2008 mid-winter naturist gathering another success
Sunsport Gardens has been host to the mid-winter naturist gathering for 20 years. It’s a chance for naturists to escape from the ravages of northern winters and spend a few days basking in the warm Florida sun.
Here’s a story about it from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Barely a dull moment at resort
Annual event has naturists from all over
By Stephanie Horvath
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 18, 2008
Loxahatchee Groves
It’s like any other
It’s just clothing-optional.
The 20th Annual Mid-Winter Naturist Festival runs through Tuesday at the Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort in Loxahatchee Groves. The event started Thursday. Pulling hundreds of people from around the United States and Canada, the festival includes workshops on everything from aromatherapy to flute playing to naturist issues.
It also gives naturists, the term most nudists prefer, a chance to spend time with people who share their passion for going bare and its accompanying feeling of freedom. It’s something they can’t always explain to the other people in their lives, who might get a little squeamish at the idea.
“It’s awesome. I don’t often get to naturist resorts because I’m out in the boonies,” said Karen Golec, who traveled to the festival from Pickle
Frank Frey and his wife, now retired, have been naturists since they went to Europe 35 years ago and discovered the nude beaches. Frey said the Pensacola couple eventually told their children about their hobby, as well as a few other “select people, who we thought would be reasonable.”
Morley Schloss, Sunsport’s owner, said nude recreation has lost some of its stigma in the 20 years since the Mid-Winter Naturist Festival started. “Times have changed. People aren’t hiding it from their friends. They’re inviting them along,” he said.
Claudia Kellersch said she has noticed a shift since she moved to the United States from Germany 22 years ago. She now sees families and children going to naturist resorts more often.
“It’s just so child-friendly. There are children’s activities, and it’s very safe for him,” she said, standing naked and holding an umbrella over her 17-month-old son Alexander, who was wrapped in a sling across her chest. “Children are natural nudists. It’s hard to force clothes on them.”
Sunsport prides itself on its family-friendly environment, Schloss said. Many of the festival’s activities, including tie-dying and face painting, were geared toward kids. The Nude Poets Society met next to the lake, where a trouserless Ed Thibault led a reading while wearing a red hat with a plume. . Most of the members shared poems that had nothing to do with nudity: a prayer, haikus, a reworking of the lyrics to The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera.
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
