Restaurante Las Americas Sabor Latino

You have to try the food here. It is awesome!! Tell them you heard about them on the Tropical Shells Title LLC Facebook page.

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Just had a great breakfast from Las Americas. The owners is really friendly and the restaurant is quaint and clean. Come check this place out. We need to support our small businesses here in the Cape.

Today we celebrate 2 years in business. I want to thank all of the wonderful clients, real estate agents and mortgage companies/brokers that I have had the pleasure of working with through the years. I look froward to may more years here. Have a wonderful day!

The News-Press (Fort Myers, Fla.)

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The News-Press (Fort Myers, Fla.)

The News-Press (Fort Myers, Fla.)

Edison Festival's Grand Parade will light downtown streets STACEY HENSON, SHENSON@NEWS-PRESS.COM 12:32 p.m. EST February 18, 2016 Information Compliments of the News Press The Edison Festival of Light is all about bringing the community together, organizers say. And this year's Grand Parade does just that in grand ways, said Karen Ryan, past parade president and public relations manager with LCEC, a parade sponsor. The parade kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fort Myers High School and winds through downtown Fort Myers. With 18 marching bands — 12 of those local, 30 floats, 5,000 participants, and nearly 200 units, Fort Myers is represented. Add in the pre-parade festivities and as many as 200,000 revelers and you have the largest party for the year. "One of our goals is bringing everyone together," Ryan said. While the entire month includes festivities, including coronation balls for the parade king and queen, hymn sings, car shows, science fairs, Mutt Strutts, and arts and craft shows, the Grand Parade draws the biggest number of people. The festival pays tribute to Thomas Alva Edison, who made Fort Myers his winter home during his birth month. While there's no specific theme to the parade, organizers ask the units to add lights. Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade is Saturday inBuy Photo Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade is Saturday in downtown Fort Myers (Photo: Jack Hardman/The News-Press) "If you are not all lit up, you are almost invisible," Ryan said. One of the biggest groups is SWFL Critical Mass, a group of cyclists that organizes monthly rides through downtown Fort Myers. It estimates they will have 400 people on bicycles in the parade. "They are a perfect example of embracing the whole night parade," Ryan said. "They are lit up to the max. That's what we want." After the fireworks over the Caloosahatchee River light the skies to start the parade, tunes will fill the air. "It's definitely going to be a musical parade," Ryan said. In addition to the 12 high school marching bands, units from Ohio, New York, Clearwater, Jacksonville and Clewiston will perform. The Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade is Saturday.Buy Photo The Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade is Saturday. (Photo: Sarah Coward/The News-Press) Ryan said North Fort Myers High School is one to watch, with band members adding high-energy dance steps to their marching. With the units staging at Fort Myers High School, the participants mingle before the parade. "We put all the bands in the football stadium and they have a DJ. They have so much fun. Also, all of the other participants are walking around and looking at everybody's floats. "It's a small step in getting the community to come together." Other parade highlights include the Budweiser and Whispering Pines Clydesdales, Shriners mini-cars, clowns, a giant helium balloon, the superhero-themed float from the Bayshore Cloggers and the Lighthouse/USS Edisonia-themed float from the St. Michael Lutheran School. The St. Michael's float pays tribute to Edison Festival board member David Campbell, who died unexpectedly last year, featuring his photograph on the back of the float. "I thought that was very touching," Ryan said, seeing it for the first time at Sunday's junior parade. Ryan said Campbell served on the board for years and fulfilled many roles. He started the junior marshal program, which introduces high school and college students to festival planning in hopes they'll become future festival leaders. She said it's been difficult to imagine the parade without Campbell being a part of it. "I kept seeing David Campbell everywhere," she said. Street seats One of the best