Trick-or-treaters flock to Fall Festival
Children of all ages, from grown-ups to newborns, gathered at the North Fort Myers Recreation Center on Friday evening for the annual Fall Festival, which has grown to become one of the biggest social event of the year.
As many as 2,000 were expected to come play on the bounce houses, get free candy from local vendors and have fun with family and friends.
The rain clouds that showed up around mid-afternoon blew past, and many decided to eschew the 6 p.m. start time and come early, as evidenced by the hundreds who were already there by then to beat the parking rush.
There was also a rush of vendors who decided to come a few days before the event, which made event organizer James Pittro very happy, though he would have liked to see more.
“We had a couple last-minute vendors join us, which brought us to around the numbers we had last year,” Pittro said. “I would still love for the community to come forward and be able to get the numbers up for businesses coming out.”
There were nearly 30 vendors, many of which were local businesses. There were some non-profits who came to share their message, such as Jonathan Bradley, who represented Safe Families for Children and Flourish Now, a ministry that works to help families stay together in times of crisis.
“We live in this community and I work with many people out here. We care about the community and we’re here reaching out for potential host families and volunteers and those who need help,” Bradley said.
Among the activities were the annual costume contest for kids, a live DJ, a witch who made balloon animals, a small petting zoo featuring animals from the Shell Factory’s Nature Park, and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office brought some of their swamp buggies.
If people got hungry, the concession stand was open to benefit the North Fort Myers Pop Warner program.
Carrie Little and her 10-year-old daughter, Jasmine, came from Cape Coral. She said they go to all the Halloween festivals as an alternative to trick-or-treating.
“We do about 30 to 60 events during the month. We don’t believe in knocking on doors, begging for candy so we go into the community with churches and parks to celebrate,” Little said. “We meet a lot of people and have fun.”
“I like the candy. We get a huge bag full of it. We donate most of it, though,” Jasmine said to the delight of her mom, who added her dentist would get upset.
Cassandra Elg has come with her family every year for the past six years, pretty much since one of her daughters was born.
“They love the candy and playing in the bounce houses and the costume contest. They also see a lot of their friends,” Elg said.
Among those who made the event possible were Covanta Recycling, the Rotary Club of North Fort Myers, Complete DJ, Moonwalk & More and Rockstar Realty.
“It’s great to see all the kids and the parents who bring them out,” said Al Giacalone, owner of Rockstar Realty. “This is one way to give back to the community, these are my people.”