The SWFL Ag Expo includes a multitude of rides including the ferris wheel. -COURTESY PHOTO

For those looking beyond palm trees and white sandy beaches to experience the more rural side of what Southwest Florida has to offer, look no further than the Lee County Agricultural Exposition (Ag Expo). The SWFL Ag Expo is a fair-style exposition that aims to showcase Lee County’s agricultural roots with livestock shows, rides, food, and live entertainment; it opens Feb. 26 and runs through March 8 at the Mike Greenwell Convention Center (formerly known as the Lee County Civic Center).

“People think of Southwest Florida as beaches, and you know, that it’s just a coastline or something like that, which, great, yes, everybody wants to come to the beach. But when you go into North Fort Myers, I mean, people do not realize all that Southwest Florida is and how important that agriculture is to everybody,” said Miriam Dotson, Lee County communications coordinator.

To help exhibit this unrealized agricultural aspect, the Ag Expo will host hundreds of show animals and creative living demonstrations. Spearheading these is the 4-H, a youth organization with the objective of teaching young people life skills through a learn-by-doing approach. Those involved with the 4-H have the opportunity to raise livestock to show and create living showings, which are educational displays created based on what 4-H members have learned about agriculture and the world around them. All sorts of livestock will be on show, from chickens to goats, and from rabbits to horses.

4H youth Kara Croft tending to her swine. Photo taken on August 18th, 2016. -COURTESY PHOTO

“It’s really rewarding to watch the youth just thrive,” said Arielle Pierce, 4-H Agent. “They really get to thrive in the community, and they really get to thrive with their peers, within 4-H, so the other 4-H members all, for the most part, champion each other.”

For 4-H members, the Ag Expo is the culmination of a year’s work; whether it be a year dedicated to raising an animal for show or a year of research for a creative living showing.

“This is kind of their end of the year come-to-fruition of their projects, where they get to show all of the hard work that they’ve done throughout the year and all of the things that they’ve learned. The Ag Expo show offers the ability to showcase how far they’ve come in their project,” said Pierce.

For some attendees, the livestock and creative living showings end up being an unexpected, but welcome surprise.

“I encourage people to walk through the barns and not just kind of quickly walk through them, but to take time to appreciate what’s there and all the hard work that the kids did. It’s a whole aspect of the samples at Ag Expo that many of our folks might just walk past if they didn’t know it was there,” said Pierce.

Each night of Ag Expo will showcase a different animal showing competition. Details for each night can be found at www.swflagexpo.com/pages/livestock.

Ag Expo has offerings for youngsters beyond 4-H as well; the Heritage Village acts as a portal into the path for all ages. The village is an opportunity to experience traditional crafts such as pottery, tin smithing, woodturning and a cowboy camp where kids can learn lasso skills and more.

“It is very kid-friendly and is really interactive, so it’s a great way to also enjoy the Ag Expo,” said Dotson.

Attendees can jump on their saddles and ride some of the horses at the Ag Expo. -COURTESY PHOTO

For the adults, beyond checking out the interactive village and the livestock shows, there is also a rotating lineup of live musicians highlighting the expo.

“Music is a really great uniter,” said Dotson. “Music is really important to every community.”

With the Ag Expo being focused on highlighting what Lee County has to offer, many of the musical acts are local to the area, such as Chasing Denver, Deb & the Dynamics and Ralph Curtis.

“These are very talented people, and a lot of them are very local. So these are people who live here as well, and I think people would be so impressed to know the local talent that we have in Southwest Florida,” said Dotson. “Maybe you don’t like rides as much, but you’re going to love the music.”

Dotson also emphasized that the focus is on the 4-H and their showcases

“When you go to the event, and then you’re like, ‘Oh, okay, yeah, I’ll see some animals,’ but you go back there, and you realize it’s a lot of kids,” said Dotson. “They’re very easy to talk to, they love talking about it.”

For those looking to get involved with 4-H, there are ways for anyone to get involved at various levels.

“Whether they are in Lee County or if they’re just visiting, there’s most likely a 4H program close to them and we’d love to have them join and be able to experience what 4H is all about,” said Pierce.

For Dotson, the satisfaction from her part in organizing the event comes from the enjoyment of others.

“I love watching people’s faces when they go to places like the AG Expo or explore beyond, you know, into North Fort Myers and just see all that it has to offer and how beautiful it is,” said Dotson.

The Ag Expo runs from Feb. 26 through March 8 at the Mike Greenwell Convention Center. Information for ticket options and times is available at www.swflagexpo.com/.

Goats in a pen at a livestock show. -COURTESY PHOTO

The SWFL Ag Expo is filled with rides including the ferris wheel. -COURTESY PHOTO