You and me on Longboat Key

Shell muralists make Facebook group to rebuild mural and organize other events.

By Petra Rivera
| 10:57 a.m. September 5, 2023

Longboat Key
Neighbors

Remember your favorite beach muralists, Leighton Allenby and Michele De Luce? Well, they plan to be more than a one-hit wonder.

Because of Hurricane Idalia, the "I love LBK" shell mural they made on the public beach access near Bay Isles Road washed away.

The mural was made from more than 500 pounds of seashells collected on their morning beach walks. It took them about a month to make. They even started working on a new shell mural in the shape of a mermaid.

Now that they have to start fresh, Allenby and De Luce are looking to form a community of people to share their love for morning beach walks and shell murals.

The couple have a created a Facebook page called "You and Me on Longboat Key." On this page, they share about opportunities to help with beach murals, information about the Longboat Key beach and local restaurants and joining them on their beach walks and future beach cleanups.

So if you are looking to become a beach mural artist or just make some new friends on the Key, make sure to follow "You and me on Longboat Key" on Facebook.

author

Petra Rivera

Petra Rivera is the Longboat community reporter. She holds a bachelor’s degree of journalism with an emphasis on reporting and writing from the University of Missouri. Previously, she was a food and drink writer for Vox magazine as well as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian.