The 69th Annual Fort Myers Beach Lions Club Shrimp Festival returns Saturday and Sunday, March 13–14, 2027, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days. The festival is on Old San Carlos Boulevard between 1st Street and 3rd Street, with parts of the weekend centered at Bayside Park.
This long-running island tradition celebrates the local pink Gulf shrimp fleet. Expect plenty of “pink gold,” food vendors, an arts and crafts fair, a shrimp boil, and the usual mix of family activities. The Saturday morning Shrimp Festival Parade and 5K Shrimp Run cross the Matanzas Pass Bridge. The bridge is scheduled to close at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, with traffic delays starting as early as 7:30 a.m. The Shrimp Festival Queen pageant is set for Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Bayside Park, and the shrimp-eating contest returns Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at the same park.
It is an easy weekend to pair with a private charter. Cruise Matanzas Pass or Estero Bay, watch the parade from the water, then step ashore near Old San Carlos for shrimp, crafts, and the bayside events. Times and the full schedule can still shift, so check the latest updates before you go: Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival.
Make the weekend yours on the water. Book a private luxury charter with SeaEO and arrive at Fort Myers Beach in style. Reserve your date at sea-eo.com or call (757) 775-1458.