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Recent News
Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce Foundation Announces College Scholarship Opportunity
The Fort Myers Beach Chamber Foundation is now accepting college scholarship applications for the 2012-2013. Applications are available in person or click 2012-2013 scholarship application . Original applications along with a current picture and personal essay must be delivered to the chamber by 5:00 pm on May 31, 2012.
FORT MYERS BEACH CHAMBER TASTE OF THE BEACH DRAWS 2500 PEOPLE
Cloudy skies didn’t keep the crowds away from the Fort Myers Beach Chamber’s 17th Annual Taste of the Beach on April 29th at Bay Oaks Recreation Center. The event drew a crowd of over 2500 people for a fun-filled day full of great food, music and good natured competition. Cadillac Blue and Supernatural rocked the house and celebrity Chef Tim Creehan served up great food during his cooking demonstrations. The Skeleton Pirate made an appearance in the afternoon and “Way Too Tall Torri” spent the day making balloon creations and posing with groups for photos.
For the second year local businesses added another element to the annual event with a business expo giving not only the restaurants an opportunity to showcase what they have to offer but other local businesses as well. “I was thrilled with the quality and number of exhibitors for the event and the number of people from our community that came through the expo. The responses from businesses were positive and most declared that they would be back next year”, said Terry Luster, organizer of the event.
- Best Appetizer: JoJo’s on the Beach at the Pink Shell Resort – “Quick Fried” Key West Calamari
- Best Beef/Pork Entree: Charley’s Boat House Grill – Lean Baby Back Ribs with a hickory barbecue sauce
- Best Chicken Entree: Chuck’s Last Stop – 5 Pepper Chicken Pasta
- Best Fish Entree: Marias Old Florida Beach Bar and Grille – Salmon Duval
- Best Shellfish Entree: Nauti Turtle – Parmesan Shrimp
- Best Dessert: Gulfshore Grill – Banana Monkey Bread
There were also two people’s choice awards:
- People’s Choice: The Beached Whale
- Best Booth: Parrot Key Caribbean Grill
We also have the winners from our Server Competition
1st. Big Game Waterfront Grill
2nd. Parrot Key Caribbean Grill
3rd. The Beached Whale
Check out some photos from this years Taste courtesy of Glee Ann Agius. We also hope you enjoy these two youtube videos of the event.
SUPERNATURAL, NATIONALLY RENOUNED SANTANA TRIBUTE BAND TO PERFORM AT THE 17th ANNUAL TASTE OF THE BEACH
Fort Myers Beach, FL, (April 20, 2012): The Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce picks it up a couple of notches this year with the addition of “Supernatural” to its entertainment line-up at Taste of the Beach. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, April 29, 2012, at Bay Oaks Recreation Campus located at 2731 Oak Street, Fort Myers Beach, Florida from 11am – 6pm. Taste of the Beach will offer a full day of food, drinks, music and cooking demonstrations by Celebrity Chef Creehan, C.E.C.. Area Businesses will be showcasing their products at the “Taste”. Business Expo which will be held in the in the air conditioned main building of Bay Oaks Recreation Center. With playground, swimming pool, and waterslide on site there is something for everyone at this event. Families can plan to spend the entire day.
“This year we have worked to make Taste of the Beach bigger and better than ever. Not only do we have the pleasure of bringing back Nashville signed artist Cadillac Blue as our opening act, we are excited to have “Supernatural”, a nationally renowned Santana tribute band made up of world-class musicians from around the globe”, says Steve DeAngelis, manager at Nervous Nellies and chairperson for the event. “If you like the music of Santana you will definitely want to show up for this! “Supernatural” will be providing a full concert from 3:30 to 6:30.”
Supernatural is led David “Milagro” Mueller who’s uncanny guitar riffs seem driven by an inner spirit and his amazing tone is fueled by a Paul Reed Smith Santana model guitar. On vocals & percussion Todd Plant guides the audience through the storied musical history of Santana. Leading the percussion section is Gil “el Niño” Garcia who has been seen backing several of today’s Smooth Jazz stars like Eric Darius and BK Jackson. Keyboardist Jim Persons is a student of Moog synthesizer sounds, and trades blazing licks with guitarist Mueller. Rounding out the Supernatural lineup are rhythm section mates Steve Eiseman, the founder – leader – drummer, 40 year veteran bassist & backing vocalist John Shinn and Robbie Baker on tambale’s and backing vocals. Supernatural will take you back in time and have you dancing and singing to your favorite Santana hits.
