What an awesome way to celebrate at a local event and eat some great food. It was the 58th annual…read moreshrimp festival in Fort Myers Beach! The north end of the island gets really crowded with the celebrations. Saturday included a 5k run and the voting for the annual shrimp festival queen. We attended on Sunday, which was a bit more quiet and included a 1pm all you can eat shrimp contest. The main organization is done by the FMB Lyons club. There are abundant choices for food or shopping in the few block area of the festival. For us, the main event is eating the peel and eat Florida pink gulf shrimp! Yum! We try to attend every year, as it is a fun time and a great fundraiser for the community!

It was pretty great and I even enjoyed it considering I don't love seafood! I had some fried shrimp…read moreand some fries. There were tons of other varieties available and lots of other food options that I was certainly not brave enough to try. There were also plenty of vendors around selling food and trinkets they had available, and it was all along the beautiful beach. Definitely give it a try.

SKIP THIS PATHETIC EFFORT…read more This place was packed (almost exclusively with old people) which only explains how little there was to do this weekend. There was a limited variety of expensive, poor quality food. There weren't very many booths & they were laughably poor with a few exceptions. There was music, but for the short time we were there, it wasn't Irish. Sad. Our food? We had a corned beef meal consisting of two thin slices of corned beef, one slice of bread, some carrot nuggets, cabbage & three small potatoes for $8 and a corned beef sandwich on rye with nothing else for $6. So with 2 entry fees of $5, two small draft beers at $3, this miserable attempt at a meal cost $30. The numerous lines to accomplish anything & the level of competence puts one in mind of Soviet Russia. There was a line to pay for entry tickets. No problem. Then there was a line to enter. Again, no problem. Then there was a line for meal tickets and a SEPARATE line for beer tickets. Then there was a line to present your tickets for the corned beef meal and a SEPARATE line to present your tickets for for the corned beef sandwich. Also, a separate line for the beer, but that's to be expected, i guess. Get it together, you guys! This event is just not worth the effort & expense.

I liked the venue, music, the beer was cold and the people were friendly. We attended church and…read morestayed for lunch. The food was not what I expected. I have attended many Irish festivals, all had great food. They served a corned beef sandwich 3 small pieces of meat on a small hamburger bun for $9. Very Weak. Most festivals have a wide selection they at least feature a good Ruben on toasted marbled rye with 1000 island. If, and that's a big if, I return I would checkout the food trucks. I suggest they checkout how it is done right. http://www.irishfestlacrosse.org/ Dick

It's always fun seeing artists show their creations at Art Fest. Also,it's fun listening to live…read moremusic & enjoying the food while we're there.

Lots of talented people with expensive art work, but a girl can dream,can't she? If I had an…read moreunlimited bank account, there were several booths I would have supported- but most of them are way above my pay grade. But they are very talented and I respect that!

4 stars for a no holds barred food truck festival extraordinaire!…read more 40 gourmet food trucks from all over Florida set up shop at Top Rocker Field for a feast of yumminess. From latin american, to bbq, to fresh new engalnd lobster, and the ever popular gourmet burger...you would not be wanting for any type of cuisine. Free admission, so inside was jam-packed with insane lines at each truck. Clearly they were at and maybe beyond crowd capacity. Way too many people and it was so hot out. In fact, saw a few EMS situations going on. Yikes! So we decided to divide and conquer two lines since we knew we would be waiting forever at any one. Ended up waiting 45 minutes in line, but it wasn't for lack of effort of the staff. You could tell each food truck was working hard for their money. The wait was definitely a bit over the top, but thankfully the food was totally worth it! It was great that the food trucks accepted cash and credit. Most dishes were $10 or under for very hearty servings. You needed to buy drink tix for beers, but that was as expected to best monitor any under age drinking. Parking was a pain, as we had to park almost a mile away from the venue. Ughhh! So glad I wore my walking shoes! Luckily, we walked in without a wait, but by the time we left there was a line wrapping out into the parking lot. There was some fun live music playing and a cute little kids entertainment area (music therapy section, face painting, and the oh so popular bounce houses). While the food was unreal, it was just way too crowded! I would have given it a definite 5 had they managed the crowds better. Hopefully, they figure out a better plan for the next time.

