The Islander was originally founded as a quarterly newsletter in 1960 —
a half century ago. Volume 1, No. 1 still looked like one,
but with a banner and some artwork of clouds, a pelican and a blowing
palm tree, with the lighthouse perched on the shoreline in the background.
It described itself in the banner as "Devoted to the interest of Sanibel
and Captiva islands...finest shelling beaches in the Western Hemisphere."
Originally located at 2407 Periwinkle in the Kohlbrunner's old house,
the Islander moved to the Sanibel Promenade across from the Post Office
in March of 1996, when it joined forces with the Sanibel-Captiva Shopper's
Guide and its production staff.
Today, the Islander turns its focus more toward the arts and entertainment
as well as general local news. It provides in-depth reviews of local and
regional theater, art shows, and other events of community interest. In the process,
it provides profiles of visiting and resident artists and their work. Here, too,
is a calendar of island events — one that offers greater details on some of the events and their participants.
The newspaper is distributed free to every household and post office box,
and is also available at a number of news boxes around the islands.