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Please note the following traffic changes and road closures during the Shrimp & Grits Festival Weekend, September 18-20.
FRIDAY – All parking will be in the Historic District
SATURDAY& SUNDAY – All General Parking will be at the parking lots just north and south of the Convention Center.
Guests will be transported from parking lots near the Convention Center to the Festival via free busses provided by Coastal Georgia Charters and Tours. The shuttle drop off will be in front of the History Center. Guests can cross at over at Pier Road. Shuttle will run approximately every 10 minutes.
Shuttle Hours: Saturday – 9:30 AM – 10:00 PM. Sunday – 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM. These hours equate to 30 minutes before the festival opens and an hour after the festival closes.
Parking and Traffic Direction will be provided by Allegiance Security Group. We ask that guests follow their direction.
Exceptions:
a. VIP Guests – VIP Guests are those who have purchased a VIP Package. The VIP parking lot will be located off of Old Plantation Rd across from Jekyll Island Bookstore. Guests must purchase VIP packages in advance.
b. Handicap Parking – Handicap Parking will be in the Historic District in the Parking Lot near the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, must show a handicap parking pass.
c. Staff – Staff and Volunteers will utilize the same parking lots as the VIP guest. Parking lots will be located off of Old Plantation Rd across from Jekyll Island Bookstore.
Road Closings:
Shell Road will be closed on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20.
Old Plantation Road in front of the Jekyll Island Bookstore – Saturday, September 18 – Sunday, September 20.
The parking lot behind Morgan Tennis Center – Friday, September 18 – Sunday, September 20.
Riverview Rd leading to the Jekyll Island Club Hotel will be closed to through traffic September 18th – 20th.
Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival on Jekyll Island celebrates coastal cooking and southern hospitality. Since its inaugural year in 2006, the event has brought attention and public awareness to the unique sweet taste of Wild Georgia Shrimp. One of the primary purposes of Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival, is to bolster an affinity for Wild Georgia Shrimp. Highlights of the festival include, the amateur and professional cooking competitions, shrimp boat excursions, shrimp eating contests, cookbook signings, cooking demonstrations and much more. The festival is completed with live entertainment, arts and crafts vendors, and a kids’ fun zone!
Festival Grounds Times
Friday, September 18 – 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Saturday, September 19 – 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Sunday , September 20 – 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
• Enjoy $3 samples of Shrimp & Grits form each of the vendors on Friday.
Mark your calendars…The 7th Annual Georgia’s Colonial Coast Birding & Nature Festival will take place October 8th-12th at Jekyll Island and along the GA coast. Come for the weekend, just a day or a few hours. Activities span the entire Georgia Coast and will appeal to a wide spectrum of the public from the casual nature enthusiast to the serious birdwatcher. An exhibit hall,”The Rookery”, featuring conservation-based organizations and vendors, will be in the Jekyll Island Convention Center.
There will be seminars, interactive programs, field trips, boat trips to barrier islands in outstanding natural habitats spanning the entire GA coast. They will be guided by expert naturalists and biologists. The Jekyll Island Convention Center will have “The Rookery”, an exhibit hall with conservation based organizations and vendors, live raptor show, activities for children and much more. Saturday night the keynote speaker is Donald Kroodsma, author The Singing Life of Birds.”
Early registration begins August 29th online and most popular field trips will likely fill up quickly. For information please visit www.jekyllisland.com, email info@coastalbirding.org or call 1-877-4jekyll.
by Danella Crews, Jekyll Island Authority
The Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) Board has approved an increase to the daily parking fee charged to enter the island. The daily parking fee will increase from $3 to $5 per vehicle per day, effective August 1, 2009. The new rate will make Jekyll Island consistent with the entry fee charged at other Georgia State Parks, which the Department of Natural Resources increased to $5 in April. The last time the Jekyll Island parking fee was changed was ten years ago when the fee was adjusted from $2 to $3 in 1999. Parking Fee revenue is used to help fund improvements to the public areas of the island. The increased rate could generate up to $1 million per year. The annual parking pass was left unchanged at $45 per vehicle per year.
by Beth Burnsed, Jekyll Island Authority
Summer Waves Water Park on Jekyll Island is now open all week just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Regular park hours are Monday-Friday are 10 am – 6 pm with extended park hours on Saturday and Sunday.