There was supposed to be off-site parking, with shuttle bus service to the venue. However,…read moredirections to off-site parking weren't posted as we approached Six Bends. It seems the people directing vehicle traffic weren't really coordinated, allowing cars to enter full and dead end parking lots. Could even see the shuttle bus stuck in all this. Was about to leave with all the grid lock, but someone pulled out. As other people who posted have said, the food choices were good. My favorite was the gyro/souvlaki/kebab truck. I got here at 2PM and some of the food trucks were already sold out. This made the lines at the remaining trucks unbearably long. The organizers could also get in a little more diversity next year. We can get Cuban sandwiches and boiled hot dogs anytime we want in SWFL. How about bringing in a falafel or banh mi truck from Tampa/St. Pete ?

We came to Fort Rock having won a free tickets through Yelp. We had planned to see the headline…read morebands on both evenings rather than stay the entire day and we were very glad we did. Unless you purchased VIP tickets there was no shade for patrons. Additionally, no one was allowed to bring chairs so can you imagine standing 12 hours in 95 degree weather without shade---we saw plenty of evidence of red lobsters walking the grounds. Sure you could bring a blanket, but the grounds were covered in litter, empty plastic water bottles and aluminum beer bottles strewn about, despite garbage cans nearby and no staff to clean the grounds during the festivities. The festivities took place next to Jet Blue Park and the setup was pretty basic: many vending stations to buy water and beer (Bud Light, Bud, and Miller Light), a tent labeled MERCH around it where you could find t-shirts, food stands consisting of BBQ, chicken, and a few other offerings. We came in the evening after dinner. We found free parking, however, regular parking near the venue was $20 per day. I agree with other patrons that security was a little too restrictive. People should be able to bring their own light chairs. Of course this was a rock concert so when we were standing at the last show of the night only a few paces away when the Mosh Pitt erupted. I was reminded why I shouldn't hang out too close to the stage. I'm not sure what I expected but it was underwhelmed by this experience. It's hard to believe this whole thing would set folks back 360$ for the two days. Needless to say we won't be back.

Omg, what a night!! I was lucky enough to score a pair of tickets for both days from Yelp and I…read morecould not be happier or more thankful! One of my favorites bands growing up was Def Leppard and when I heard they were playing so close to home I had to see them! I have been putting this review off because I simply cannot find words to appropriately convey my feelings about it. I will start by saying that parking was a breeze, $20 but there was a lot of spots available when we got there. We got there in time to see the last three bands, Papa Roach, Chevelle and Def Leppard. There were two stages. Papa Roach and Deff Leppard preformed on the same stage, while Chevelle played on another. We initially wanted to see all three, but after Papa Roach, we decided to move up to the front of the stage to wait for the main show. People was pretty cool and orderly for such an event. You would think that all those head bangers and all that booze and weed would equal a bad combination, but everyone was pretty respectful for the most part. We got pretty close to the front and jammed to some of the best tunes of the 80's. Def Leppard was phenomenal! They still got it even after being around for 40 years. This was a very small fry venue for them, but even so, they put on an amazing show. Lights, sound and displays were full on. Best concert Ive seen. And I have been to some pretty big shows, but this one, even on a smaller stage took the cake. I was so sad when it was over. The whole experience overall was great. It was a lot more organized than I thought, in fact I was a little weary that I'd see fights, people getting sick all over. Not the case. Leaving also was very easy. I would do is again in a heartbeat. Fort Rock ROCKS!

We're in town, visiting for my wife's 30th birthday, and we found this festival! We jumped on it bc…read morewho doesn't love food and beer! Tickets were $30. I think that was fair as the beer samples are unlimited however, you have to pay for food (so don't think it's an all inclusive deal). The event was 12-8p which gives you plenty of time to drink, eat, and relax. There was music and beautiful views of the river. About halfway through, the breweries started to run out of beer. I don't think they were expecting such a great turn out and this event was double the time most of the tasting events usually are. This was their first annual so there will always be hiccups in the beginning. I had a good time and I'd most likely return for another.

The River District in downtown Fort Myers has an old southern town comfort feel. Kinda like a one…read morecop town with a heavy artsy historic influence. My visit to this area (on First Street) I came here with a buddy and went to the Ford's Garage restaurant which was a perfect addition to the district with it's 1920s theme. This River District is an easy walkable area with corporate businesses, arts & cultural and restaurants.

We love Fort Myers. It is where you go when you want to live a college lifestyle again. Great…read moremusic, friendly people, reasonable parking rates. Constant events especially by the waterfront.