Harrington House was honored to receive the 2013 Medium Business of the Year Award from the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce.  Our thanks go to out to the wonderful guests and staff who keep us going so we can contribute to our community.  Pictured are Frank, Mark and Jo Davis.

Anna Maria City just launched a new logo at the end of last month.  Unveiled by Mayor Fran Barford the new logo is a nice fresh design by Mike Thrasher.  You will start to see the new logo around town on city trucks and on various promotional items created by the city.

Anna Maria was first homesteaded by George Emerson Bean a traveller to the area from Connecticut.  Head over to the Rod and Reel Pier which is the location of his first home.  Later George Bean, his son, was one of the first land developers in the area and he along with his partner John Roser formed the Anna Maria Beach Company which was responsible for most of the development in the area.

For more history on the area go to the City of Anna Maria website. While staying at our beachfront bed and breakfast make sure to spend some time and visit the Anna Maria Island Historical Society Museum at located in the original ice house at 402 Pine Avenue  they are open: 10 AM to 1 PM Tuesday to Saturday to learn about the history of the City of Anna Maria.

Living by the coast in Florida has a lot of benefits but the one we love the best in the summer months are the turtles that come back to nest on the local beaches.

We share our beaches with nesting femals and their newborns from May onwards and The Bradenton Herald  reported that the first mother turtle quietly came ashore to check out the area looking for the best real estate to lay her eggs this year.

Sea turtles come back year after year to the same nesting area and when the babies are big enough to nest they find their way back to the same spot they were born, just amazing!

During the summer guest should be vigilent not to leave any trash on the beaches to entangle or block the young turtles as they head to the sea, watch out for turtles on the roads as you drive around the island as sometime they can stray off course. To learn more about turtles and to help participate in helping rescue trapped hatchlings or count egg shells, you can go to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch.

Read more on Island Real Estate:
Turtle Watch 
Turtle Hatchlings – 2009 

The Annual Anna Maria Island Wedding Festival kicks off on Saturday May 5th at 4pm with a grand Welcome Reception and over $10,000 in prizes.  The wedding festival is a fun informative festival and in past years has brought thousands of brides, their mothers, family’s and grooms to the island in search of the best Florida beach wedding.

The Wedding Festival gives you a chance to talk to hair and makeup artists, taste wedding food and wine, chat to entertainment organizers, watch fashion shows and visit with wedding photographers, florists and caterers.  Harrington House wedding specialist will be on hand so you can ask questions, visit our grounds and discuss your wedding plans.

Register for the event at the Anna Maria Chamber of Commerce website.

Wedding images by Jack Ella

Pumpkin Cranberry Praline Squares

1 cup melted butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 – 14 oz cans of Pumpkin
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with an electric mixer.

Optional ingredients to add: ½ cup toasted and crushed nuts and/or ½ cup fruit of any kind

Grease a 9 x 13 pan, add batter to pan and bake for 45 – 60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cool and top with Praline Sauce.

Praline Sauce

½ cup butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar
¾ cup maple sugar
¾ cup whipping cream
½ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ cup pecans, whole

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Add brown sugar and maple syrup.  When sugar has dissolved, add cream.  Stir in nuts.

Also delicious served with sliced bananas and a dash of cinnamon over French toast or Belgian waffles.

Chef Marc
November 2010

 Author: Robert Plunket & Su Byron and Photographer: J.B. McCourtney

[Read the following article on Anna Maria Island that came out in the October 2010 Sarasota Magazine.  And if you click the "Read More" link, you will see the complete article and Click Here  to see the "Rent the Dream" section that features Harrington House's very own Vista Grande luxurious beachfront condo!]

Florida has a short list of beach towns that are world-famous for their fantasy tropical lifestyle. Key West, for instance, symbolizes raffish hedonism. Palm Beach epitomizes the perfection and style that only great wealth can bring. Sarasota represents culture and sophistication co-existing quite nicely with golf and boating.

To get on this list is a rare honor, and to have a newcomer added at this late date is even more unusual. But the tiny town of Anna Maria—population 1,500—is increasingly being mentioned. Anna Maria started life as a modest resort and second-home kind of place for Midwesterners and Canadians. Not exactly the hippest situation. Now things have gone full circle. The town’s peace and quiet have been reconsidered. Suddenly, Anna Maria has been recast as one of the last perfect places in Florida.