Summer Waves Water Park offers six rushing water slides, the Turtle Creek lazy river, kiddie play zone, Splash Zone with a giant tipping bucket, and the Frantic Atlantic Wave Pool with waves reaching 2-4 feet high. In addition to cooling off, this season guests can “Have a Rockin Summer” at Summer Waves 
Water Park with in-park Wii Rock Band and karaoke competitions every weekend. For a quick, cool bite to eat the park features Larry’s Giant Subs and several snack stands serving cool drinks and cool treats.
Park Hours subject to change. For more information contact Summer Waves Water Park at 912-635-2074 or visit www.summerwaves.com. Be a fan of Summer Waves Water Park on facebook.com.
by Beth Burnsed, Jekyll Island Authority
Thanks to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, the University of Georgia, and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, diamondback terrapins now have safe havens along the Jekyll Island Causeway. Artificial nest mounds with raccoon proof cages have been placed at strategic points to hopefully reduce the number of terrapins crossing the road.
“Every year 200-300 terrapins are hit by cars while trying to cross the causeway,” said Dr. Terry Norton, Director and Veterinarian for the Georgia Sea Turtle Center “The turtles are looking for elevated ground to nest. Since the roadways are elevated above the marshlands around them, terrapins often believe them to be suitable nesting areas.”
The mounds were built to be safe elevated nesting areas approximately 30 ft back from the edge of the causeway to thereby decrease the number of times the terrapins try to cross the road. In addition, cages on top of the mounds will reduce the threat of predation. Terrapins can get in and out of the cages through small spaces at the bottom, but predators such as raccoons can not.
The work, although in its preliminary stages, is backed by similar projects in the Northeast for wood turtles. The concept is still in a research stage, and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and its collaborators will examine the results at the end of the nesting season to see how much of difference the project made. “We are basically testing it out,” said Norton. “So it is a research project with conservation implications.”
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center officially opened June 2007 in Jekyll Island, Ga.’s National Historic Landmark District on the site of the original 1903 Power Plant building, much of which has been preserved and incorporated into the new facilities. The ambitious, $3 million center – offering an outstanding museum-style learning experience and a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center and veterinary clinic, is the first of its kind in Georgia and is the world’s leading sea turtle rehabilitation, research and education facility.
Why is a Sea Turtle Center Needed in Georgia?
Stranded sea turtles are often found along Atlantic coast beaches. A small, but increasing number of these turtles are still alive. Before, there were no facilities in Georgia to treat the turtles, and they had to be transported long distances to centers in Florida and South Carolina. Unfortunately, these facilities were often filled to capacity, and the turtles were not treated adequately and/or prematurely released.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island is open to the public for tours:
April 09-Nov 09: Monday from 10am-2pm; Tuesday through Sunday from 9am-5pm
Dec 09-Feb 10: Tuesday through Sunday from 9am-5pm
For more information about the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and its programs, please visit georgiaseaturtlecenter.org.
by Beth Burnsed, Jekyll Island Authority
Celebrate Spring on Jekyll Island with the first annual Jekyll Island Mother Nature Festival on Saturday, April 18, 2009. The festival boasts numerous activities for families to enjoy the outdoors and explore Jekyll Island while being green-conscious.
“Jekyll Island is an environmentally rich vacation destination with numerous amenities that allow our guests to get an up-close, non-invasive look at the eco-systems that make our island unique,” said Beth Burnsed, Event Marketing Coordinator for the Jekyll Island Authority. “The Mother Nature Festival showcases those amenities while educating children and their parents on how to be more eco-friendly.”
