Arts Theater and Music on Sanibel Island

There are, of course, all of the usual things that you would expect on Sanibel Island to provide a dream tropical vacation experience....sandy beaches, excellent hotels and dining facilities and a whole array of outdoor activities from bird watching to scuba diving and from boating and fishing to shell collecting and exotic animal viewing. There are all of the expected tours and, of course, night life...lots and lots of night life. All of those things are things that you would expect to find in a tropical island resort but there is more on Sanibel Island....there is also great entertainment!

One of the premier companies on Sanibel Island that provides cultural events and wonderful entertainment for both residents as well as visitors to Sanibel Island and to Captiva Island is Big Arts. The Big Arts mission statement states that mission like this: “The mission of Big Arts is to provide cultural programs of high quality to the residents and visitors of Sanibel and Captiva.”

Big Arts started when a group of artists envisioned a cultural center on the island. Because of the vision today Big Arts members and participants enjoy a wide array of performing and visual arts events and the residents and visitors participate in more than 160 educational classes and workshops each and every year.

Visiting the Big Arts Campus can be the highlight of a vacation on Sanibel Island. Phillips Gallery opened in 1990. It was to be used as an art gallery, concert hall, and classroom. The West Wing and Sculpture Garden weren’t added until 1997. It was designed by Big Arts member, Irwin Stein. The West Wing includes Schein Hall. Schein Hall boasts a 414 seat concert hall with classrooms and studios for art, music, dance and education.

If your Sanibel Island vacation should be in the month of March you are in for a real cultural treat! That is when the Sanibel Music Festival happens. The Sanibel Music Festival draws world-renowned performing artists to the island during the month of March. You will be able to listen to string quartets, the world’s finest pianists, and operettas every week. The idea of the Sanibel Music Festival is to provide the highest standard of classical music to the residents and visitors of Sanibel Island as well as to promote the careers of emerging classical music performers by giving them an opportunity to perform and gain valuable experience. It is what is called a win/win situation.

The Schoolhouse Theater is open year round so no matter what time of the year your Sanibel vacation is scheduled you can enjoy some of finest entertainment available anywhere. Schoolhouse performers and guest performers stage musical reviews and wonderful plays. The plays are made up of many favorites and often contain some very surprising twists that might make you cheer or cry but that will most certainly entertain you.  

There are all of the usual and expected tropical island vacation activities available on Sanibel Island and there are also some unique and unexpected cultural opportunities as well.