Bring on the the Mac & Cheese Showdown! -STEPHANIE DAVIS / FLORIDA WEEKLY

If there’s one e-mail/text/Facebook message that I frequently receive from both friends and dear readers, it usually goes like this, “I enjoyed your column about the Mac & Cheese Showdown in downtown Fort Myers, but now it’s over — I didn’t even know it was happening and I love macaroni and cheese. I’m so sad.”

Well, guess what dear reader? You can turn that frown upside down and mark your calendar for Saturday, June 27, beginning at noon downtown at Millennial Brewing Company, where the Mac & Cheese Showdown will be happening — I, too, love macaroni and cheese, so is it a coincidence that the event is happening on my birthday? Maybe… maybe not.

The Mac & Cheese Showdown is just one example — but it happens a lot — sometimes when I write about an event, too many people tell me that they would have gone had they known it was happening. Gone are the days when event planners sent out paper invitations or even flyers through the mail. Honestly, it’s just too expensive, and during a time when we’re all counting our pennies (do we even use pennies anymore?), printing out invites and putting them through the postal service is costly. These days, we have to be more creative when it comes to finding out about fun stuff to do.

Shameless plug for Florida Weekly — we have an awesome calendar section. Other ways to be in the know are to check Facebook events — it’s a free way to advertise, and it’s what most planners use. E-mail invites are another cost-effective way to let folks know about upcoming events — but be sure to check your spam. I’ve even gotten generic text invites. So, boomers and Gen X’ers, just know that you’re not going to receive a hand-written invitation — if you want to find fun, you’ll need to look for it. Or, you can just check out my picks for June:

Friday, June 12 kicks off three weekends of Grouper Fest at Fort Myers Brewing Company in Gateway — that means lots of live music, food trucks, and plenty of fan-favorite Mosaic Grouper beer!
The Southwest Florida Pride Festival will bring some welcome sparkle and rainbows to downtown on June 13 from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. This high-energy fest will happen on First Street in front of the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. Stay for the late-night adults-only dance party at Sidney’s Rooftop Bar.
Visit the Lee County Black History Society website to learn more about all of the Juneteenth celebrations happening locally (org), but you’ll definitely want to know about the Juneteenth Celebration Festival at the S.T.A.R.S Complex. Expect fun, stories, and unforgettable moments as freedom and community are celebrated.

Stephanie Davis. -FLORIDA WEEKLY

Summer is certainly the time for festivals and one of the most popular ones in Southwest Florida is MangoMania on beautiful Pine Island. The mango juice flows on Saturday, July 11, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Winn Dixie Shopping Plaza on Stringfellow Road. Enjoy food competitions (mango recipes, of course), live music, arts and crafts, and more.

On Friday, June 19, Babcock Ranch celebrates Dads from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. — it’s a Bucket Golf Bash in Founder’s Square and includes friendly competitions — including a Hole-In-One Challenge and even a Stein Holding Contest. I’m definitely taking my husband to that one.

Happy Summer, the season that’s not a season, but there’s still lots happening. I’ll see you out there!

Stephanie Davis is a recovering girl-about-town formerly known as the Downtown Diva. A nearly native Southwest Floridian, when she’s not photographing events for Florida Weekly, she’s perfectly content to stay at home binging Netflix with husband, Todd, and four cats Tennessee, Lilibet, Jack, and Baby.