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is the main hub of event festivities. From 10 AM – 4 PM, the Center will host an eco-friendly exhibitor area, eco-craft zone, outdoor entertainment and silent auction. In the exhibitor area, environmental organizations, artists, and shops will exhibit their eco-conscious and nature-related wares. Simultaneously, in the children’s eco-craft zone, kids can practice being environmentally friendly by making recycled-art projects while learning about Sea Turtles and their habitat.
Other activities include a Family Fishing Day sponsored by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, an Eco-Book Fair at Jekyll Books, a kite buggy demonstration on the beach, and a herpetology session at Tidelands Nature Center. All of these events are free and open to the public.
For added adventure, families can choose from a variety guided excursions. Tours include Helicopter Rides, Dolphin Tours, Eco-Tours, Off-Shore Fishing, Kayaking, Bird Rambles, Beach Ecology Walks and Horseback Riding. Advanced registration for the above excursions is highly recommended.
As an eco-friendly incentive, the Jekyll Island parking fee will be waived on April 18 for all guests driving a hybrid vehicle to the festival. For more information on all Mother Nature Festival activities and excursions visit www.jekyllisland.com/mothernaturefestival or call 1-877-4JEKYLL. Get regular updates on the festival by being a fan of the Jekyll Island Mother Nature Festival on Facebook.com
by Beth Burnsed, Jekyll Island Authority
April 11, 2009
10:00 AM-2:00 PM
Tram Ride – 11:30 AM
Admission is Free!
Pier Road, Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District
The Jekyll Island Authority and several Jekyll Island volunteer citizens have teamed up to coordinate the first annual Easter Egg Stroll. The Stroll is a laid back alternative to the Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Festival previously held. It is geared toward young children ages 6 and under. All eggs will be numbered and can be redeemed for prizes at the Easter Egg Stroll Information Booth located near the Sweet Shoppe. One unspecified number will merit a grand prize. There will be 12 of these lucky grand prize eggs hidden. Otherwise small prizes will be awarded based on the number of eggs found, with a limit of 20 per child. Once the eggs are redeemed for prizes, they will be re-hidden for other children to find throughout the afternoon.
In addition to the Easter Egg Stroll, the Jekyll Island History Center will also offer a special free tram ride at 11:30 that day. Guests are encouraged to wear their best Easter attire and take a 20 minute, kid-friendly tram ride through the beautiful Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District. The ride will end near the Easter Egg Stroll Information Booth where the kids can begin their egg hunt. Although the ride is free, spaces are limited. Please make your reservations by calling the Jekyll Island Museum at 635-4036.
by Beth Burnsed, Jekyll Island Authority
Since the inception of the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits: Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival in 2006, Joe Barnett, Jr. has participated and won in every Shrimp & Grits Cooking Competition. His winning streak and jovial personality caught the attention of Food Network. On March 18 at 9:00 PM the amateur chef will go up against world-renowned chef Bobby Flay on Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.”
Taped in Joe Barnett’s hometown of Washington, GA, the show features Joe Barnett cooking his version of shrimp & grits against Bobby Flay’s version. Both chefs use locally caught wild Georgia shrimp provided by the Georgia Shrimp Association, a partner in the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits annual festival. Their dishes are judged by local fans and shrimp & grits connoisseurs. The one-on-one competition was a complete surprise to Barnett. In each “Throwdown” episode, the amateur cook thinks Food Network is shooting their profile for a show. What they don’t know is that Food Network star Bobby Flay is going to drop in for a surprise visit and challenge them to an unexpected cook-off.
“I was shocked when Bobby Flay walked onto the set,” said Barnett. “Of course, I’m always up for a cook-off and was proud to represent the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival and the Georgia Shrimp Association.”
The annual Shrimp & Grits: Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival is held each year on Jekyll Island in September. This year’s event is scheduled for September 18-20 and will include cooking competitions, celebrity book signing, cooking demonstrations, shrimp boat tours and excursions and much more. More details can be found at jekyllisland.com and the festival Facebook fan page.
