Molly Hatchet coming to North Fort Myers
The North Fort Myers Drive-In and Flea Market will have the distinction for holding the first big event of the fall, and it will bring one of the greatest Southern Rock bands in history as the main attraction.
Molly Hatchet will headline the Hall O’Wheels event on Saturday, Oct. 4, starting at 5 p.m., and it is described as Southwest Florida’s premier evening of bikes, hot rods and rock and roll.
And it’s all for a good cause.
“The event will fuse a concert with a hot rod and motorcycle night,” said Mike Fahnlander, Rotary president and chairman of the event. “The venue ties in to those who like cars and bikes.”
Swamp da Wamp, which fuses Southern Rock with New Country, will open the show, with the possibility for a third act to be named later, Fahnlander said.
Fahnlander, whose organization brought the concert series to the community center over the winter, is no stranger to music, having been in the business for years before coming here.
He used those connections to get Molly Hatchet here.
“I called their agent, whom I’ve known for a long time and we made it happen,” Fahnlander said.
There will be hundreds of food and merchandise vendors, as well as some of the hottest rides you’ll ever see.
Non-food vendors will get a 10-by-15 foot space for $110, 10-by-30 for $200, and a 10-by-60 for $375. Checks must be received no later than Sept. 26.
The event will support the Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimers Resource Center and other Rotary community projects.
One international project is an initiative with Bill Gates to stomp out polio worldwide. It has been successful to the point the disease will be eradicated by 2018.
Admission is $10 and the event is sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of North Fort Myers, Goldcoast and Cape Coral North.
Because the event has never been run, Fahnlander said he doesn’t know what Rotary will raise.
“I know what we’re putting into it, and it’s a lot of money. So, hopefully we’ll get a good response and turn this into a yearly event,” Fahnlander said. “The whole idea is to raise money for charity.”