2019 Concert Countdown: Know Before You Go

We’re counting down to the 2019 CREW Concert Under the Stars & Silent Eco-Auction on Saturday, February 16 at 5 p.m. at Riverside Park in Bonita Springs. Today is our last pre-concert post – we hope to see you there!

Ready to dance? Eat? Drink? Buy all the Silent Eco-Auction items?

Before you go to our concert on Saturday, we have just a few things we think you should know. Check them out- and we look forward to seeing you at the 2019 Concert Under the Stars.

1- Tickets

The easiest and cheapest way to get your tickets to the CREW Concert is online through eventbrite. If you buy your tickets in advance, they are $15; if you wait and buy them at the gate, they are $20. That’s five dollars you could save for a cupcake (more on those tasty little treats later)! Here is a little secret – the tickets will be available for purchase online until 4 p.m. on Saturday, so if you decide last-minute to come, you still have time to save money and buy your tickets online!

2- What to bring (and what to leave at home)

Things you can bring: children (ages 12 and under get in free), cash and credit cards (for food/drink sales) and folding chairs.

Things you can’t bring: coolers and dogs.

Service animals are always welcome within reason – we’d hate to disappoint you and turn away your service brontosaurus due to lack of available space.

3- Where is the concert, and when does it start?

The 2019 CREW Concert & Silent Eco-Auction will be held at Riverside Park, located at 10451 Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs.

Schedule:

5 p.m. Gates Open

5:30 p.m. Silent Auction Opens

5:30 p.m. Welcome

5:40 p.m. High Voltage Band performs

8:15 p.m. Silent Auction Closes

8:30-9:15 p.m. Pick-up and Pay for Silent Auction Items

9:00 p.m. Concert Ends

4 – Food and Beverages

The Rotary Club of Bonita Springs returns this year and will serve wine and craft beer from Momentum Brewhouse. Our food vendors are Haney’s Cafe and Cherie’s Sweet Treats. Please bring cash for all food and drink, as we are unsure which vendors will accept credit cards.

5- Silent Eco-Auction

To preview all 37 items, click here.

How does the silent auction work? Walk through and check out the items and experiences offered. Write your name, phone number and amount you are bidding on the bid sheet. Check back often to see if you have been outbid, and bid as often as you would like! If you want to make sure you get an item, you can purchase it for the Buy It Now price. The auction closes promptly at 8: 15 p.m. Winners will be listed on the large sign near the entrance to the Silent Auction, and items won can be paid for and picked up from 8:30-9:15 p.m.

6- Parking

Volunteers will be directing guests to available parking spaces. A limited amount of handicap parking spaces will be available. Please watch for parking volunteers wearing bright green shirts. Parking for this event is free.

7- VIP Cafe

The VIP Cafe is a private area for VIP ticket holders with table seating and food. It is not accessible by anyone who is not wearing a VIP wristband. VIP Cafe tickets were part of this year’s sponsorship packages. If you are interested in being a sponsor for the 2020 concert, please contact Brenda (brenda@crewtrust.org).

9- Proceeds

CREW Land & Water Trust is a non-profit that provides environmental education for all ages on lands within the 60,000 acre CREW project. All funds raised at the 2019 concert will go towards the Dr. David R. Cooper Education fund, which provides funding for our environmental education programs along with paid internships, field trip supplies and more.

2019 Concert Countdown: Can’t Miss Auction Items

Each year our Silent Eco-Auction features unique eco-experiences and items. This year’s auction boasts 37 items including one really big, tremendous, gorgeous work of art that has to be seen to be appreciated.

Auction Item 37: Swallow-tailed kite table

Donated by Dick Anderson and Lucas Century

To call this item unique is an understatement.

The collaboration is astounding. Dick Anderson has contributed unique art in the past and his shark surfboard, tiki dude, and driftwood great blue heron have been hugely popular auction items.

This year, he found driftwood to make a table base, then salvaged a glass-table top. Then artist Lucas Century stepped in.

Luc, a Sanibel-island resident and world-renowned artist behind the etching of the names on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington DC, used a sandblasting technique to etch the image of a swallow-tailed kite into the reclaimed glass table top.

The result is a one-of-a-kind art piece that has attracted the interest of birders and collectors of Luc’s pieces.

Auction 8: Eastern Screech Owl Box and Auction Item 9: Eastern Bluebird Box

Donated by Brian Beckner/Native Birdboxes

Brian Beckner’s handcrafted birdboxes are so wildly popular they go quickly as buy-it-now items after the auction opens. Why? The craftmanship is supberb and Beckner pays attention to details, including making the box resistant to predators but also easy to clean when the chicks have fledged. His boxes are used at golf courses across SWFL and in many residential neighborhoods.

