2012 Calusa Blueway Photo Contest Launched

Fort Myers, Fla., May 18, 2012 – Lee County Parks & Recreation has launched its fifth annual Calusa

Blueway Photo Contest for boaters, kayakers and nature enthusiasts. Entries can be submitted from now until October, with prizes awarded at the annual Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival in November.

Categories include: People on the trail (people enjoying the waterways, trails and outdoors), wildlife on

the Blueway trail (flora, fauna and landscapes) and signs along the blueway trail (Calusa Blueway

markers and others that water-lovers encounter). 

Prizes for top category winners will come from sponsors Fort Myers-based Harmon Photographers as

well as ABC Framing, a Lehigh Acres-based mobile-framing business. First-place winners will receive an

enlarged, matted and framed version of their photos. Winning entries also may be published in

magazines, newspapers and online products.

Selected entries may be featured on several websites, including the blueway site,

www.calusablueway.com, the festival site, www.calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com and on the festival’s  Facebook site. 

New this year, the photo contest reception will be combined with the Thursday evening kickoff event at

the Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival. Winners and runners-up will be recognized during the reception at

the festival’s signature lodging site, Residence Inn by Marriott Fort Myers-Sanibel. The festival itself will

have evening events at the Residence Inn with daytime activities on the Sanibel Causeway with activities

throughout Lee County. 

There is no entry fee. Submissions must be taken along a Lee County, Fla., waterway and include a

photographer’s name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and title and location. One entry is

permitted per photographer per category; amateur photographers only, please. A model release form is

available and necessary if a person in a submitted photo is identifiable. Visit

www.calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com, click on “activities” and then “photo contest” to upload pictures and complete an entry form. Deadline is Oct. 5.

Winners will be selected by a panel of judges, including Cape Coral-based award-winning journalist Rod

Clarke; Josh Manring, a noted Naples-based world traveler with five published photographic books; and,

Fort Myers native Mark Renz, an avid expedition explorer, photographer and author. 

The Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail is 190 miles long and is marked by easily identifiable trail signs. The

trail also is mapped out with Global Positioning System coordinates. Order free maps online at

www.calusablueway.com. The Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival has been selected as one of the

Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events for 2012. Dates are Nov. 1-4. Details are at

www.calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com. 

Call (239) 533-7474 with questions or e-mail bclayton@leegov.com.