The River Weekly News Fort Myers

FREE Take Me Read Us Online at Home IslandSunNews.com VOL. 11, NO. 7 From the Beaches to the River District downtown Fort Myers FEBRUARY 24, 2012 Little Eddie & The Fat Fingers Outdoor Concert Crowd at last year’s shrimp festival Shrimp Festival Returns Next Week Little Eddie & The Fat Fingers eople with blankets and coolers will be on the lawn at the Alliance for the Arts he Fort Myers Beach Lions have been boiling and serving local gulf pink shrimp this Sunday, February 26 for the kickoff of the Bruce T. Gora Sunday Sunset to festival attendees for over 50 years. This year’s festival starts Sunday, March PConcert Series. Naples-based boogie-woogie and rocking blues band Little Eddie T4 with a Shrimp Festival Queens Social and continues Saturday with the parade & the Fat Fingers will take the stage at 5 p.m. They’re well known in Southwest and shrimp boil and on Sunday with a second shrimp boil. Florida for their mix of Chicago and delta blues and ‘50s rock. The four-piece act The secrets of perfectly cooked peel and eat shrimp have been passed from boil mas- features Ryan Bladen on vocals/guitar, Peter Orifice on piano, Eric Jeffcoat on bass ter to boil master through the years, as well as the secret recipe for Lions’ cocktail sauce and Andrew Galler on drums. served as an accompaniment. Tickets are available at the Alliance for the Arts, located on the corner of Colonial It all starts with the finest shrimp the gulf can offer. Delivered straight from the Fort and McGregor in Fort Myers. General admission is $20. Alliance members can pur- Myers Beach shrimp boat fleet, the gulf pink shrimp is said to be unsurpassed in flavor chase tickets to the entire three-concert series for $45. Davina & The Vagabonds will and versatility. return on March 18 and Rebekah Pulley & Band will take the stage on April 22. Call continued on page 5 939-2787 or buy online at www.ArtInLee.org. Guests are encouraged to picnic. Concerts begin at 5 p.m. but gates open at 4 p.m. Proceeds from the concert series will benefit Alliance Education and Outreach Chiseled: The Core Of Man Exhibit Programming. To Open At Art Of The Olympians he evoking spirit, fig- Hooper, Rothacker And Freidus ure and form of man Featured At Arts For ACT Gallery Tis captured in Art of the Olympians newest rts For ACT Gallery, 2265 First exhibit Chisled: The Core Street in downtown Fort Myers, Of Man. Fascinated by the Awill host an opening reception for human body and movement, the next monthly Art Walk on Friday, Italian Olympian Emanuela March 2 from 6 to 10 p.m. This month, Pierantozzi captures the beau- ACT Gallery will feature artist/teacher ty of the human spirit at its Mary-Louise Biasotti Hooper from Venice, core through sculpture. Florida, in the main gallery. Also exhibiting She started sculpting in in the office gallery is hand-made paper 2001 and is now a profes- and mixed media artist Michelle Rothacker. sional sculptor as well as a judo Lisa Freidus will exhibit her 3-D paper and instructor, and is on the faculty wood collages in the middle gallery room. of the University of Bologna. Hooper calls herself a slightly expres- Pierantozzi is a two-time sionistic international artist, due to the medalist in Olympic judo and influence of Pissarro and Cezanne. Her has won numerous European process of under-painting in opposite col- and World Championship ors and using knife techniques for the final competitions. She is also a layer while scumbling is unique and offers member of the Italian Olympic the viewer true, clear colors, which add to Committee. the intrinsic value of each piece. Hooper, a Pierantozzi uses bronze, prize-winning artist, paints seascapes, land- stone and other natural materi- scapes, cityscapes and still life. Her purpose City VII Sullivan Street by Hooper als to capture the strength of is to bring viewers a moment of respite and the human form in her sculp- beauty by taking them to the place she portrays. She paints calming nature scenes with tural works in a new exhibit an ability to convert deep feelings to her canvas. Born in Greenwich Village, New York Chiseled: The Core Of Man. City to an immigrant family, the art shows in Washington Square Park inspired her continued on page 5 Emanuela Pierantozzi’s sculpture, Man continued on page 38 2 THE RIVER - FEBRUARY 24, 2012 Historic Downtown Fort Myers, Then And Now Baby Parade by Gerri Reaves he Baby Parade has been a part of the Edison Festival of Light from its start in 1938. T Over the years, the parade devoted to youngsters has also been called the Children’s Parade and the Junior Parade, official names that somehow lack the adoring appeal of Baby Parade. In the historic photos from the early to mid-1950s, Baby Parade spectators crowd the storefront of