Doc Ford\u2019s Rum Bar & Grille announced they will serve as the silver sponsor and a Queens Pageant sponsor for the 2026 Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8. The Fort Myers Beach restaurant donated $5,500 to the 68th annual event, including sponsorship of Devin Haddock, a Doc Ford\u2019s team member, as a candidate vying for the Shrimp Queen title.<\/p>\n
Presented by the Fort Myers Beach Lions Club, the shrimp fest raises money for community programs, vision services and scholarships, and is an island tradition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe festival is one of the biggest annual events on the island and attracts thousands of local and out-of-town visitors,\u201d said Ryan Cook, the restaurant\u2019s general manager. \u201cWe are proud to be part of this rich history and support our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doc Ford\u2019s, Dixie Fish Company and Bonita Fish Company \u2013 all managed by HM Restaurant Group on Fort Myers Beach \u2013 are also building a float for the event\u2019s March 7 parade along Estero Boulevard.<\/p>\n
The festival, offered both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., highlights the area\u2019s famed \u201cPink Gold\u201d Gulf shrimp, first discovered off the island in 1949 by local fishermen. It also honors and supports local fishing families and Fort Myers Beach\u2019s historic fishing industry through the Blessing of the Fleet and the Pink Gold shrimp boil. In addition to the parade, visitors also enjoy an arts and crafts fair with over 100 vendors, a shrimp-eating contest and a 5K race. The old-fashioned Queens Pageant is open to girls 15 to 20 competing for scholarships and trophies.<\/p>\n
Proceeds from the festival support vision surgeries and medical care, scholarships for local students, the Florida Lions Eye Bank, Southeastern Guide Dogs and hunger relief and fund large-print books for the local library, little league and youth soccer programs as well as student needs at Beach Elementary and Cypress Lakes High School.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doc Ford\u2019s Rum Bar & Grille announced they will serve as the silver sponsor and a Queens Pageant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-160183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}