Fifteen area restaurants will be offering sumptuous samples of their top selling appetizers, entries, and desserts. This is a great opportunity to sample these tasty fairs. A list of participating restaurants can be found on the Taste of the Beach website at http://www.tasteoffortmyersbeach.com/.
If you would like to participate in the Taste of the Beach or for more information contact the Fort Myers Beach Area Chamber of Commerce at 239-454-7500 or visit http://www.fortmyersbeachchamber.org/. You can get additional information at the http://www.tasteoffortmyersbeach.com/.
Update on Ft Myers Beach Taste of the Beach and Other Events
Just around the corner is Ft Myers Beach’s 17th Annual Taste of the Beach and Business Expo on Sunday April 29th. This year’s Taste will be held at the Bay Oaks Recreation Center and is shaping up to be the best one yet. With as many as 20 restaurants expected to participate, offering samples of the best food that Ft Myers Beach restaurants have to offer, you won’t be disappointed. The Fort Myers Beach Taste has also been a great place over the years to hear live music, with this year bringing even more excitement with the tunes of nationally renowned Santana tribute band “Supernatural” as well as “Cadillac Blue” who will be performing their hit song Wide Open.
The chairman of the Taste of the Beach Committee, Steve DeAngelis, had this to say about this year’s entertainment; “We’re excited about the musical talent we’re bringing in for the Taste this year. We feel like we’ve got some great family friendly entertainment for our guests to enjoy.”
There will be additional entertainment for Fort Myers Beach Taste in the form of a server competition and a cooking demonstration given by Celebrity Chef Tim Creehan. Chef Tim Creehan has served as a personal chef to such celebrities as Cybil Sheppard, Timothy Hutton, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. For the little ones, there will be a Kids’ Zone with a bungee jump, rock-climbing wall and other games courtesy of Extreme Air Sports Company.
An important part of the Taste is the Business Exposition where members of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce showcase their goods and services all under one roof. Each business at the expo will raffle off a door prize valued at $50 or more (winners need not be present to win). There will also be a grand prize drawing for the winner’s choice of either a one-year Ft Myers Beach Chamber membership or an annual two-person pass to all Chamber events.
A panel of judges will also be giving seven awards in three categories: appetizer, entrée (beef/pork, chicken, fish, shellfish, and non-meat) and dessert. Guests attending the event will get to cast their vote for two People’s Choice Awards: Overall Best Food and Best Decorated Booth.
Don’t miss out on this Ft Myers Beach tradition. For more information and to view pictures of last year’s Taste of the Beach and Business Exposition click here.
Last Sunday April 15th the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce sponsored their second craft show of the year at Key Estero Plaza. The Key Estero Vendor and Craft Show had X vendors featuring everything from sunglasses and clothing to bracelets. Ragady and the Megaforceband provided entertainment.
After great success with the craft show in February, the Fort Myers Beach Chamber decided to host a second event. There are more shows planned in the future on Ft Myers Beach with the next one tentatively scheduled for December to coincide with the holiday season. If you are a vendor and interested in more information please call Darlene Grossman at 239-850-5933.
View the pictures below, courtesy of Darlene Grossman, and check back on our website for information on our upcoming Vendor and Craft shows.
Even though it’s still a few months away, it’s not too early to start making plans to attend our 26th Annual American Sandsculpting Championship on November 7-11th at GullWing Beach Resort on Fort Myers Beach. Last year sixteen Master Sandsculptors, representing three continents, dazzled nearly 50,000 attendees with their works of sandsculpting art. With twelve sculptors already confirmed this year promises to be even more spectacular. Here’s a photo from a past American Sandsculpting Championships to pique your interest.
Fort Myers Beach Chamber Sponsors Easter Egg Hunt at Bay Oaks
Last Saturday April 7 hordes of happy children descended on Bay Oaks Recreational Campus for the Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Ft Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce. Here are some pictures of the fun courtesy of the Fort Myers Beach Observer and Celeste Hug. Please click on the photos to enlarge.
