This year’s Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Fest to be a ‘shrimp crawl’

A long-time Fort Myers Beach tradition is taking a break this year, but don’t feel too bad because something is taking its place as a reminder that we will rebuild.

This weekend, a shrimp “crawl” is happening on Fort Myers Beach instead of the usual shrimp festival. This year suppose the 65th annual celebration of the shrimp festival.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and Hurricane Ian has forced the people behind the annual shrimp fest to get creative.

The shrimp fest featured parades, races, and tons of shrimp for six decades. This year will be different but with the same purpose.

The shrimp are in town, and so is the weekend to celebrate them.

“We are so excited! We can’t wait,” said Jacki Liszak.

“If you’d like shrimp, man is the place to be this weekend,” said Stephen Clark, from Fort Myers Beach.

On Saturday at 10:30 a.m., the beach wants people to bring their best shoes and crawl for their favorite shrimpy foods.

“We’re not closed. We’re quite open. And I like people to come here, and when I’m playing gigs, I always get a show of hands and said, ‘who are the tourists?’ I said, ‘bless you. Give them a round of applause.’ I mean because they’re the ones who will fuel this economy that will fuel our comeback,” said Clark.

Restaurants like Shrimp Her, Wahoo Willy’s, Yo Laco, La Ola, and many more beach favorites won’t skimp on the shrimp.

Stephen Clark’s gig this weekend is to help get this festival up and crawling. He knows it’s not the same as last year, but he’s the guy bringing the sound to the shrimp this year.

“I figure I can help with the music,” Clark said.

Clark said the Fort Myers Beach Lions Club had to step back this year. “They just can’t pull it together this year. I mean, who can blame them.”

He and others on the island are stepping in to fill the void for a good cause.

“We’re going to do the same thing they did with the money, which was given to the Lions Club for scholarship programs.”

Scholarships that go to help Fort Myers Beach students.

Erickson and Jensen Seafood has been in business “forever,” and owner Grant Erickson plans to stay in business “forever.”

It’s been hard, though. Hurricane Ian wiped out three of his 11 boats and most of his competition. That’s why this year, they really had to grind the gears to get the shrimp peeled and eaten.

“Everything has been so bad and so torn up. But the only consistent thing about this whole business is there’s lots of shrimp,” said Erickson.

Big shrimp that’ll fill some big empty bellies for the shrimp crawl.

“We’re gonna have shirts. We’re gonna have beer on donations. So we’re gonna have a shrimp cocktail. Parking is free,” said Anna Erickson.

Anna Erickson is Grant’s daughter, and she’s dedicated to keeping the family business strong. “I mean, we got to keep the ball rolling, and things might be shambley, but that doesn’t mean we give up on the community.”

The community isn’t giving up on them, either. Local restaurants participating in the shrimp crawl have bought at least 50 pounds each of shrimp from Erickson and Jensen.

“They’re the best-tasting shrimp in the world, hard to come across,” said Grant Erickson, bringing a sensational flavor to dance across taste buds this shrimp crawl. “It’s gonna be a good time.”

It’s for a good cause too. The money raised from the shrimp crawl will go toward scholarships for Fort Myers Beach students. There will also be live music at Moss Marina and of course, plenty of shrimp.