2023 Beachcombing Summer Festival
Join us on June 24, 2023, for a day of virtual beachcombing!
The Beachcombing Summer Festival is a place to celebrate all things beachcombing! With talks from beachcombing experts, live chats, and more, it's a great way to celebrate beachcombing season.
We are thrilled to present some of the world's most talented beach artists, craftspeople, and designers in this online beach festival. Check below for festival discounts, special offers, and more. We hope you will support these shops and artisans by clicking on their banners below.
Videos and presentations are made possible by our Festival Exhibitors (below), members of Beachcombing Club, and by our presenters who generously share their time to take us on their beachcombing adventures, share their expertise, and show some of their collections.
2024 Beachcombing Calendar Photo Contest
Start collecting your five favorite photos to enter in the Beachcombing Calendar Photo Contest! Enter your photos that you think best capture the fun and excitement of beachcombing by June 4, 2023.
If your photo is selected by voters for the cover, you win a $250 cash prize!
We'll announce finalists — which will all appear in the calendar — and you will have a chance to select the cover shot on festival day. Learn how to enter ›
✅ Vote for the cover photo here on June 24th.
Summer Festival Presentations
Join us on June 24, 2023, for presentations from beachcombing experts. Each talk will be followed by a live reception and Q&A session with presenters and the audience on Zoom.
Schedule
10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern / 6 pm London: Shelling in the Mangrove Forest, Sarah Rosenbaum
11 am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern / 7 pm London: Extreme Beachcombing in the Pacific Northwest, John Anderson
12 noon Pacific / 3 pm Eastern / 8 pm London: Fossil Hunting Along the Jurassic Coast with Sam Caethoven and Jason Sandy
1 pm Pacific / 4 pm Eastern / 9 pm London: Landfill is not the end of the story, Johanna Keene
Fossil Hunting Along the Jurassic Coast
This presentation by Sam Caethoven and Jason Sandy will take you along to hunt for fossils in England — in Lyme Regis, Charmouth, and the Jurassic Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site. You’ll see breathtaking coastal scenery along with the extraordinary fossils and entire marine reptile skeletons found along the coast.
Sam Caethoven and Jason Sandy
Sam Caethoven has lived and worked in London for 22 years and is the Financial Director at London’s largest rare book seller. When not surrounded by antiquarian volumes, Sam enjoys finding her own ancient rare objects. A keen fossil hunter for over a decade and volunteer leader with UKAFH, offering family-friendly fossil hunts, Sam began mudlarking five years ago as an activity she could enjoy closer to home and has been engrossed ever since. Sam has found museum-quality fossils and mudlarking finds and has collaborated with Jason on several occasions. Articles ›
Jason is an American architect and author who lives in London, England. Beachcombing along the muddy banks of the River Thames, he has found historic artifacts, some of which are now on permanent display in museums around the United Kingdom. He is a member of the exclusive Society of Thames Mudlarks, author of Mudlarks: Treasures from the Thames, and co-author of Thames Mudlarking: Searching for London’s Lost Treasures. Articles ›
Shelling in the Mangrove Forest
Southwest Florida has one of the world’s largest Mangrove Forests. These remote islands are connected with a series of oyster bars, sand bars, mangrove pods, lagoons, and channels into the Gulf of Mexico. The mixing of these diverse micro ecosystems and waterways provides a host of beachcombers the chance to find over 300 species of seashells, some uniquely found in this area. Join Sarah Rosenbaum on a presentation about the world of diverse seashells found in the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, the animals that made them, and how to find them.
Sarah Rosenbaum
Sarah was raised in Bonita Springs, Florida. Sarah graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and completed the Florida Master Naturalist Program at the University of Florida. Currently, Sarah is pursuing a career in educational ecotourism in Southwest Florida with Treasure Seekers Shell Tours. Articles ›
Extreme Beachcombing in the Pacific Northwest
John Anderson has filled his Beachcombing Musuem with literally tons of treasures found on beaches around the world. From sea glass floats to lost marine equipment and from fossils to shipping container flotsam, John has collected it all. This presentation takes you along as he scales cliffs, battles tides, and even outraces a plane to grab ocean treasures.
John has been beachcombing since the 1970s, when he began climbing down cliffs, wading through high tides, and dragging his finds home with his family and friends through the forests of the Pacific Northwest. He is considered by some to be the world’s greatest beachcomber. His museum in Forks, Washington, includes examples of just about everything that washes up on beaches around the world. Articles ›
Landfill Is Not the End of the Story
Johanna's talk will share information about finding bottles, tips for how to clean them, and how to repurpose some of them through painting and decoupaging them to become decorative. She'll be showing some of her favorite bottles, pieces of sea glass, stoppers, marbles, and more.
Johanna is a beachcomber, mudlark, and artist. Originally from the U.K., Johanna now lives in Ireland, teaching preschool and raising her two daughters. She relaxes through beachcombing, creating upcycled art, playing guitar, singing, and composing songs and poetry. You can follow her adventures on Instagram at @jayforjohanna and see some her favorite finds at #LandfillIsNotTheEndOfTheStory. Articles ›
Check out videos from past festivals
View videos from the 2022 Beachcombing Holiday Festival, 2021 Beachcombing Holiday Festival, and 2020 Virtual Beachcombing Festival.
Summer Festival Exhibitors
Learn how to be part of this event with print and online advertising packages. Advertise your beach destination, lodging, book, products, gear, gifts, or services right when beachcombers are planning their summer getaways.
🔴 Offering a Festival Discount or Giveaway
🏠 Beachcombing Club Member
🌴 Returning Festival Exhibitor
🔴 Use code SUMMER23 for 10% off everything in June 2023. 🏠 🌴
🔴 Use code SUMMER23 for 10% off everything in June 2023. 🏠 🌴
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🔴 Watch the presentations on June 24 to get a discount code for your extraordinary adventure. 🏠 🌴
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🔴 Use code FESTIVAL20 for 20% off everything from June 1 through June 26. 🏠 🌴
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🔴 Mention this ad when you book to get a gift of sea glass art by Coastal Creations Sea Glass.
As a member of the International Sea Glass Association, we are committed to educating collectors, consumers, and retailers as to the properties and benefits of genuine, pure, unaltered sea and beach glass. We do not accept articles or advertisements from those who use or sell fake sea glass. As a member of the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club, we promote the study of mollusks and the shells they create. We have a no-live-shelling policy and do not accept articles or advertisements from those who use or sell shells harvested from live animals, including live sand dollars, sea stars, and sea urchins. Videos and presentations are made possible by members of Beachcombing Club.
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