I haven't been there in many years, due to health reasons, so I can't give an opinion of what's…read moregoing on there now. My hat's off to them though for keeping their doors open, it seems they are the only Drag Strip south of Bradenton that IS still open, even though it's my understanding, they mostly do Test and Tune Racing, now and then. They used to have Bracket Races every weekend before the Hurricanes, Tropical Storms and just plain rain started interfering. Ralph Hester was instrumental in making it a fun place to be as he would mingle with everyone, race his own car, have FREE Bar-B-Q's and he built this awesome Ice Cream maker, run by a CAR ENGINE, that would make multiple individual flavors at the same time, that tasted GREAT and was also FREE. Oh how I long for the good old days!

So fun to watch the cars Definitely kid friendly and there…read moreare bathrooms but they are nasty so I recommend bringing wet wipes so you Atleast have toilet paper to use

I was looking online for events that were happening while Nate and I were in town and the Naples…read moreDowntown Art Fair came up. We decided to check out the farmer's market and then head to the art fair when it opened at 10 am. We had so much fun! The art fair was massive, with tons of artists in the lovely Cambier Park. There were 200+ artists with all kinds of art ranging from painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, and more. It was so lovely just wandering around the nicely shaded park looking at all the art. Most artists were posted at their booths ready to answer questions or ring up sales. I noticed that a lot of the artists were from other states (with Minnesota being represented more than I would have expected). There was no charge to enter the fair but they did have a suggested donation of $10. There were a couple food trucks parked at the fair and we enjoyed some Rita's Italian Ice. I'm so glad we got to check out this Art Fair.

Naples Balloon Glow - November 15, 2020…read more This was a great experience. We got there at 5pm sharp - to get something to eat and beat the crowd (great plan). There was a large selection of food choices (just no alcohol). If you're smart - bring your own chairs (but there are plenty of places to sit and eat). Also, bring bug spray. They started blowing up the balloons around 5:30 pm (still light out). By the time it's dusk, most of the balloons are up. At 7:00 pm, they do an "introduction" (over the PA system), telling you about each balloon's pilot. At the conclusion of the introductions, all the balloons light up at the same time - really cool. They do it again about 10-15 minutes later. Not sure if they do it again (I'm guessing they do) because we left at that time - around 7:30 pm. But they are open until 9:00 pm.

Same old crap every year. Same vendors. Same pigs. Same food. The only thing that isn't the same is…read morethe admission.

Here comes the monster jam truck races. This weekend…read more Not your regular park. This is the home of the world famous swamp buggy races when water is pumped onto the track. Parking is plentiful dusty and free. They do allow golf carts but no ATV's. The races are held in January March and October. It's a mile long figure 8 with two sippy holes. Plenty of different classes. Saturday is time trials then a dance then and races are on Sunday followed by the main event. And dunking of the swamp buggy queen. When the track is dry its a monster truck race track. The swamp buggy races are a local tradition and a part of Naples history. People come to stay the weekend in their tents, RV's. No electrical or water or cable hookups.

Longtime golf fans know the QBE Shootout as the Franklin Templeton Shootout. Congratulations to the…read moreShootout's latest winners, Harris English and Matt Kuchar, for capturing this event's trophy for the third time. English and Kuchar are the only duo to win this event three times together: 2013, 2016, 2020. Brad Faxon and Scott McCarron are both three-time winners as well, but they each had different teammates in their maiden victories: Faxon and Fred Couples in 1994 and McCarron and Bruce Lietzke in 1997. As a Kuch fan and fellow Georgia Tech alum, what's interesting about the team of English and Kuchar is they're from rival schools. English (age 31) played collegiately at Georgia and turned pro in 2011. Kuch (age 42) played collegiately at Georgia Tech and turned pro in 2000. This UGA-Tech pairing has proved to be quite formidable. Not only has this unusual Bulldog-Yellow Jacket combo won this event three times, but they also just set the tournament record for margin of victory with their *nine*-shot win last month. The QBE Shootout is an unofficial event on the PGA Tour meaning it doesn't award any FedEx Cup points nor official money. That said, its purse in 2020 was $3.6 million and English and Kuchar each took home $447,500 in prize money. The field was small, consisting only of 12 two-player teams. Other pairings of note included Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Watson, Cameron Champ and Tony Finau, and Daniel Berger and Steve Stricker. It's not the most star-studded event, but it's still fun to watch on a lazy Saturday or Sunday nonetheless (NBC). This "offseason" event is also more casual as the players will opt to give their regular caddies a break and have someone unconventional on the bag. Examples in 2020 included Kuchar's 13-year-old son, Cameron, as his caddie and Stricker's wife, Nicki, as his. Obviously, with two-player teams, the tournament format is unconventional too. There are three rounds and the formats are mixed. First round is scramble, second round is modified alternate shot (both players tee off on every hole, alternate shot from there), and third round is fourball a.k.a. best ball (both players play their own ball and the lower score of the two is recorded as the team score). The QBE Shootout is hosted by Greg Norman and is currently played on the Gold Course that he designed at Tiburon Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples (Florida). It's been held annually since 1989, most recently every December.

This review is not about Alico Arena but the FGCU's men's basket final game for the Atlantic Sun…read moreConference 2018 championship game at Alico Arena. A group of us went to watch the game after lunch to cheer for our local team and dreaming FGCU playing in the NCAA Tournament! We have our Raining 3, Wings Up, and our white shirts and tops on to support FGCU Eagles - Dunk City vs Lipscomb's Bison. First, FGCU has a talented roster with transfer from Miami, VCU, UCF, Michigan and Iowa State. Lipscomb is more homegrown team with local talent from Nashville area. It was Lipscomb first time in 12 years at the Atlantic Sun Final. However, Lipscomb beat FGCU three times at the Alico Arena. We missed shots, dunked and outplayed in the first half. FGCU cut the Lipscomb's 31 points lead to five in eight minutes in the second half. Strong team effort with leadership from guard Goodwin and Johnson. The arena rock!!! But ... with guard Zach Johnson (37 points) fouled out in the last remaining few minutes, the only hope is try for title next year. Lipscomb 108, FGCU 96. We lost! May be next year we can have Bison Burger for lunch at the Atlantic Sun Conference Final!

My first time at this arena. I am attending a high school graduation…read more First impression: ample and clean. I am used to the Amway Center in Orlando, but for a university arena, this is a nice place. I can't comment on concessions or other services as I am here for a different type of venue, but it seats 4700 and is designed well. Seats are a plastic blue, folding type of chair with enough room for an above average derrière (wink, wink). That's about it for me, until I come again maybe for a game.