Food and Art vendors among the draws to Blues Festival
Eat, drink and be merry while enjoying some of the best blues this country has to offer later this month as the Matlacha Mariners present the 11th Annual Southwest Florida Blues Festival.
“In preparation for this year’s Blues Festival, we have managed to line up not only great musical talent, but some of the area’s best food and craft vendors,” said organizer Ross Stornello. “We have signed on a wide variety of food vendors and feel sure that there will be something to tempt everyone,”
The food vendors participating during the Nov. 20 event are as follows:
* Blue Crawfish Gumbo will offer chowder, shrimp, crawfish etoufee and jambalaya.
* A local favorite, Miceli’s from Matlacha, will offer its award winning Bada Bing Shrimp as well as pasta dishes and pizza.
* Maria Rosa will cook up chicken and pork kebabs, hot dogs, Italian, Polish and bratwurst sausages, arepa and turkey legs.
* Ali Gator will serve up its famous gator bites along with elk, buffalo and ostrich burgers, shrimp, grouper and fries.
* Cameron’s will offer typical cook-out fair including hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue pork, fries, cheese fries with bacon and hot wings.
* Another island favorite, the Waterfront Restaurant will cook up coconut shrimp tacos with a spicy pineapple mango sauce as well as chicken fingers baskets with fries and slaw. It also will serve Sweet Baby Ray’s ribs with fries and slaw, garlic and key lime fried calamari and for desert, Gina’s cupcakes.
* Cool off with an Italian ice from Shamrock Jason.
* Or some homemade ice cream offered by D&J’s Tasty Treats.
* The Knights of Columbus will sell traditional funnel cakes.
* Hillbilly Kettlecorn will bag up kettlecorn.
The members of the Mariners will take on the beverage sales. All food offered by the vendors will be reasonably priced and available throughout the event.
In between musical sets, time can be spent browsing the art and craft vendor booths and again, a wide variety of items will be offered for sale.
For the 11th consecutive year, Cindee Toliveer from Traders Hitching Post in Matlacha will have her unique jewelry items hand-crafted by southwest native Americans. Shoppers also will find a booth filled with fashion and sport sunglasses, along with “As I See It” Photographs, Frills Women’s Clothing also from Matlacha, Notorious Cigars, Marilyn’s Creative Time, Tastefully Simple, R-Daze of Miami, Hoop Rage and Connie’s Boateak.
Those looking for information on local services will find representatives from Bob and Annie’s Boatyard in St. James City, Lampe Family Chiropractic, Ameriprise Financial, National Cremation Service, Bath Fitter, From Our Hearts of Pine Island and Art by San.
“In addition to a spectacular music line-up, we feel that our venders offering food, craft sales and of course, beverages will make this a great day for everyone,” Stornello said.
The Southwest Florida Blues Festival will be staged at the German-American Club on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The entry fee for this year’s festival will be $15 for advanced tickets or $20 at the gate. Advanced tickets can be purchased at Harley-Davidson Buell of Fort Myers, 2160 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers; Traders Hitching Post, 4618 Pine Island Road, Matlacha; Scissorhands Salon and Barber Shop, 18011 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers; or Rainbow Records, 2113 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral.
For more information or online ticket sales, visit: matlachamariners.org.