The 2009 Coconut Festival opened the doors for the three-day event Friday night with a steady crowd of people gathering at the carnival rides and filling the area close to the main stage for live music.
CoCo Country Night was the theme for Friday night’s entertainment. The stage was graced with local performer Casey Weston and two nationally known artists, The Bomshel and James Otto.
Cat Country Super Dave Logan, who does the mid-day 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. show, said the station was “happy to be back this year.”
The Coconut Festival is a great event for both the community and families, he added.
“It’s a really nice thing for the city to have done for the families in these economic times,” Logan said about the affordable ticket price to attend the event.
He explained that last year, Naples resident Weston won the Country’s Next Star contest that 107.1 hosted. Logan said 10 people were chosen from a great number of individuals who entered the contest. Residents of Lee County then voted for their favorite singer, which was Weston, Logan said.
After Weston filled the chilly night time air with her voice, The Bomshel took the stage, followed by James Otto.
Michael Rogers of Curb Records said The Bomshel duo is comprised of Kristy and Kelly, who have been together for two years. He said they just came out with a new album, released last month, with their new hit single “Fight Like a Girl.”
Rogers said the song was about one of their best friends who lost her fight with breast cancer. He said the Susan G. Komen Foundation picked up their song because of the meaning behind it.
“Nineteen and Crazy,” the duo’s new single, was released about two weeks ago and is now being played on the radio.
Rogers said the group decided to make a stop on their tour for the Coconut Festival because they wanted to support their friends at Cat Country.
James Otto, the headliner of CoCo Country Night, attracted many people for the 9:15 p.m. performance.
Cape Coral resident Katie Azevedo said this is her first Coconut Festival. She said it was a perfect night for the event, especially with the chilly weather.
She wanted to attend the festival mainly because of the music, although she hoped to check out what else the event had to offer.
“I’m waiting for James Otto to sing his songs,” she said.
Although many people attended the festival for the music, others came for the carnival rides.
Operator Leo Bradley for the carnival ride the Sizzler said although he had not seen a great turnout about an hour after the festival opened, he thought the crowds would increase as the night went on.
“I think the festival will be busier throughout the weekend,” he said. “As long as the weather is feasible, I think we will have a good turnout.”
Bradley said so far the ride had attracted 13-16 year olds, with some who were in their 20s and 30s. Although the ride was not busy when the festival first opened, he thought he would get at least 60 individuals who wanted to ride the Sizzler before the end of the night.
“Tomorrow and Sunday we will be slammed,” he said.
The festival, which was full of carnival rides, food, live music and a fireworks show, attracted about 400 people in the hour after they opened the gates for the public.
Gates open at noon today and Sunday.