Fort Myers Beach Lions Club doubles up on shrimp festival
About twice as much shrimp was eaten at this weekend’s Fort Myers Beach Lions Club Shrimp Festival as last year’s, Fort Myers Beach Lion’s Club President Drew Yelle said.
Yelle said approximately 800 pounds was reserved of “pink gold” shrimp from local shrimpers Erickson & Jensen and most of it was sold Saturday and Sunday by the Fort Myers Beach Lions Club. The shrimp was sold in half-pound containers for $20 to festivalgoers.
“We’re better than last year,” Yelle said of this year’s shrimp festival. “It was a little bit of magic. A lot of foot traffic today even on a Sunday.”
The shrimp festival parade brought out local nonprofits, along with floats featuring large decorations and parade participants dressed in various shrimp costumes. A dancing group spinned to the song “Under the Sea” from the Disney movie “The Little Mermaid,” Corvettes carrying the Shrimp Festival princess blared out Huey Lewis and the News, and the powerful brass horn and percussion of the Dunbar High School Marching Band brought new sounds and rhythms to the parade.
“The parade was amazing. We had really good participation, a lot of fun,” Yelle said. “The weather has been perfect so it really worked out great.”
Yelle was impressed with the attendance at the shrimp-eating championship. Yelle said there was a new addition in selling shrimp festival beads this year, which was a big seller. “This was a big hit for event,” he said. Yelle said addition of a beer tent this year boosted profits for organizers. Organizers also sold foam hats, festival shirts and tote bags.
Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay was parade marshal this year. This was his first time participating in the parade since being hired as town manager last year.
“The highlight for me was seeing the entire community; residents, visitors, organizations, and volunteers, come together to celebrate an event that means so much to Fort Myers Beach,” McKannay said. “Experiencing it for the first time really showed me how important these traditions are to the island’s identity, and being Parade Marshal was truly an honor. Overall, it was a great experience, and I appreciated seeing it up close and supporting the team that makes it happen.”
The shrimp festival brought out a new Fort Myers Beach Lions Club Shrimp Festival Queen in Florida Gulf Coast University senior Lakyn Tilley. Tilley, who was sponsored by La Ola Surfside Restaurant, spoke about the importance of education during her pageant speech at Bayside Veterans Park.
Tilley, 18, earned her associate’s degree from Florida SouthWestern State College when she was 16. She is pursuing a degree in biology and communications with a minor in psychology. The Fort Myers student also works in marketing and has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, Community Cooperative, the Cape Coral Animal Shelter, and Make-A-Wish Southern Florida.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Tilley said after she was crowned the new queen of the pageant. This was her second year competing in the pageant. She met Gracie Stam, last year’s queen, before last year’s pageant. Fittingly, Stam did the honors of crowning Tilley as the new queen at this weekend’s pageant after a vote by the pageant committee of the Fort Myers Beach Lions Club.
For Tilley, her victory as this year’s pageant queen is all the more remarkable as it wasn’t that long ago she was working to overcome a back condition.
A medical procedure to treat her back a few years ago led her to online school, which sped up her education process and allowed her to graduate high school early.
Tilley said she is planning a career in communications and has been doing some communications work while she works on her studies.
Tilley said she chose education as her topic to speak on because of “how crucial education is.” Tilley said she is “proud of what I have achieved” educationally. Tilley said she has worked with students in education settings and expressed concern that not everyone can afford to further their education.
A week before the pageant, Tilley assisted the Fort Myers Beach Lions Club in the Kid Shrimp Run.
On Saturday, the Fort Myers Beach Lions Club Shrimp Festival got off to a speedy start with the Yo! Taco Shrimp Run 5K. The event drew 400 runners and was won by Jose Farnot, a 34-old who works as an assistant with the Estero High School cross-country and track teams. It was his second win in the 5K Shrimp Run. He previously won the race in 2022.
To win on Saturday, Farnot had to finish in front of Estero High School cross country and track coach Jessie Littlefield. Farnot ran the course in 17:39.03, or about seven seconds faster than Littlefield’s time of 17:46.86. The two have been competing in track since they were in high school, with Littlefield one year younger.
“It’s a great feeling,” Farnot said. “It’s amazing. I love the energy the crowd gives you for more than half the race.”
A Cuba native, the shrimp run was the first 5K Farnot ever ran when he was in eighth grade going to Estero High School with Littlefield. Back then, Farnot and his Estero classmates would train over the Matanzas Pass Bridge, a tradition that still continues for the school’s cross country team.
“The bridge is a little challenging but we come out here most Saturdays,” Farnot said of the running the Estero boys cross country team still does over Fort Myers Beach.
“I am staying in shape because of the high school kids,” Farnot said. He has been assisting the boys and cross-country boys teams for the last four years.
Littlefield, who has been coaching at Estero the last five years, said this was his first time running the shrimp run 5K despite having trained over the bridge many times.
“Comin back (down the bridge) was like old memories,” Littlefield said. “This crowd was awesome. The whole way people are cheering you on.”
Asked what makes him want to continue running and doing marathon races, Farnot credited his late Estero track coach Jeff Sommer, who he said told his runners “you’ve got to put your body consistently through something throughout life to have a better span of life, to enjoy life more.”
Littlefield described his love of running as “discipline, desire, dedication.”
On the woman’s side, the top finisher was Nikki Harris, of Colorado. Harris, 31, checked in 11th overall with a time of 20:03.36.
“We’ve been coming down to Fort Myers since I was born so it’s really fun to be able to come here and run,” Harris said. Harris brought her sons Colton and Trace to Fort Myers Beach this past weekend, where she was staying and visiting with her mom Karen. “We get to relax. We’ve got the pool and the beach right out the door,” she said.
Harris runs a cross-fit gym in Colorado. “It’s hot today. It’s snowing in Colorado,” Harris said. “I feel like I am flying.”
Top finishers in Shrimp Run 5K
1. Jose Farnot, 34, Lehigh Acres, FL 17:37.50
2. Jesse Littlefield, 33, Fort Myers, FL 17:46.86
3. Nathan Knause, 23, Pittsburgh, PA, 18:00.97
4. Connor Bresnahan, 30, Warsaw, IN, 18:37.75
5. Brayden McGuire, 24, Cape Coral, FL, 18:39.25
Top female finisher:
11. Nikki Harris, 31, Colorado Springs, CO, 20:03.26
Top Fort Myers Beach finishers:
34. Louis Monaco, 61, Fort Myers Beach, FL, 23:08.56
35. Chip Bunting, 36, Fort Myers Beach, FL, 23:13.45
46. Rick Loughrey, 59, Fort Myers Beach, FL, 23:50.93
57. Dan Head, 62, Fort Myers Beach, FL, 24:33.59
94. Amy Loughrey, 59, Fort Myers Beach, FL, 26:58.50
Shrimp Eating Contest
In the shrimp-eating contest on Sunday at Bayside Veterans Park, Daniel Gover bested the competition by chowing down 3.2 pounds of shrimp in eight minutes.
Gover, who works in the culinary field and has competed in eating competitions before, is originally from Missouri.
He currently resides in Naples. “Some tough competition,” Gover said. “It was close. That was a lot of fun. Devoured some shrimp and won a trophy.
Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com