of freshly baked cookies invites childhood memories to flood the mind. Inviting, enticing and comforting, cookies have a long and beloved history in the United States. But where do cookies come from? Does the cookie have a birthplace?

Cookie History 101

Early English and Dutch immigrants first introduced the cookie to America in the 1600s. While the English primarily referred to cookies as small cakes, seed biscuits, or tea cakes, or by specific names, such as jumbal or macaroon, the Dutch called the koekjes, a diminutive of koek (cake)…Etymologists note that by the early 1700s, koekje had been Anglicized into “cookie” or “cookey,” and the word clearly had become part of the American vernacular. Following the American Revolution, people from other parts of the country became familiar with the cookie when visiting New York City, the nation’s first capitol, a factor that resulted in widespread use of the term.”

Cookie Classifications

• Drop cookies are made from a relatively soft dough that is dropped by spoonfuls onto the baking sheet.
  

  Heirloom Cookie Recipes

• Refrigerator cookies (also known as icebox cookies) are made from a stiff dough that is refrigerated to become even stiffer.
• Molded cookies are also made from a stiffer dough that is molded into balls or cookie shapes by hand before baking.
• Rolled cookies are made from a stiffer dough that is rolled out and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter.
• Pressed cookies are made from a soft dough that is extruded from a cookie press into various decorative shapes before baking.
  Bar cookies consist of batter or other ingredients that are poured or pressed into a pan (sometimes in multiple layers), and cut into cookie-sized pieces after baking.
• Sandwich cookies are rolled or pressed cookies that are assembled as a sandwich with a sweet filling.

Take the Amelia Island Inns Cookie Tour

This year the Amelia Island Bed & Breakfast Association invites you to take a delightful self-guided cookie tour on Saturday, November 19th, from noon to 5pm to visits the beautiful inns around Fernandina and to sample their cookies, many from heirloom recipes. Some of the proceeds from the sale of tickets will go to benefit the Barnabas Center, an organization which helps those in need in Nassau County. Tickets are available here and are $25 per person.

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Amelia Island Jazz Festival Venue

Amelia Island will heat up when the Jazz Festival kicks off from October 2-9, 2011! Some of the talent in town that week at various venues include: Buckwheat Zydeco, Nicole Henry, Gypsy Rendezvous, The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band with vocalist Extraordinaire -Bonnie Eisele and Special Guest Jazz Violinist – Doug Cameron, Toots Lorraine and the Traffic, Impacto Latino, and more!

Football is still in full swing the end of October as the rivalry between the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs continues!  The game will be held in Jacksonville at Everbank Field on Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 3:30 pm.  Come support the teams!

November 19, 2011 kicks off the holiday season with Amelia Island’s Bed & Breakfast cookie tour.  All your favorite B & B’s will be “decked out” in their holiday best!  Stop by and see the inside of these wonderful homes.  Visitors will get into the holiday spirit as they visit each of the inn’s and receive a cookie as well as the recipe to add to their collection.

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Entrance to Fort Clinch on Amelia Island FL

A stay on Amelia Island wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Civil-War era Fort Clinch. Located on the northern tip of Amelia Island, and only 10 minutes by car from historic downtown Fernandina Beach, the expansive waterfront vistas from the fort are spectacular.

Fort Clinch is one of the most well-preserved 19th century forts in the country, and is a must-see attraction for anyone visiting Amelia Island. Fort Clinch State Park offers a half-mile-long fishing pier, a vast state park with nearly 8,400 feet of shoreline, and 1,150 acres of moss-draped live oaks, and coastal grasses. The 1847 Fort at the mouth of the St. Mary’s River was built to protect Fernandina Harbor’s deep water port.

Daily tours complete with period re-enactments depicting garrison life bring the fort to life for visitors. Sunbathing, swimming, and beach-combing are popular coastal activities all summer long. Anglers can fish from the pier or take advantage of excellent surf fishing. Hikers and bicyclists can enjoy a six-mile trail through the park. Self-guided nature trails provide opportunities to learn about and observe native plants and wildlife.

Civil War era is recreated at Fort Clinch State Park
Life during the Civil War era is recreated at Fort Clinch State Park the first weekend each month. Activities centered around 1864, include black powder artillery demonstrations, marching drills, and blacksmith demonstrations. Visitors can see these special living history garrisons from 9 am to 5 pm each Saturday of the first weekend of the month and 9 am until noon on the first Sunday. A special evening candlelight tour of Fort Clinch is also held the first weekend Saturday night each month and costs $3 per person.

It's a ten minute drive from Historic Fernandina Beach to Fort Clinch State Park

Fort Clinch State Park is located at 2601 Atlantic Avenue, Fernandina Beach. Call 904-277-7274 for more information.

Admission Fees:
$6.00 per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle.
$4.00 Single Occupant Vehicle.
$2.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.

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Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup butter
¼ tsp vanilla

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla

Topping:
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
4 cups blueberries

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Crust: Cream together butter, vanilla & sugar. Blend in flour. Spread dough into the bottom & sides of a 9” tart pan with removable bottom.

Filling: Combine softened cream cheese with sugar & mix well. Add egg & vanilla & blend thoroughly. Pour filling into prepared crust.

Gently spread the blueberries over the filling. Combine ¼ cup sugar & ½ tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the blueberries.

Bake for 10 min. at 450 degrees. Reduce oven temp. to 400 degrees and bake an additional 25 min.
Remove from oven & place on a rack to cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

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* 1 lb. sausage browned (I use only Jimmy Dean’s Maple flavored)
* 12 slices bread (crust removed and cut into quarters)
* 6 eggs
* 2 cups milk
* 1 Lb. grated cheese

Grease 9 x 13 baking dish. Place bed quarters in bottom of pan. Add browned sausage. Combine eggs and milk and pour over sausage and bread. Top w/ cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 350° covered for 30 min. Remove foil and bake 30 minutes more.

Serves 8-12

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