ways to watch the parade while supporting local non-for-profit groups is reserving a seat near Haborside Event Center. "The street seats are almost sold out," Ryan said, but those hoping for a reserved spot on the route can visit the festival's webpage to find participating agency. Tickets cost $10 per person and guarantee the "best seat in the house" along the curb. Grand marshal This year's parade grand marshal is North Fort Myers High School graduate and Cape Coral native Ricky Manning. He was on the 2014 season of the popular talent show "The Voice." He will lead the parade, but not before he gives a free concert at 3 p.m. on Edwards Drive in downtown Fort Myers. "We always try to find someone who has a local tie," Ryan said, and that spectators will find interesting. "We thought he'd be a good fit." Manning, who nicknamed his fans "Fannings", has more than 25,000 followers on Twitter. Ricky Manning, who appeared in the 2014 season of reality Ricky Manning, who appeared in the 2014 season of reality TV show "The Voice," will perform a concert at 3 p.m. Saturday in downtown Fort Myers as part of the Edison Festival of Light celebration. (Photo: Mark Davis Haffner/Special to The News-Press) Honorary grand marshal Lee County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Zazwirsky is the honorary grand marshal. Nominated by Rotary Club of Fort Myers South, he is a 12-year veteran who coordinates "Fighting Holiday Hunger" initiative that resulted in food for nearly 3,000 families. The public cast online votes to determine the winner among the nominees that included “Deputy Zazwirsky truly demonstrates what our profession is all about," Sheriff Mike Scott said in a release. "Not only has he done wonderful things for the community when it comes to feeding the hungry, he also developed a juvenile arrest monitoring system that is being modeled throughout our agency." Lee County Sheriff's Department Deputy Michael Zazwirsky Lee County Sheriff's Department Deputy Michael Zazwirsky is the honory grand marshal of the Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade for 2016. (Photo: Courtesy photo) Crafts on the River Centennial Park transforms into a craft lovers dream with 100 exhibitors displaying hand-crafts. A large variety of mediums include drawings, paintings, graphics, sculpture, crafts, jewelry, photography and edible art. The range of assorted size, subject, media and price provide something for everyone created by the artists you meet at the event. The show is from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Centennial Park in downtown Fort Myers. Spaghetti Dinner St. Francis Xavier Church is part of the Grand Parade tradition for many families. Church members will serve a dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce or marinara, salad, bread sticks, dessert and choice of beverage from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the church, 2157 S Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers. Tickets are sold through the parish and school offices and the religious articles store for $10, which includes parking on church premises, along with a reserved place to watch the parade. For information, call the parish office, 334-2161 St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Fort Myers continuers St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Fort Myers continuers it's traditional spaghetti dinner before the Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade. (Photo: News-Press file) Edison Festival 5K Race If marching in the parade is a bit too slow and you want to move at a faster clip, join more than 1,400 runners and thousands of spectators in the Downtown River District. Register for a 3.1-mile race for fun and a chance to win cash prizes. The race starts at 5:45 p.m. on Edwards Drive. This is one of the largest races in the area with spectators lining the route, cheering participants and gearing up for the Grand Parade. Registration is $20 today and Friday and $35 on race day. More than 1,400 people are expected to run the EdisonBuy Photo More than 1,400 people are expected to run the Edison Festival of Light 5K race on Saturday. (Photo: Kinfay Moroti/News-Press file) If you go What: The Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade is a two-hour event features hundreds of entries, including marching bands, floats, balloons, clowns and more. Fireworks kick off the parade. A Grand Parade Party and concert on the Caloosahatchee River begins at 11 a.m. When: Parade starts at 7 p.m. Saturday. Where: Downtown Fort Myers. Cost: Free

