The 18th Annual Marjory Stoneman Douglas Festival celebrates the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the 75th anniversary of the founding of Everglades National Park.

Co-chairs Theodora Long, Founder and Executive Director of The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center and Everglades evangelist Historian Cesar Alejandro Becerra have organized and designed a series of 8 events over the span of an entire week celebrating the 18th annual Marjory Stoneman Douglas Festival originally hosted for years at The Museum of the Everglades in Everglades City.

Click here to view all 8 events.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas canoeing with a Miccosukee Indian at the Miccosukee Cultural Center in the Everglades. Photo Florida Memory.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ 1947 bestseller, The Everglades: River of Grass, raised America’s consciousness and transformed the Florida Everglades from an area that was looked upon as a useless swamp-to be drained and developed commercially-to a national park that is seen as a valuable environmental resource to be protected and preserved. After this successful campaign to preserve the Everglades as a national park, Stoneman Douglas continued her work by founding the Friends of the Everglades, a conservation organization still active today.

“She was a true rebel in the sense that she for years loved South Florida, she wrote about South Florida quite a bit beginning as a cub reporter for her Father Frank Stoneman then publisher of The Miami Herald. “Her research challenged Harvey Allen’s River of America Series notion of what made a river” said historian Becerra who for years have championed behind the scenes stories particularly of The Everglades and brought them to the attention of the public. “She initially was asked to look into a book about the Miami River but sensing a bigger story and a much bigger river asked scientists for months if the Everglades themselves could be categorized as a river itself.” Her hunch was right!

Marjory Stoneman Douglas dedicated her life to preserving and restoring the Everglades. She lived long enough and witnessed great successes. In 1993, President Clinton awarded Ms. Stoneman Douglas with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “Long before there was an Earth Day, Marjory Stoneman Douglas was a passionate steward of our nation’s natural resources, and particularly her Florida Everglades.”

  • Monday, December 5, 2022 Marjory Stoneman Douglas Legacy Luncheon Guest Speaker: Jack Davis 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Tuesday, December 6, 2022 Toasting 75 Years with Marjory’s Manhattan’s Key Biscayne Yacht Club 5:30 – 7 p.m.
  • Wednesday, December 7, 2022 Rejoicing with Nature A walk in the Woods & Picnic Lunch – Plus a Sing-a-Long “There is only one Everglades”
  • Thursday, December 8, 2022 Listening and Moving Marjory; an audio and video moving film archives presentation on Marjory Stoneman Douglas from the archives of Florida International University hosted by Rene Ramos.
  • Friday, December 9, 2022 Cesar Becerra, Historian “The Park before the Park”
  • Saturday, December 10, 2022 Four Guest Speakers (Each 30 minutes + 15 Q & A)
  • Saturday, 10 am. Captain Franklin Adams
  • Saturday, 11 am Sofia Valiente, Photographer
  • Saturday, 12 Noon Diliana Alexander, Executive Director, FilmGate.
  • Saturday, 1pm Tony Pernas. Runaway Train; The Battle for the Jet Port and the formation of Big Cypress National Preserve.
  • Saturday, 3 pm – 4:30 p.m. Afternoon Tea with Marjory Sunday, December, 11th Sunset on the Bay – Two Hour Boat Ride. Historian Cesar A. Becerra will lead a boat tour out along Key Biscayne and along the coast of Coconut Grove and regale us with the forces and pioneers that were early environmentalist who would later fight to create Everglades National Park. Boat leaves from Crandon Park Marina 5 – 7 p.m. Refreshments Parking $7. 305-361-6767 x 2119 to purchase tickets $75.00

Click here to view more info and pricing on all events.