Museum of the Everglades March Events

It will be a busy mid-March at the Museum of the Everglades. On March 19, Flowers and Felonies in the Fakahatchee, the Third Thursday Lecture Series, starts at 2:00 PM. In this companion lecture to the current temporary exhibit at Museum of the Everglades, Growing Obsession, Museum Manager Thomas Lockyear will focus on the now infamous case of attempted theft – immortalized in Susan Orlean’s iconic book “The Orchid Thief” - in the nearby Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve Park. The sordid story of Homestead horticulturist John Edward Larouche and his perfidious plan to purloin and propagate rare Ghost Orchids, along with other crimes of floral passion, will be discussed.

Then on March 21 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, come to the Museum for the annual Grapefruit Gathering. In recent years, the birthday of county founder Barron Gift Collier was celebrated with the Grapefruit Gala. Collier purchased a grapefruit grove at Deep Lake that shifted the local economy towards tourism and led to the creation of Collier County in 1923. Hence the saying “it all started with grapefruit.” This year, the occasion is being celebrated with The Grapefruit Gathering and Art Fair featuring an art fair, fruit tree sale, fresh Florida citrus, food, art and live music and more.