Wilbur K. Martindale’s radio and television store and Belk-Lindsey’s Department Store (right). Those stores were located on the north side of First, just east of the Bayview Court entrance. All eyes are on the enchanting float entitled “Edison Captures The Moon’s Light” on which two princesses reign, one enthroned on a crescent moon and the other in the center of a diaphanous incandescent light bulb. Today, Martindale’s one-story building houses offices for attorneys and court-report- ers, and the former Belk-Lindsey’s is the offices of Fowler, White and Boggs. Another major change? The three-day festival born in 1938 has mushroomed into three weeks. It had a forerunner, the 1928 Sunshine Court, which celebrated 1000 consecutive days of sunshine. That court was conceived by Jimmy Crafton, then secretary of the chamber of commerce. In 1937, Crafton, who had been Sunshine King that year, moved to St. Petersburg. Ronald Halgrim inherited the title and transformed the event into the first Edison Pageant of Light. Festivities commemorated the birthday of Fort Myers’s most famous resident, Thomas A. Edison, and were created in collaboration with the Fort Myers Woman’s Community Club, which hosted the Coronation Ball, and the Jaycees. Martindales’ radio and television business has gone, but parade-goers still have room to gather photo by Gerri Reaves The Court of Edisonia replaced the Sunshine Court. The first Coronation Ball was held at the Town Club on East First Street (originally the Elks Lodge and later the American Legion Post 38). The robes and jewels for the first coronation were shipped by air express from Philadelphia. Tampa’s Homer Mercer Orchestra provided dance music. James Hendry III and Virginia Sheppard Holloway ruled as the first king and queen of mythical Edisonia. Sidney Davis, as Royal Lord Chamberlain, crowned the royalty. Other venues for the ball have included the Municipal (or Pleasure) Pier, the Arcade Theatre, the Civic Center auditorium (later renamed the Hall of Fifty States), the auditorium of Fort Myers High School, and even a circus tent rented from Ringling Bros. Circus. The festival has been held every year Baby Parade floats line up on Edwards since 1938, except for a five-year break Drive in this undated photo. The Hall of Fifty during World War II. States is visible in the background above the “wedding couple” The Baby Parade proceeds down First Street in the early to mid-1950s. The crowded store- When the festival resumed after the war courtesy of the Southwest front (center) is Wilbur K. Martindale’s radio and television store just east of Bayview Court in 1947, the ball took place for the only Florida Historical Society courtesy of the Southwest Florida Historical Society continued on page 6 Read Us Online: www.IslandSunNews.com Contributing Writers Click on The River Jennifer Basey Joan Hooper Kimberley Berisford Audrey Krienen Advertising Sales Graphic Arts/Production Photographer Suzy Cohen Scott Martell Isabel Rasi Ann Ziehl Michael Heider Ed Frank Capt. Matt Mitchell Sarah Crooks Office Coordinator Writers Max Friedersdorf Patricia Molloy Co-Publishers Kris See Patricia Molloy Gerri Reaves, Ph D Priscilla Friedersdorf Laura Zocki Puerto Lorin Arundel Anne Mitchell Jim George Di Saggau and Ken Rasi Jeff Lysiak Dr. Dave Hepburn Scott White The River Weekly News will correct factual errors or matters of emphasis and interpretation that appear in news stories. Readers with news, tips, comments or questions, please call (239) 415-7732 or write to: The River Weekly News, 1609 Hendry Street, Suite 15, Fort Myers, FL 33901. Fax number: (239) 415-7702. E-mail: [email protected]. The River Weekly News reserves the right to refuse, alter or edit any editorial or advertisement. PRINTED ON RECYCLED Independently Owned And Operated • COPYRIGHT 2012 The River Weekly News • LORKEN Publications, Inc. PAPER THE RIVER - FEBRUARY 24, 2012 3 each other as people all belonging to one For more information, visit www. Project Tolerance: human family, we can begin to live more projecttolerance.com. Roberts can be peacefully as a planet.” reached at 395-5370 or myralynn51@ Faces Of Anne Roberts and Nayor also give multi- msn.com. Nayor can be contacted at media educational presentations on the 281-7874 or [email protected]. Frank At Art Center project. roject Tolerance: Faces of Anne Frank will be on exhibit from PMarch 2 to 28 at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in Fort Myers. The opening night reception will be held Edison & Ford Estates Annual Event, on Friday, March 2 at 6 p.m. Sanibel artist Myra Roberts’ 30 origi- March Program And Class Calendar nal oil paintings of Anne Frank’s life took nearly two years to painstakingly create.

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