WHERE TO GO WHAT TO DO WHO TO SEE Return of the Songs I sland Hop per Song writ er Fest heads back to Fo rt Myers Beach

By NATHAN MAYBERG nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com

One day after the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian, the ninth-annual Island Hopper Songwriter Fest will be getting underwa Myers Beach

On Friday, Sept. 29, the music festiva kickoff its weekend on the island with a s at the DiamondHead Beach Resort Bet Sept 29 and Oct 1, venues hosting live formances will include Pink Shell B Resort, DiamondHead Beach R Matanzas Inn, Lighthouse Tiki Bar, B Park and Mound House

The headliner for this year’s event Chris Janson, a winner of multiple Aca Country Music Awards Janson will be h the Pink Shell Beach Resort Pool Party Oct. 1.

With 90 performers scheduled to play at locations around the county, this year’s festival has the makings of another success The festival begins a week earlier on Captiva island beginning Sept 22

A slew of performances will happen around Fort Myers Beach between Friday, Sept 29, and Sunday, Oct 1 Most of performances will be free, featuring a large number of Nashville-based country musicians

The festival is organized by the Lee County Visitor’s Bureau in conjunction with Broadcast Music Inc , iHeartMedia and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association.

Nancy MacPhee, Product Development Manager for the Lee County Visitor’s Bureau, said the Sept 29 show at the DiamondHead Beach Resort will be a preview party of the performers, providing a “good opportunity to see songwriters ” Each songwriter is expected to perform one song to help festivalgoers get a feel of where they may want to spend their time over the weekend

With the damage to a number of local hotels and resorts during Hurricane Ian, MacPhee said, “We didn’t think we had had enough rooms” for the songwriters initially MacPhee said, “We had very generous hotel partners” that were able to offer free rooms to songwriters e festival Fort Myers Beach resorts so included the DiamondHead, ghthouse Inn and Pink Shell each Resort.

The Pink Shell pool figures o be a good time Oct 1 when nson plays with special st Kristian Bush, a twoGrammy Award winhe show will run from Tickets are $45 Last ol party was eerily ys before Hurricane gh Janson is known m McGraw’s 2012 hit “Truck Yeah” and for his own solo album “Buy Me a Boat ” His new single “21 Forever” features Dolly Parton and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash The song appears on Janson’s latest album “The Outlaw Side of Me ”

Other scheduled shows set for Fort Myers Beach include a benefit Saturday, Sept 30, at the Mound House titled “Music on the Mound” with Fort Myers Beach musician Sheena Brook and Fort Myers native Brian Sutherland from 2-4 p m Tickets are $45

MacPhee said this year’s lineup will feature “a lot of diversity ” In addition to the large numbers of country music performers, there will also be Latin music and pop artists

Other artists set to perform during the festival include Autumn Nicholas, Ben Burgess, Clint Daniels, Sonia Leigh and Emily Shackleton

Among the other performers on the schedule are singersongwriters who have penned No 1 hits for such artists as Carly Pearce, George Strait and Morgan Wallen will perform at multiple Lee County venues from Sept 22 to Oct 1

A full schedule will be released later this month

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t w w w i s l a n d - h o p p e r fest visitfortmyers com

Refuge, partners to hold Family Fun Night event at Lakes Park

To kick of Hispanic/Latine Month from Sept 15 to Oct 15, J N “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge staff has planned a Family Fun Night after-school event at Lakes Park in Fort Myers

On Sept 15 from 4:30 to 6:30 p m , attendees can enjoy free snacks and Hoverball archery Hands-on exhibits will include local wildlife skulls and pelts, along with an archaeology table presented by the Florida Public Archaeology Network

The refuge will have a table for planting marigolds to-go and learning about how families can create their own ofrenda, or altar, at home with family for Dia de los Muertos on Nov 1-2 Marigolds are symbolic of the holiday Volunteer or staff members will assist youths with planting and everyone will take home their own small compostable pot with marigold seeds

The refuge is partnership with the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge and Florida Public Archaeology Network for the inaugural event

Lee County to host Florida-Friendly and Native Plant Swap & Seed Exchange Aug. 19

Lee County Parks & Recreation will host a Florida-Friendly and Native Plant Swap & Seed Exchange from 9 a m to noon, Saturday, Aug 19, at the Karl Drews Community Center, 18412 Lee Road, Fort Myers

Participants can expect a morning of s with fellow plant enthusiasts The event features a Plant Swap & Seed Exchange, the UF/IFAS Master Gardener Help Desk, a Native Plant Sale , local nurseries, consultation firms and more

To participate, bring one or more clearly labeled healthy plants or seeds Plant species listed by Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, Federal Noxious Weed or USDA Invasive Species will not be permitted

To RSVP and reserve a table, call 239533-1470 or email TRossi@leegov com

For more about Lee County Parks and Rec locations, amenities and events, visit www leeparks org, call 239-533-7275, e m a i l l e e p a r k s @ l e e g o v c o m o r v i s i t leeparksandrecreation on Facebook and Instagram