Weekend Edition: May 15, 2026

the

Island Brief

Amelia Island • Nassau County • First Coast

Happy Friday, Nassau County! The sun is out, the beach is ready, and this is the weekend Amelia Island officially kicks off summer. Main Beach Park hosts Opening of the Beaches tomorrow, pairing the seasonal celebration with Wild Amelia's Eco-Expo. Tonight there is also a nature photography celebration up at Fort Clinch. It is a big weekend out there. Grab your sunscreen.

Fernandina ☀️ 82°/72°

Yulee ☀️ 82°/72°

Callahan ☀️ 82°/72°

Hilliard ☀️ 82°/72°

🎉	This Weekend

FRI 15

Wild Amelia: Nature Photography Celebration Fort Clinch Visitors Center • 6 PM • Free • Closing night of the Wild Amelia Nature Festival's photo programming

SAT 16

Opening of the Beaches + Wild Amelia Eco-Expo Main Beach Park • 10 AM – 6 PM • Free • 40+ nature exhibitors, Kid's Market, live animals, sandcastle sculpture, music, food trucks

SAT 16

Downtown Farmers Market N. 7th Street, Historic Downtown • 9 AM – 1 PM • Free • Local produce, vendors, year-round rain or shine

SAT 16

Wildlight Market Place (3rd Saturday) 123 Tinker Street, Wildlight, Yulee • 9 AM – 1 PM • Free • Local farmers and makers on the county side

SUN 17

Concerts for Conservation (Wild Amelia Closing Day) Atlantic Recreation Center front lawn • 2 – 4 PM • Free (donations welcome) • Open-mic format; bring a lawn chair

🍽️

Try This

If Main Beach is going to be packed with Opening of the Beaches crowds Saturday, Fort Clinch is the local answer. Drive to the north end of the island, pay the day-use fee, and you get access to one of the most beautiful and underused beaches in Nassau County. There is a long stretch of quiet sand looking out toward Cumberland Island, maritime forest trails that are genuinely peaceful in the morning, and on weekends, rangers lead guided tours of the 1847 masonry fort. It is one of the best-preserved pre-Civil War forts on the East Coast. Go early; the shade in the trails is worth the effort before the afternoon heat arrives.

📍 2601 Atlantic Ave, Fernandina Beach • Open daily 8 AM to sunset • $6 per vehicle (Florida state park day use)

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📰	In Case You Missed It

The five-day qualifying window for Fernandina Beach's mayoral race ends tonight at 5 PM, and by the close of business we will know exactly who is on the August 18 ballot. As of this morning, two candidates have officially filed: Commissioner Genece Minshew and Commissioner Tim Poynter, both of whom voted in favor of the city's paid parking program and survived the recall effort earlier this year. Commissioner Joyce Tuten, who voted against paid parking and remains eligible under the city charter, had not filed as of today's deadline. Whatever shape the field takes tonight, the race runs alongside the paid parking referendum on the same August ballot.

Read More → City of Fernandina Beach Elections

Governor DeSantis stopped at the Amelia Island Marina this week to announce that Florida is launching a 39-day state-managed Atlantic red snapper season starting Memorial Day weekend. That is a significant jump from the two-day federal season recreational anglers were limited to in 2025. The summer portion runs May 22 through June 20, with additional fall dates in October. The announcement reflects Florida's push to take over state management of the snapper fishery from the federal level. Anglers need to register as a State Reef Fish Angler through FWC before fishing; registration is free and done online.

Read More → Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

While the island is celebrating its Opening of the Beaches this weekend, the loggerheads have already been at it. Six nests have been confirmed along Amelia Island beaches in the first two weeks of the nesting season, which runs May through October. Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch volunteers are back on early-morning patrol, flagging new nests and tracking hatchling progress. If you are out for a sunrise walk and spot orange stakes marking a section of sand, you have found a nest. Excavations begin in July once the earliest nests start hatching.

Read More → Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch

Main Beach is going to be buzzing with Opening of the Beaches crowds on Saturday. What is your move when the beach gets crowded: do you go anyway and embrace the scene, or do you find a quieter spot on the island? Hit reply and let us know. We read every response.

Fort Clinch State Park sits on the northern tip of Amelia Island. During which conflict did the fort change hands between Confederate and Union forces, making it one of the few Southern forts occupied by both sides?

Answer: The Civil War. Confederate forces occupied Fort Clinch in 1861; Union troops took control in March 1862 and held it through the end of the war. Construction on the fort began in 1847 and was never fully completed.

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