Mote Marine’s 8th Ocean Fest is this Saturday, April 14, at the new Truman Waterfront, and it should be pretty darn cool. The festival is a full day of events from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bring the kids for fishing clinic, games, rides and painting with famed artist Wyland. There will be face painting, a bounce house and climbing adventures. Adults enjoy the many food options, as well as live music from Emily Springsteen and Howard Livingston, and the best items being raffled. Enjoy the Islamorada Beer Company or try Pilar’s Rum. There will be tons of vendors on hand with original products and local artisan crafts for sale.

Mote Marine puts our oceans’ preservation first and this is a chance to connect and learn more about protecting our nearshore waters. There will be a variety of exhibitors on hand so audiences of all ages can understand the many organizations that help preserve both the wildlife and landscape of the Florida Keys.

Enjoy the beauty of the water while helping to conserve our resources, where else but on the water at the new Truman Waterfront.

Hays Blinckmann is an oil painter, author of the novel “In The Salt,” lover of all things German including husband, children and Bundesliga. She spends her free time developing a font for sarcasm, testing foreign wines and failing miserably at home cooking.