Editorial | Roots ‘n’ rides: Make some memories
Lee County will again return to its rural roots next week when the Southwest Florida Ag Expo opens Thursday afternoon at Mike Greenwell Regional Park in North Fort Myers.
The traditional ribbon cutting at 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 26 will herald in 11 days of fair-type fun — midway rides and games, food trucks, live entertainment and, of course, the agricultural exposition in which generations of Lee Countians have taken part through the years.
Appropriately themed “Roots ‘n’ Rides” this go-around, the Ag Expo not only brings back its plethora of gate admission and ride promotional nights but its Ag Day highlight for 4-Hers competing in a variety of competitions culminating in their annual livestock auction.
Rural roots don’t run any deeper than that.
Let us take a moment here to mark what, for Lee County’s heritage families, is a change that must be noted.
The Lee County Civic Center complex has a new name this year in the memory of one of our own — former baseball legend, farmer, business leader and Lee County commissioner Mike Greenwell. Commissioner Greenwell, the hometown boy who not only made good but did good, died last October after battling thyroid cancer.
It’s a fitting legacy and, for those who loved him, no doubt bittersweet as the dirt fronting the demolished 31 Produce Commissioner Greenwell owned off SR 31 is now being turned to make way for a new four-lane strip of highway, aka Babcock Ranch Road.
If you have kids who are ready to ride, or just like Ferris wheels and the Tilt-a-Whirl, check out the ride ticket and wristband specials; and get ready to try a slice of Gillette’s Pizza’s Pickled Pig (it’s pickles, bacon and ranch;) grab a beverage of choice and take in some live entertainment; visit the Petting Zoo, Nan’s Ranch and, of course, the livestock barns and show rings.
The Ag Expo is a memory-making visit to the past literally just around the corner from the path of progress.
Breeze editorial