The MULLET RAPPER What’s Happening in the Everglades & 10,000 Islands!
25¢
Area Information Tides Events Attractions
FEBRUARY 22, 2020 - MARCH 6, 2020 © 2020, K Bee Marketing, Inc.
P. O. Box 134, Everglades City, FL, 34139
Volume XII
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Issue # 358
After Irma They Came With Barbecue at the Festival it was Cookie Dough On Friday morning about 4 am the storm blew in threatening to dampen (pun intended) the spirits of potential festivalgoers. Fortunately, the storms passed but they did leave behind some ponding water, mushy medians and added frustration for those who operate the normal parking areas. However, the Festival was prepared! Extra fill was brought in before during and after the event to smooth out any area affected and traffic was successfully diverted to areas better suited to park cars. This year’s festival featured some nice changes. A large, covered seating area was erected as an eating area. This was a huge hit evidenced by the area being full almost 100% of the time. Some food trucks were added to the mix. I heard excellent reviews from festivalgoers about the new options. The layout of the food area was a bit different. The seating area removed some of the congestion normally seen under the pavilion (as people stood there to eat to get out of the sun). With the dining tent erected, this overflow was removed making traversing the pavilion much easier. I am sure Carol Foss and her hardworking crew were pleased with the changes. RAPPER TABLE OF CONTENTS Events, etc.
p. 3
Local News
p. 8
School Update
p. 4
Local Xtra
p.9
Fire Saves II
p. 5
Capt. Merritt
P. 9
Book Club
p. 6
Local / Regional
p.10
My Slice
p. 7
Tide Table
p.11
Recipe & Puzzle
p. 7
Snook!
p.11
Poetry Street
p. 8
Classifieds
p.12
FEATURE: FIRE THAT SAVES, P. 5
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office uses a counter to document traffic in and out of the festival. This year during the three day period, 12,551 vehicles entered the City. The NTSB estimates that each vehicle contains 2.7 persons, which is a national average. Using that, it would equate to 33,887 people who arrived in cars. The CCSO estimates an additional 1200 people came and stayed in RV’s bringing the total to well over 35,000 festival attendees, not including local patrons! The Everglades Lions Club chuckwagon served hamburgers, hotdogs, and mullet dip and fillets. On Sunday morning at 7 am the Lions set up to serve breakfast for vendors. The weekend was a big success and great fundraiser for the Lions. As of this writing, no other attendance reports are available but I will go on record to say the festival was very well executed and enjoyed by all! Thank you to everyone who was a part of the seafood festival’s 50th anniversary! By all accounts it was a tremendous success. We are already looking forward to next year. FOR AREA INFORMATION, EVENTS, ETC SCAN THE CODE
Immediately following hurricane Irma some very kind people came to the area to offer help. Some came with intentions to work, some brought food. One couple from Ft. Myers came to Everglades City to cook barbecue. Jeff Smith and his fiancée had a booth at the Seafood Festival selling cookie dough. Their wagon was next to the Lions Club wagon and we had a chance to chat on more than one occasion. It was then that Jeff talked about coming into the City, seeing the devastation and wanting to do something to help. Knowing that there was no electricity for refrigeration, he knew home cooked meals were not happening for the residents so he came here and served food. He admitted he enjoyed this trip much more and vowed to return to future festivals with his “fried cookie dough” which was a big success!
It was great to catch up with Jeff and gratifying to know that he came back to our area to experience our town in a more positive way. Thank you to Jeff for his contribution to our community in our time of need. We also look forward to visiting the “Wonderland Cookie Dough” food wagon during next year’s festival. In the meantime, I won’t hold my breath to sample that “no calorie” version of fried cookie dough he mentioned for next trip. Somehow I do not see that as realistic...but one can hope! Above: The Wonderland Cookie Dough Food Wagon
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