Sun, sea and celebration on Fort Myers Beach New Year’s Day

Writer: Camila Pereira
Published: Updated:
Fort Myers Beach on New Year's Day
Fort Myers Beach on New Year’s Day. CREDIT: WINK News

People rang in 2024 at midnight by the sea on Fort Myers Beach, Monday, but that was just the start of the festivities, as people enjoyed their first day of the new year under the sun.

So WINK News asked people how they felt spending their day at the beach.

“I think it’s a perfect day for the beach,” said Mackenzie Kmet, who is visiting with her dad from Chicago.

“Warm? Nice. Better than Ohio,” said Mallory Wholehan.

“Oh, it’s good,” Marc Casimir said, who is visiting from Canada. “It’s good. Life is good. That’s why I got the shirt on.”

Many started the new year off by building sandcastles, tossing a football around or just walking along the shore.

This turnout at Fort Myers Beach is a sign that the island is coming back after Hurricane Ian.

“I’ve got a family that lives here, so they got impacted but also rallied around other people who just got hammered by the storms,” said Southwest Florida native Kavin Basik, “so to come back and see life back, you know, through the veins in this area, innocent people just reconnecting and little by little opportunity showing up again.”

And while many people’s New Year’s resolution might be to exercise, eat better or travel more, for little Hayden, he’s hoping for more progress.

“I wish all these houses will get repaired,” he said. “We were driving and found this house with these open wires just laying next to wooden beams.”

So welcome, 2024, and let this year be the year Fort Myers Beach comes back stronger than before.

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