POPEYEPALOOZA IX Ninth annual event to raise funds for Beach youth sports
Popeyepalooza is back by popular demand. Every year, long-time Fort Myers Beach resident Mike “Popeye” Dearden, in cooperation with local hot spot The Beach Pub, hosts a day full of fun, fundraising for the Beach Soccer Club and Little League. Be a part of the camaraderie and mark your calendars for Sunday, April 29, starting at noon and running until the famous Beach “whenever.”
“It’s our ninth annual benefit for youth sports on Fort Myers Beach,” said Dearden, director of Popeyepalooza IX. “We’re hoping to top last year’s record total of $6,800 plus. Our eight-year running total is $25,951, and we’re just getting started!”
As in years past, you can expect the festivities to include Dearden’s memorable beach barbecue. For $10 a plate, you will enjoy Capt. Morgan barbecued chicken and ribs, beans, pasta salad, chips, and bread. Everyone knows how tasty Dearden’s World Famous Captain Morgan Smoked Ribs and Chicken are because he prepares all the meat, and is a professional chef and smoke-master.
“There will be live entertainment from noon to 7 p.m., featuring island favorites Smack Daddy, DVS, Tommy & Sean, and 10,000 Views.
“We give away thousands of dollars in prizes and goods and services in our raffles, silent auctions, and live auctions, including several local hotel and resort stays,” Dearden said. “This year being our ninth anniversary, many of our annual contributors are amping up their donations.”
You will have a chance to win the grand prize raffle which is a three-day/two-night stay at Diamondhead Resort worth $800. There are also 50/50 raffles going on all day and the ever popular Popeyepalooza hats and T-shirts will be available and so much more.
“We’re introducing our first-ever Popeyepalooza Bazaar Sunday morning,” Dearden said. “I am calling on any artists and craftspeople who would like to participate.”
Each table fee is $50 and the tables are located at the bazaar in the Sea Gypsy Inn courtyard.
Popeyepalooza began nearly a decade ago at Dearden’s Memorial Day BBQ that he was throwing for his friends.
“One year I had 75 people attend, and I turned to (my) good friend Jim DiMilia, at the time president and a coach for the Fort Myers Beach Soccer Club, and said, ‘This is nuts. If I’m going to get this many people together for a party, we’ll have to raise money for something,'” Dearden said. “So Jim suggested his kids’ league.”
That started it all for the next year. They planned for the first-ever fund raiser. Word got around the island and Dearden’s friends contacted DJ’s to announce the upcoming inaugural Memorial Day Popeyepalooza BBQ, so Dearden got the nickname Popeye, and they had their event and an event name.
“I held that first Popeyepalooza at my home back then, and with 150 people attending thought, ‘I’m gonna need a bigger boat,'” Dearden said. “The next three years we enjoyed a wonderful partnership with the Mermaid Club and Valerie’s Lounge.”
But, there was still something missing, Dearden had always envisioned a “Beach Party” event. He found just the perfect place at The Beach Pub and have been holding it there for the last five years.
Not just a day filled with Fort Myers Beach memories, it’s also a day for a great cause. The first year they raised $1,100 for the soccer league. After Popeyepalooza IV, then club president Rick Loughrey requested they split the earnings, adding the Beach’s Little League organization. Heeding the call, they ramped up the event and gave each league $1,600 in 2014. Each year topped the last, with a record-shattering $6,841 at last year’s Popeyepalooza VIII.
If you would like to help with the fundraising financially, make your check out to the Florida Helps Foundation then mail it to P.O. Box 6437, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33932. Be sure to identify it for Popeyepalooza IX.
“Come on over and check out our new Popeyepalooza Bazaar Sunday morning,” Dearden said. “This year’s Popeyepalooza promises to be the biggest one we’ve ever had. Hope to see you there, because there is no greater cause than our children.”
For more information, call Dearden at 239-645-2402.
The Beach Pub is at 1668 I St. (behind Hooters). The Sea Gypsy Inn is at 1698 Estero Blvd.