‘Ding’ Darling Extends Hours for Holiday Shopping Night

provided to Santiva Chronicle

Free refreshments, extended hours, and complimentary gift wrapping: Mark your calendar for Tuesday, Dec. 3, the date of the Refuge Nature Store’s sixth annual Holiday Shopping Night in the “Ding” Darling Visitor & Education Center. The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge will keep the store open two extra hours after the center closes, from 5 to 7 p.m.

The date also marks the nationally promoted Giving Tuesday, and the store will set up a Giving Tree that allows donors to easily contribute to education, land acquisition, and research projects at the refuge in the name of a loved one for holiday gifting.

This year’s shopping night is part of the refuge’s 75th anniversary celebration, and the Nature Store will debut the 2020 Luc Century ornament, which features the iconic anniversary bird, a roseate spoonbill. The limited-edition ornament officially goes on sale that evening.
The Refuge Nature Store has stocked other special holiday items for the event, and it will have gift consultants ready with suggestions and free gift-wrapping with recycled paper. Shoppers who spend more than $20 receive a free gift; total purchases over $150 qualify for a special gold holiday Corkscicle. Quantities are limited.

“All profits from Nature Store purchases go directly to benefiting wildlife and conservation,” said Nature Store manager Ann-Marie Wildman. “This has been a fun way to get everyone into the holiday spirit with an altruistic twist.”

The Refuge Nature Store carries a complete line of birding and nature books for adults and kids, wildlife toys and games, local artisan wares, wildlife holiday ornaments, gifts made from recycled materials, nature-themed jewelry and home décor, logo T-shirts and hats, and a wide variety of stocking stuffers and other gifts for men, women, and children.

For more information on the Holiday Shopping Night, call 239-472-1100 ext. 241. To learn more about 75th anniversary events, visit ding75.org. To order gifts online, visit ShopDingDarling.com.