Scenes from the Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival
Fort Myers Beach Lions Club Shrimp Festival Parade, 2024. Photo by Nathan Mayberg
The Fort Myers Beach Lion’s Club wasn’t going to hold its shrimp festival this year as its members still recover from Hurricane Ian, but after skipping one last year and twice due to covid, the organization felt from the community a need and desire for the festival to return.
“It’s a big deal to come back this year,” said Tracey Gore, who organized the festival’s Queen Pageant.
By any estimation, the festival appeared to be a smashing success drawing throngs of visitors to the town to line up Estero Boulevard for a parade of floats and costumed marchers, to more than a dozen restaurants offering up special dishes of pink gold Gulf shrimp caught by the local shrimp fleet, a queen pageant and a record-breaking shrimp-eating contest.
Andy Lapham, of Minnesota, tore apart the old record for the shrimp-eating championship by consuming three and a half pounds of shrimp in eight minutes.
“Satisfying,” said Lapham. The 30-year old snowbird was sponsored by Wahoo Willie’s. This was his first shrimp-eating contest.
“One bite at a time. Perseverance,” he said about his conquest. Lapham said he wasn’t a big shrimp eater. “If I don’t eat them for a month, it’s OK.”
While Lapham became the new shrimp festival king. The festival also saw a new queen crowned at Bayside Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Emma Stam, who was runner-up in the 2022 Fort Myers Beach Lion’s Club Shrimp Festival Queen Pageant, took the top honors this year from a field of 10 princesses.
Stam, who also was named Miss Congeniality by her fellow princesses spoke about her work for her sponsor and her family’s business The Property Medic, which has worked on rebuilding the homes of those who lost everything in Hurricane Ian. “It’s so special,” she said of her job in the company’s office.
“I’m so grateful for this pageant,” Stam said. “I’m grateful to be a part of this community and for the Lion’s Club. I’m so grateful that Fort Myers Beach is building back better and stranger.” Stam also thanked “all of the princess and all the friends I have made.”
Gore said 100% of the money raised for the pageant through the people’s choice award voting and sponsorships, goes to the Lion’s Club for its charities, scholarships, guide dogs, child care and to Fort Myers Beach Elementary School.
“These girls were amazing,” Gore said. “I’ve known most of these girls and their families all their lives.” In addition to Sunday’s pageantry at Bayside Veteran’s Memorial Park, the princesses took part in the shrimp festival parade waving to the crowds from Corvette convertibles, answered questions from judges at a social at Bonita Bill’s Waterfront Café, and took part in the children’s fun run.
The People’s Choice Award went to Princess Amber Rainey, representing Semmer Electric. Princess Sophia Zeinner, sponsored by Storm Smart, was named runner-up and Miss Photogenic. Princess Gracie Stam, sponsored by Bonita Bill’s, was named second runner-up in the pageant.
Thousands of people hit the beach over the weekend. With scores of families pulling out beach chairs and umbrellas to enjoy the sun and a perfect breeze.
Eric Elmquist, a Fort Myers native who lives in Nashville, brought his family down to enjoy the beach. This was his first time back on Fort Myers Beach since Hurricane Ian.
“It’s looking real nice,” he said, while his children took to their waterbirds in the Gulf of Mexico.
Brian Smith, of Batiki West condos on Estero Boulevard, was part of a group enjoying the parade and feeling thankful their building was still standing.
“It’s a miracle,” Smith said. Their building was “down to the studs” after Hurricane Ian damaged most of the 60 condos inside, he said. “We lost a lot of cars.”
Two houses down from where he stood during the parade this weekend, on Carolina Street, 85-year-old Lucinda Keller had drowned during Ian.
Smith looked across the street where he noted that many of the homes and businesses that once stood there before Hurricane Ian, were no longer there. Less than a handful of homes were still standing along the beachfront from Margaritaville to the DiamondHead Beach Resort. Businesses like Shucker’s and the Sea Gypsy Inn are gone.
Darby Doerzbacher, who helped organize the festival for the Fort Myers Beach Lion’s Club, said it was a smooth weekend and a success.
In a change from past practices due to work being done to repair Lynn Hall Memorial Park from Hurricane Ian damage, the traditional shrimp boil turned into a shrimp crawl in which 16 Fort Myers Beach restaurants put together shrimp specials with shrimp caught by the local shrimping fleet and supplied by Erickson & Jensen Seafood.
Doerzbacher said those who attended the restaurants to take part in the shrimp crawl that she spoke with “were happy with the fare and the venue. It was kind of like a shrimp treasure hunt. The numbers are not yet in, but we are keeping our fingers crossed that those who signed up to be part of our passport program will give generously back to the Fort Myers Beach Lions. We appreciate all the community has done to help us return.”
Peter Ennis, partner in Snug Harbor Waterfront Restaurant and Wahoo Willie’s, said “The support and energy was incredible. Fort Myers Beach residents and all locals were absolutely thrilled to have the Parade back. The town and chamber did a great job with the booths set up for vendors. It was a festive and fun time by all,” he said. “The music was great as it always is for the Sunday Bayside Park Concert Series.”
Run for fun
The festival’s 5K run opened up the weekend with 267 runners taking off from Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille up Matanzas Pass Bridge and back again.
The winner was Elijah Caret, 23, of Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Caret stopped the clock at 17:59. The top female finisher was Chloe Wiesner, 32, of Illinois. Wiesner finished the course in 21:20 and was ninth overall.
The top Fort Myers Beach finisher was 24-year-old Joseph Uecker, who was 12th overall. Uecker ran the course in 22:17.7. The top female finisher from the island was Kate Taylor, 15, who finished 13th and ran the course in a time of 22:17.9.
Other top Fort Myers Beach finishers included Luke Herrell, who was 17th overall. Nicholas Prisco finished 21st and Rick Loughrey was 28th.