Residents braved the cold weather Friday night to check out the first day of festivities at the TIB Bank Celebrate Cape Coral Carnival and Night Parade.
The three-day festival kicked off with a carnival in the downtown area. The event continues today from noon-midnight and from noon-7 p.m. Sunday. The parade, the heart of the event, starts at 6:30 p.m. today at Southeast 15th Avenue and ends at Southeast Eighth Court.
Cape resident Christen Grilli made it out to the carnival Friday night with her daughters, 4-year-old Mya and 2-month-old Izabella, and some friends. Asked why they decided to check out the event, Grilli said, “because it’s a fair.”
“She wanted to come to the fair and it’s her first time at the fair,” she said, first pointing to Mya and then to Izabella. “Every kid loves a fair.”
Grilli added that they live nearby, which was another draw.
“It’s close. We live right down the street,” she said. “It’s good to have something close.”
Parents Ryan Begle and Megan Coughlin agreed.
“That’s why we came to this one, we figured it was less crowded and closer to home,” Coughlin said, adding that they are Cape residents.
Begle liked that the carnival was off of Cape Coral Parkway and not on the main road, congesting up traffic. He added that the carnival should be kept for the future events.
“I think they should always have it,” Begle said. “Something for the kids to do.”
Gregg and Heather Anson stopped by Friday night with their son, Tyler, and some friends. Heather Anson said the carnival was reasonably priced and it was something to do.
“Tire the kids out,” she said.
The close proximity of the event was also a plus for Anson.
“It was a lot closer, a lot nicer,” she said, comparing it to fairs held at the Lee Civic Center. “I wouldn’t drive all the way over there with little kids.”
Anson added that she would recommend the event to other parents.
“It gives the family something to do for all ages,” she said. “There’s not always something for everyone to do all the time.”
According to event organizers, each day will offer live music, and Sunday is aimed at church-goers with the worship service and non-secular music during the morning. The parade will feature some of the city’s founding families as the grand marshals.
Elmer Tabor and Paul Sanborn are some of the original families rumored to be leading the parade, which organizers said has 50 entries.