St. Andrew School Carnival continues
A festival that began in 1992 in Cape Coral added a few new items this year to keep the families coming back for more.
The 2019 festival opened Thursday and continues through Sunday at St. Andrew Catholic School, 2628 Del Prado Blvd. The hours are from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday; noon to 11 p.m., Saturday; and noon to 10 p.m., Sunday.
Admission is free, and ticket prices vary for food, rides, games and raffles.
“This year we expect to hit 20,000 to 25,000 people. We have brought in the same folks that run the Lee County Fair,” festival chair Tony Zapata said. “This is my first year as the chairman of the festival. Last year I was the director of security. We started the process about a year ago. We kind of had this idea in mind where we need to bring this back to our festival that we put on for the benefit of the children of the St. Andrew School.”
The process involved talking to the parents and asking them what they would like to see this year. First was bringing back the giant ferris wheel, while another was providing entertainment for both the children and adults.
The festival also features a number of high thrill rides, rides geared towards first to sixth grade students and rides for toddlers.
A number of food vendors will also take part, including Sweet Cheesus, a food truck specializing in Raclette, a cheese melted on various menu items.
“Having them here alone is outstanding. They scrape gouda on everything,” he said.
Zapata said St. Andrew is also having its own signature dish booth, run by volunteers. A “hard core Italian” woman from Long Island brought all those New York-style spices to Southwest Florida. The volunteers will serve a bacon cheeseburger, as well as a signature hot dog – a bacon, chili cheese dog.
“When you go, bring your sweat pants, you’re going to gain 10 pounds,” Zapata said.
The festival has live entertainment, something they decided to bring back after a decade, with a headliner each day. Sarah Hadeka will perform tonight, Jory Lyle will take the stage Saturday night and Bethany Brant will perform Sunday night.
There also will be a talent show and a Miss Cape Coral Pageant.
“We have a great, fun, family, wholesome, event and we want everyone to come,” he said. “Be prepared to have fun. This is a safe, fun, family environment.”
He said since they brought live entertainment back to the festival, they added security to give the children an opportunity to have fun on the rides, while their parents listened to music and enjoyed some food.
“The security staff has gone through training,” Zapata said.
One hundred percent of the proceeds goes directly back to St. Andrew Catholic School and the students. Zapata said the money is distributed in various forms of education.
“It just depends on where they need it,” he said.
For more information about the festival and tickets, visit www.saf19.com.