Taste of the Cape

Taste of the Cape offers food, music and fun for everyone Laura Tichy-Smith, Special to Cape Life 9:17 a.m. EST February 17, 2016 (Story Complements of The News-Press) A feast for the senses returns to Four Freedoms Park in Cape Coral this Sunday. The Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce is teaming up with the Gulf Coast Symphony to present Taste of the Cape and Symphony at Sunset. The event will feature about 20 restaurants offering their most tempting treats; beverages ranging from soft drinks to samples of local rum; a craft vendor village for shoppers’ pleasure; zip line and face painting for the kids’ delight, and performances ranging from school groups to the symphonic finale as the sun sinks into the west. The event raises funds for the chamber’s college scholarship program and the symphony’s musical outreach program for schoolchildren. Volunteers staff the event, which allows 100 percent of the proceeds to go to charity. “We wanted to be able to put on an event to make money for these scholarships so we could raise money instead of always begging for money,” said Sandi Silva, member of the chamber’s education committee and chairperson for Taste of the Cape. “We were wanting to start an event so we could raise money for scholarships for high school students, and one of the symphony members was on our education committee. “The symphony has been doing an event for several years, and they liked the idea that we wanted to do a taste event since Cape Coral didn’t have one,” she said. “We thought good culture and good food pulling together would be a win-win.” The array of cuisine choices will range from upscale American to sports bar grub, from elegant to family pleasing, and from healthy to decadent. Event attendees will be able to take a tour of at least three continents in an afternoon without ever leaving the Cape. While a couple of chains have signed up for booths, the emphasis is on independent or locally based restaurants. The locally owned Monkey Bar and Steakhouse in downtown Cape Coral will be offering prime rib sliders and its signature bababoom shrimp appetizer. “The economy is getting better and people are going out more often than cooking at home and this is a very affordable event for everybody,” said Claudia Garcia, owner of the Monkey Bar. “This is a great opportunity for the snowbirds to know the food and everything that we have in Cape Coral — to support the local restaurants that serve homemade food. They’re going to find all kinds of food there, even if they have allergies or if they have a special diet, I’m sure everybody is going to find something to eat.” Events such as Taste of the Cape not only serve attendees by letting them preview multiple dining options in an afternoon, but they also prove to be invaluable advertising for the restaurants. Zirilli’s Chilly Treats will bring its homemade Italian ices to the event for a second year. “It was our very first event that we took our mobile cart to, and we came out of there on such a high,” said owner Barbara Zirilli-Lonergan. “Even with giving back our 50 percent, we still did amazing last year. “We had a significant increase in business from people who tried our product at Taste of the Cape,” she said. “We had business that same day. When we got back to the shop that night, my teammate said there were people who came to the shop after leaving Taste.” As an educator by trade, Zirilli-Lonergan said she really appreciates that the funds raised by the event go to support scholarships and music for children. “It’s nice that the Gulf Coast Symphony will be there,” she said. “There will be concerts going on throughout the event, and they bring in kids from the local schools to perform.” Afternoon performers will include dancers from Studio Elite Acro and Dance Academy and musical groups from Christa McAuliffe Elementary School as well as Ida Baker and Mariner high schools. The 80-piece Gulf Coast Symphony will take the stage at 4:30 p.m. to play a concert of pops and light classical music. The musical selections provide a nice introduction to classical music for people who are not acquainted with it while pleasing classical fans with familiar pieces. Food ticket booths with separate lines for cash and credit/debit cards will be situated at both entrances to the event. New this year, attendees may pre-purchase food tickets online and simply show an ID at a third will-call line to pick them up and go (pre-purchased tickets are non-refundable). Parking can be a bit tight at Four Freedoms, especially during season, so free shuttles will be running from multiple parking locations downtown. Even with the additional traffic, Silva said that the event organizers feel it is critical to hold Taste of the Cape this time of year. “Most taste events in our area are done off-season, so that is a real challenge for us because it’s hard to get restaurants to commit during season because that’s when they’re really busy,” Silva said. “But for us it was important to do this event during season so people who come down and visit can see what Cape Coral is about.” Connect with this writer: @LauraTichySmith (Twitter) If you go What: Third annual Taste of the Cape and eighth annual Symphony at Sunset When: Noon-6 p.m. Sunday Where: Four Freedoms Park, 4818 Tarpon Court, Cape Coral Cost: Free admission; food purchased with tickets; most items run $3-$8 Info: 471-7300; tasteofcapecoral.com; facebook.com/tasteofthecape Suggested: Beach chair or blanket, sunscreen, sun hat, insect repellant, light jacket Not allowed: No pets or picnic coolers Note: In case of questionable weather, check the event’s Facebook page for updates. Parking information Enter from Sunnybrook Avenue at Cape Coral Parkway; Sunnybrook Avenue and Beach Court will be closed to vehicular traffic. Handicap-accessible parking available at SunTrust Bank, 530 Cape Coral Parkway East; Capital Bank, 506 Cape Coral Parkway East; and Ice Sssscreamin, 520 Cape Coral Parkway East. Parking for free trolley to event available at Club Square lot located between SE 46th Lane and SE 47th Terrace at the intersection with SE 10th Place; the Southwest Florida Military Museum, 4820 Leonard Street; the new public parking lot behind Nevermind Bar and Eatery; between the towers on Cape Coral Parkway; and Big Johns Plaza, 1215 Cape Coral Parkway East. See www.tasteofcapecoral.com for trolley map. Event parking also available in the empty lots in the 400-block of Cape Coral Parkway.

Tropical Shells Title LLC's cover photo

Tropical Shells Title LLC's cover photo