Florida free beach roundup

Tampa Bay Free Beaches

Reminder: The Board of Directors of Tampa Bay Free Beaches (TBFB) holds an open meeting and potluck lunch on Saturday, November 2, 2019, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., in the Recreation Room of Paradise Lakes Condominium Association in Lutz, FL. For free admission to the meeting (only), you must register no later than noon on November 1.

As we have previously reported, TBFB enjoys the formal support of other Florida and national naturist organizations. You can also support TBFB's efforts by joining and/or donating to the club and "liking" its Facebook page at facebook.com/TampaBayFreeBeaches. Visit TBFB's to communicate with the Board and/or to sign up for the club's e-mail list.

Treasure Coast Naturists

Here are three reminders for Treasure Coast Naturists (TCN), the group that mentors clothing-optional Blind Creek Beach on Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce, FL.

TCN has a holiday party and after-beach potluck dinner on Saturday, November 9, 2019, starting at 6:00 p.m., in Jensen Beach, FL at a private home with a heated pool. This event is for TCN members only, but you may join at the party. Click or tap above for details, including downloading a membership form to complete in advance, if needed. Send e-mail to TCN to RSVP and to get the address or if you have any questions about the event.

TCN holds a nude bowling and billiards night in a location on Florida's Treasure Coast on Sunday, December 15, 2019, starting at 8 p.m. The cost is $20 for TCN members or $25 for non-members. Drinks and food are extra. Send e-mail to TCN to RSVP and to get the address or if you have any questions about the event.

TCN hosts its first clothing-optional audience live theater event on Saturday, February 1, 2020 at St. Lucie Community Theatre (SLCT) Pineapple Playhouse in Port St. Lucie, FL. Titled, The Bare Truth, this comedic play deals with a naturist theme, although the cast remains clothed. Audience members may be nude, but it's not required. A welcome party with refreshments starts at 1 p.m. and curtain time is 2 p.m. This event is a fundraiser for Treasure Coast Naturists, and reservations are available exclusively through TCN for $20 (TCN members) or $25 (non-members). Send e-mail to TCN to reserve your seat(s) or if you have any questions about the event.

Naked Yoga on the Sand, usually offered on Saturday mornings on Blind Creek Beach by Nelson, TCN's President, is canceled for the rest of the year, due to tides and weather. To be notified of its restarting in 2020 and other Blind Creek Beach news, subscribe to Beach Blast, TCN's free, weekly e-blast, and "like" its Facebook page at facebook.com/Treasure

CoastNaturists.

B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute | South Florida Free Beaches

B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute has arranged in partnership with South Florida Free Beaches a four-hour training in Fort Lauderdale by the Florida Association of Nonprofits, of which B.E.A.C.H.E.S. is a longtime member, on Friday, November 22, 2019. Part of an anticipated series, the training focuses on effective organization and development for boards of directors of clothing-optional beach advocacy groups. An online attendance option is available for those that can't be there in person. Get more info and register.

The holiday gift-giving season is approaching. If you shop for yourself and your loved ones on Amazon, consider doing so via AmazonSmile (same products, prices, and service as regular Amazon) via B.E.A.C.H.E.S.' special link at smile.amazon.com/ch/65-0963638. Amazon then donates ½% of your eligible purchase amount to B.E.A.C.H.E.S. at no cost to you!

Occasionally, AmazonSmile runs promotions in which it donates a higher percentage. You can multiply the impact by sharing the above link and explanation with your naturist friends. Whenever you shop on Amazon, please access it via the above link to help B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Thank you!

Central Florida Naturists

[Editor's notes: The following article is shared by permission of Central Florida Naturists (CFN) from the September 2019 issue of its newsletter. CFN is an all-volunteer association supporting nude use of Apollo and Playalinda Beaches at Canaveral National Seashore on Florida's Space Coast. To receive more articles like this one, subscribe to CFN's free, quarterly e-newsletter.]

Central Florida Naturists (CFN) keeps getting a trickle of questions such as, "When are you guys going to get organized?" and "When can we join?"

While we have addressed this in previous newsletters, for the newbies (and the forgetful), Central Florida Naturists was a strong and vibrant organization with hundreds of active members back in the mid-1990s, joining together in a battle with politicians and church leaders intent on eradicating public nudity from Florida. (See history.) At the end of the battle in 2000 (we won), the exhausted CFN leadership made a strategic decision to "disappear" to help the emotions on both sides fade away.

This photo of Playalinda Beach is courtesy of TripAdvisor.

Finally, in December of 2017, a small group of mostly original leadership assembled to test the waters for reigniting the Central Florida Naturists organization. We rebuilt the web site, opened a Twitter account (@CFNaturists), and projected reactivating in 2018. Well, here it is, the end of 2019, and it remains still only a dream.

Unfortunately, by then, leadership had dispersed too far from the beaches to expect active participation. More significantly, we had lost the "glue" of the fight that kept the organization active and vibrant. Today, nudity on our beaches continues largely without incident. Nudists and park rangers are at peace, many on a cordial, first-name basis.

We continue to plead for local leadership volunteers, but the overwhelming majority of our nude beach visitors are vacationers and curiosity-seekers from other states and other countries. Sure, we could create a bogus "membership" and, no doubt, many would "join" purely to provide encouragement, but that seems kind of empty.

We continue to plead for local-area individuals interested in, if nothing else, being a CFN presence on the Canaveral National Seashore (CANA) beaches. Does this sound like you? Please consider it and let us know! We solicit your active participation. If you have ideas on what you'd like to see us become, please e-mail us at info@cfnat.org.

Central Florida Naturists remains pledged to:

being a source of accurate and truthful information as it relates to naturism and CANA; exemplifying the true naturist lifestyle on our beaches, countering porn beach fantasies; representing non-sexual naturism to 65% of Americans who have never skinny-dipped; participating in public service with the National Park Service and Canaveral National Seashore; getting recreation back into naturist activities by getting people off their couches; tearing down the [barriers] that currently lock nudism inside high-walled, commercial communities; and encouraging the forming of friendships with other naturists.

If you haven't already done so, get your annual pass for $40 for unlimited entry to Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and visit often. U.S. citizens or permanent residents age 62 or over may purchase a Lifetime Senior Pass for $80 for unlimited entry to more than 2,000 recreational sites (including CANA's Apollo and Playalinda Beaches) managed by six federal agencies or purchase an Annual Senior Pass for $20, which, after four years, can be traded in for a lifetime pass.

Call for Beach Ambassadors

Do you spend a lot of time on Miami's nude beach? If so, consider giving back by volunteering as a Beach Ambassador (BA) to help maintain naturist standards on Haulover Beach and to keep it safely nude for all to enjoy.

BAs serve as beach monitors and greeters, a combination of block watch, welcome wagon, and concierge. For their service, BAs at Haulover Beach get a cool hat, ID badge, and free parking on their duty days. Seasonal residents are welcome to participate.

Ken Tauer, SFFB Vice President and Haulover Beach Ambassador Captain, is available to meet on Haulover Beach with anyone considering becoming a BA to describe what it's like and to answer any questions. Visit the Haulover Beach Ambassador page for information. If you're interested, contact Ken by

e-mail or at (594) 599-8420.

Treasure Coast Naturists is also recruiting Beach Ambassadors for Blind Creek Beach in Fort Pierce, FL. Visit the Blind Creek Beach Ambassador page for information. If you have any questions, send e-mail or call (772) 800-5841.