Auction Item 10: Swamp Buggy Ride for 10 at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Donated by Ed Carlson, CREW Trust Trustee

This item usually receives the highest bids each year. It’s a unique opportunity to tour Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and hear the stories behind the sanctuary. Ed Carlson helped install the original boardwalk at the sanctuary and is the former executive director. He is a current trustee for the CREW Trust and generously donates this experience each year to our silent eco-auction.

Auction Item 17: Birthday hike for 12 at the CREW Marsh Trails

Donated by the CREW Trust

Deer in party hats aren’t really part of this package, but you are certainly welcome to wear celebratory headgear when you and 11 friends hit the Marsh trails for a birthday hike led by a member of the CREW Staff or a CREW Trust volunteer naturalist. Included is a gift certificate for 12 delicious cupcakes from Cherie’s Sweet Treats, a 2018 and 2019 CREW Concert food vendor. This item was popular at last year’s auciton and we’re excited to see its return!

Auction Item 23: Passion for Painting at CREW Experience

Donated by CREW Trustee Kim Ruiz

If you love the serenity of nature and the CREW trails and want to let some of that emotion flow out onto canvas, this the perfect plein air painting package for you! The winning bidder and three guests will join Kim Ruiz for up to 4 hours at the CREW Marsh Trail campsite to create a painting that is uniquely theirs. This experience includes instruction and art supplies.

You can view the rest of our Silent Eco-Auction items on our auction preview page.

To bid on any of the auction items, purchase a ticket to our concert on Saturday, February 16. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the gate. The silent auction opens at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 8:15 p.m., with payment and item pick-up beginning at 8:30 p.m. All proceeds of the 2019 CREW Concert Under the Stars will go towards the Dr. David R. Cooper Eduation Fund.

 

2019 Concert Countdown: See you at Momentum Brewhouse!

Our biggest fundraiser of the year is one week from Saturday!

And, to celebrate, we have an opportunity for YOU to get FREE BEER!

And not just any beer – this is fantastic, award-winning craft beer from Momentum Brewhouse in Bonita Springs!

CREW Trust staff and volunteers will be selling tickets for our 2019 Concert Under the Stars on Friday, Feb. 8 at Momentum Brewhouse from 5-10 p.m. Cash or credit card payments accepted.

If you buy a concert ticket, you get a free beer!

And you’ll be supporting our environmental education programs, AND you can look forward to great music and great food at our Feb. 16 concert.

What: CREW Trust concert tickets pre-sale

Where: Momentum Brewhouse, 9786 Bonita Beach Road SW, Bonita Springs, FL 34135

When: Friday, Feb. 8, 2019 from 5-10 p.m.

Cost: $15 for CREW concert pre-sale ticket. Buy one ticket, get one free beer.

Become a sponsor of our 2019 CREW Concert Under the Stars!

Brenda Brooks, executive director of CREW Land & Water Trust, with Kim Ruiz, CREW Trust Board of Trustees member and presenting sponsor of the 2018 CREW Concert.

Our concert is our biggest fundraiser each year and this year we hope is no exception. Proceeds help fund the CREW Trust’s environmental education programs but this year we’re changing things up a bit and all proceeds will go towards the Dr. David R. Cooper Education Fund.

Most of our sponsors have been supporting this event for years and we couldn’t have such a successful event without their support.

Sponsors enjoy special perks, including tickets to the VIP Cafe at the concert. This special area, exclusively for VIP ticket holders and their guests, offers table seating close to the stage at Riverside Park and a fully catered meal from Niko’s Kitchen.

For most of our sponsors, though, sponsoring this event is about so much more than great food and the atmosphere of the VIP Cafe.

“I originally sponsored the CREW concert to give back to the place where I first learned Southwest Florida wildflowers,” explained Kim Ruiz, CREW Trust member, Trustee, volunteer and member of the concert committee. In 2018, Kim’s company, EcoPlanz Inc, was the presenting sponsor for the CREW Concert. “I continue sponsoring to support the expanding educational programs so people of all ages can be immersed in the wonders of water, land, and wildlife.”

Brian Farrar, Vice-Chairman of the CREW Trust Board of Trustees, President of BCF Management Group, CREW Trust member and concert committee member, has also been a sponsor for many years. “Being a CREW Concert sponsor has afforded my wife and I the opportunity to give back to our Southwest Florida community in what we believe is one of the most important ways: educating our future leaders on the importance of water resources and environmental preservation. If we don’t explain this need and delicate balance, our wonderful way of life will be gone before we know it.”

If you are looking for a way to support the concert and help us build the Dr. David R. Cooper Education Fund, please consider becoming a concert sponsor and enjoy the event as a VIP! Download a 2019 CREW Concert Sponsor Flyer or email brenda@crewtrust.org for more information on becoming a sponsor.

 

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