CORTEZ – The 2022 Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival is this Saturday and Sunday, and thanks to the hard work of some local high school students, throwing away trash will be a bit more fun. Each year the festival paints 60 cardboard trash vats, and students from Bayshore High School’s Key Club and art students from Manatee High School were more than willing to jump in and lend a hand.
Visitors to the festival may notice the colorful trash boxes throughout the festival grounds, and thanks to the leadership of Kris Martinez, who not only works on the festival committee but heads up this project every year, this year will as eye-catching as ever. Thirty of the trash vats were sent to Manatee High School to be painted by art students, and 30 were painted at the fire station in Cortez on Feb. 5. The Key Club promotes leadership by serving others, and the hard work dedicated to getting this job done certainly qualifies.
The trash vats won’t be the only works of art at this year’s festival. There’ll be arts and crafts, great food, drinks, live music, educational activities and much more. Admission is $5 and no advance tickets are necessary. Enter at the Florida Maritime Museum located at 4415 119th St. W.
