The 13th annual “Ding” Darling & Doc Ford’s Tarpon Tournament, a fundraiser for the Refuge, is Friday, May 9th. Pre-registration is now open for the annual all-day event, which raised $125,000 and awarded over $62,000 in cash prizes in 2024.

Show your support for La Ola and the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce by attending the next Chamber membership luncheon at La Ola at Bell Tower this Thursday at 11:30AM. Members pay $30, non-members $40. REGISTER

National Margarita Day is Saturday, Feb. 22nd and Margaritaville Beach Resort on Fort Myers Beach is planning a party. On that day, resort guests will have access to an exclusive Margarita Passport.

Dixie Fish Company recently celebrated 10 years of business. The milestone represents the beginning of the current restaurant on Fort Myers Beach, while honoring over 85 years of history as a destination for the freshest seafood in Southwest Florida. 

The next ‘Ding’ Darling lecture will explore Florida’s invasives invasion. From Burmese pythons to fire ants, Brazilian pepper to lionfish, Sanibel author Charles Sobczak covers them all during his The Great Florida Invasion – From Pepper to Pythons” PowerPoints, part of the “Ding” Darling Lecture Series.

The Fort Myers Beach Art Association is hosting an Open House on Tuesday, February 18th from 10AM to 2PM at the Fort Myers United Church on College Parkway. The event is called Artful Escape.

Fort Myers resident Marli Debonis provided Veterans at American Legion 1097 on Pine Ridge with gift packages. Marli chose to honor American Veterans as part of her school project. The gift packages included candy, cookies, and brownies.

After being unable to make a recommendation to the Town Council last month because of an even number of members in attendance, the Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency will vote again Tuesday on a Food Truck Merchant Plaza at 2500 and 2510 Estero Boulevard.

It’s unclear what will help or hurt with the bottleneck traffic mess at the base of the bridge, which really kicked into high gear when the state started construction in front of Crescent Park and shut down the straight shot off the island on Estero Boulevard.

In January, the Fort Myers Beach Town Council gave owners of The Pink Shell the first of 2 yes votes needed to build a new 6-story 40-room boutique hotel across from the big resort. On Monday, they received the second yes vote needed to move forward. 

On Monday, the Fort Myers Beach Town Council extended Suzie Bahan’s permit to operate a food truck and serve alcohol at 163 Old San Carlos Blvd. That permit comes up for review every 6 months.

Last week the Fort Myers Beach Art Association raised $12,737 during an auction fundraising event at Clive Daniel in Fort Myers. The Art Association lost their building on the beach during Hurricane Ian and they are raising funds for a new building.