Anna Maria’s emergence as the town of the moment has a lot to do with Florida’s economic recession. It’s taken a couple of years, but the fancy gated communities with the enormous Spanish Mediterranean houses are starting to seem dated. They represent a time that has ended—and ended painfully. They’re not what people aspire to anymore. Ostentatious is out. Simplicity is good. Family is crucial.

These are Anna Maria’s values. It has a strong emotional pull, a return to a simpler time and place. This is the town where you vacationed with your grandparents when you were a kid. Those who summered on the Jersey shore back in the 1950s and ’60s will feel right at home. So will those whose vacation was on the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan. Or the lakes of Wisconsin. All the rituals of summers past are still present—you can walk or bike anywhere, there are plenty of places to buy ice cream, and the long, sunny afternoons mean playing on the beach or fishing in the pond.  Read More of the Sarasota Article…

We have had a number of calls about whether we have seen any impact from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and are grateful to report:

• Currently, there is no local impact from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
• Our beaches and destination are open for business.
• We are in no imminent danger of being affected.

Here are a couple websites with additional information:

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/

http://www.flra.com/

http://www.manateechamber.com (on the home page there is a link for a live look at the beach on Anna Maria Island)

http://www.mymanatee.org/

We have modified our cancellation policy: You may request a full refund of all monies deposited if the oil reaches Anna Maria Island anytime prior to your arrival date.  Please come and visit us soon!

Also our sister company, Island Real Estate has a blog and recent update with video of the Anna Maria Island beaches:  go to http://blog.islandreal.com/anna-maria-island/june-6th-2010-anna-maria-island-oil-spill-update/

Anna Maria Island Players presents Catch Me if you Can.

Catch Me If You Can by Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert
March 18-April4, 2010

Over flowing with laughs, this whodunit is exciting from beginning to end.
(Comedy/Mystery)

The Island Players, Inc. is a non-profit community theatre housed in the historic Old Community House on Anna Maria Island at the corner of Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue.

Click here for Website

The front cover of the Anna Maria Island Chamber 2010 Guidebook and map features our very own Mark and Patti Davis.

The guide book is a must read for all island guests with information on shopping, island weddings, restaurants, events and cultural activities on the island.

Your can read the book online at Anna Maria Island Chamber 2010 Guidebook, or you can order it to be mailed by going to the Chamber website.

Harrington House Beachfront Bed & Breakfast was one of the proud sponsors of the 26th Annual “An Affaire to Remember” for  the Anna Maria Island Community Center (www.islandcommunitycenter.com ).  The annual event raises funds to provide quality youth programs.  This year’s special guest was Lee Greenwood (www.leegreenwood.com) , a long-time friend of the Davis family who is country recording artist and is best known for his song “God Bless the USA”.

Islander Article: June 2, 2010

Greenwood helps spur Center success

By Nick Walter
Islander Reporter

Trudy Moon, chair of the Affaire to Remember gala, said at a March 19 meeting at the Anna Maria Island Community Center that the addition of Lee Greenwood to the gala had people talking all the way down in Sarasota.

“I think there are no barriers for this event,” Moon said. “It first started 20 years ago, and we kept the event local, then we built it, and began to bring in Bradenton people, then more people from Longboat Key, and now this is the event to be at.”

She said the 352 people at the gala were particularly pleased with the addition of the country singer and Island property owner.

“That’s a lot of attention we probably wouldn’t have got without his name this year,” Moon said. “Greenwood was one of the kindest, most generous people.”

Moon said the board will consider asking Greenwood to return to next year’s April 2 gala if Greenwood’s schedule is open.

The April 24 gala netted $165,041 for the center. Coupled with $100,000 raised for the Lester Challenge, Center board member Bill Ford said the Center is financially strong heading into the summer.

“We have $285,000 in cash for operating funds going into the summer versus $115,000 last year,” Ford said. “So, this is the first time in three years that we can go into the summer feeling good from an operations standpoint. So, we’ll continue to operate full scale in doing what we do best, which is taking care of our kids.”

Ford said the Center is $10,000 above its budgeted revenues.

Of the Center’s $663,229 expenses this year, $346,596 has gone toward salaries.

The Center has $816,601 in revenues this year, $160,531 of which have come from donations.

The board also announced their summer camp will take place from June 14 to Aug. 18.

The camp will include creativity, Friday field trips, specialty classes such as comics, painting and story writing, and specialty camps such as swimming, basketball, soccer and tennis.