Weekend Edition: April 10, 2026

the

Island Brief

Amelia Island • Nassau County • First Coast

Happy Friday, Nassau County! The forecast gods have blessed us with a flawless spring weekend, 70s and sunshine all three days, and downtown is about to hum with a dozen acclaimed songwriters. Grab your coffee, find a comfortable chair, and read on. You're going to want to plan for this one.

Fernandina ☀️ 74°/62°

Yulee ☀️ 75°/60°

Callahan ☀️ 76°/58°

Hilliard ☀️ 76°/58°

🎉	This Weekend

FRI 10

Fernandina Beach Songwriters Festival — Free Daytime Rounds Tigre Island Room & Heymann Williams Room • Fri & Sat, 12–4 pm • 12 acclaimed songwriters, rotating rounds, open to the public. Evening shows are sold out but the afternoon sets are free.

SAT 11

Amelia River Waterfront Park Grand Opening 251 S Front Street • 2–4 pm • Live music from the Honey Badgers, a new play structure, and the Youth Advisory Committee reveals the name of Jett Paxton's pirate statue. Free, all welcome.

SAT 11

Wings, Wheels & Why? Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport • 10 am–2 pm • Planes, classic cars, and hands-on aerospace exhibits for kids. Free admission, proceeds benefit the FBHS Aerospace Club.

SAT 11

Farmers Market + Arts Market (Double Header) N. 7th Street & 506 Centre Street • 9 am–1 pm • It's the second Saturday, so the Market Place farmers market and the Arts Market run together. Produce, bakers, artisans, all a two-block walk apart.

ALL WKND

Bye Bye Birdie at Amelia Community Theatre 209 Cedar Street • Fri & Sat evenings, Sun matinee • The Tony-winning 1950s musical kicks off ACT's spring run with Put On a Happy Face, The Telephone Hour, and plenty of rock-and-roll mischief.

🍽️

Try This

If you haven't swung by Kitchen 251 since the move, you're in for a treat. In January, the beloved comfort-food spot quietly relocated to a charming historic building at 801 Beech Street, a few blocks off the Centre Street bustle. The blackboard specials are still there. The weekly happy hour is still there. The down-home cooking that made this place a local favorite? Still very much there. It's the kind of place where the staff remembers your order and the biscuits taste like someone's grandma made them. Worth the short walk off the main drag.

📍 801 Beech Street, Fernandina Beach • Check their socials for current hours

The Island Brief reaches engaged locals three times a week. If your business wants to connect with our community, we'd love to hear from you.

Get in Touch →

📰	In Case You Missed It

The recall saga has a resolution, at least for now. On Tuesday, Nassau County Circuit Judge Marianne Aho issued a 13-page order granting a temporary injunction that halts the recall process against City Commissioners Genece Minshew and Tim Poynter. The judge ruled that voting on the paid parking ordinance without a fiscal impact analysis did not rise to the level of misfeasance, and that commissioners had no legal duty to delay action. Recall FB 2026 had collected over 1,400 signatures on each petition. An appeal is widely expected, so this story is likely not finished.

Read More → Fernandina Observer

Nassau County cuts the ribbon this morning on Fire Station 90, a quiet but meaningful step forward for county emergency services. New stations mean shorter response times, and in a county that's growing as fast as ours, every minute counts. The ceremony is open to the public if you want to stop by and see it in person.

Read More → Nassau County

The long-running dispute between the City of Fernandina Beach and Rayonier Advanced Materials lands in mediation next Monday and Tuesday, April 13 and 14, in Jacksonville. RYAM has filed a $6.6 million claim against the city tied to the denial of its proposed bioethanol production facility. The mediation is closed to the public, but the outcome could shape downtown economic policy for years to come.

Read More → Fernandina Observer

The weekend forecast is basically flawless. Mid-70s and sunshine both days. What's your go-to move when Amelia Island hands you a perfect spring weekend? Beach day? Farmers market stroll? Back-porch-and-do-nothing? Hit reply and let us know. We read every response.

The new Amelia River Waterfront Park opens this Saturday on South Front Street, a name tied to Fernandina's earliest days. What was the original purpose of this waterfront area back in the 1800s?

Tap to reveal the answer → (It was the working heart of the port. Shipping, fishing, and the eastern terminus of David Yulee's Florida Railroad, the first rail line to connect the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, completed in 1861.)

Know someone who'd love a weekend guide to the island? Send them our way.

Share With a Friend ✈️

f ✦