Edison parade shines in Fort Myers: 'Everybody comes together and just has a good time.'

The police sirens wailed. The marching bands danced. And more than 50 floats glowed in the Fort Myers night.

The Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade finally arrived Saturday after two weeks of concerts, car shows and other events. And the crowd loved it.

They cheered and clapped and grinned as more than 175 parade units passed by on Cleveland Avenue and through the streets of downtown Fort Myers: A giant lightbulb balloon wearing sunglasses. Fire engines with red lights flashing. And one colorful, illuminated float after another.

Debbie Metcalf and her family watched the parade from their small tent on Llewellyn Drive off Edison Avenue. They got there at 1:30 p.m. Saturday – a full 5 1/2 hours before show time – just to get a good spot.

Metcalf of Cape Coral said she looks forward to seeing the parade every year. It’s one of the biggest night parades in the Southeastern United States and also the biggest and longest-running parade in Southwest Florida.

"We’ve been doing it since the kids were in high school, about 10-15 years," Metcalf said. "I love the community feel and how everybody comes together and just has a good time. And I become a nerd and I start waving and clapping (laughs)."

Edison parade highlights: Mexican dancers, marching bands and more

Thousands of people crowded the sidewalks to watch the annual parade travel from Fort Myers High School to downtown Fort Myers — an 86-year-old tradition honoring former Fort Myers resident Thomas Edison. That's why all the floats and participants are illuminated every year with Christmas lights, glow sticks, TV screens, spotlights and more. It's all a nod to Edison's famous light bulb.

The parade started at about 7 p.m. Saturday with police motorcycles and the kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing members of Guns n Hoses Pipes n Drums band playing "God Bless America."

Bystanders on Llewellyn Drive near Cleveland Avenue craned their necks to see the first units as they started rolling up the street.

"Yay!" one kid shouted as he saw the blue lights of the police motorcycles appear. "Yay!"

From there, the sights kept coming down Cleveland Avenue and through the streets of downtown Fort Myers: Marching bands dancing and rocking out to songs like "Lowrider," antique military vehicles and police cars, lots of Lee County Sheriff’s Office vehicles (including a bomb-disarming robot and several drones floating along the parade route), FPL line workers in hard hats and yellow vests, and a group of about 200 people walking or doing Mexican folk dances in feathered Aztec headdresses and other traditional Mexican costumes.

The parade featured about 175 units in all ― 25 more than last year ― including 17 high-school marching bands and about 55 floats, parade co-chairman John Taylor said last week.

This year's grand marshal, longtime parade chairman Mike Gill, waved from a pick-up truck near the start of the parade. And the crowd happily waved and cheered back, seeming to appreciate all his hard work keeping the parade going for more than four decades.

"Mike Gill!" people shouted from the sidewalks. "Hey Mike!"

Last week, the 74-year-old Gill said he was looking forward to a stress-free week and simply riding in the parade for once.

"I'm just going to be riding and waving," he said. "And I'm not worried about timing and this, that and the other thing. I'm looking forward to it."

The Magic School Bus: One of many floats

There was lots more to see in the parade, too: Various mayors, city managers and other leaders; the NBC2 news and weather team sporting matching, glowing umbrellas; skateboarders doing tricks and catching sparks on the pavement; and, of course, the many parade floats — including a bright yellow Magic School Bus from Ray V. Pottorf Elementary School.

Pottorf's teachers and students waved, smiled and danced to the "Cha Cha Slide" on a float painted to look like the bus from the popular kids book series "The Magic School Bus." Librarian Trish Haas stood at the front of the float dressed like the book's magical school teacher, Ms. Frizzle – orange hair, red shoes, space-themed dress and all.

This was her 13th year taking part in the parade, she said before the parade started. "I just love the excitement. I love that it keeps going year after year after year."

Music teacher Libby O'Connor, along with a few other teachers, painted the bus-shaped float bright yellow with the slogan "A JOURNEY TO BRIGHTER FUTURES." O'Connor said she's loved the parade since she was a kid.

"It really displays what's great about Fort Myers," she said. "I grew up here. I was born and raised here. And it's just a great experience to see the whole community come out."

86 years of the Edison Fest parade in Fort Myers

The Grand Parade is the biggest event in Fort Myers' annual Edison Festival of Light, a two-week celebration that began in February 1938 as a way to honor Fort Myers' most famous winter resident, inventor Thomas Edison.

The annual fest includes concerts, parades, car shows and more. But the biggest draw is always the Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade, which attracts thousands of spectators to downtown Fort Myers every year. Crowd estimates go as high as about 200,000.

Tracy Thomas of Fort Myers has been coming to the parade for about 30 years. This year she brought her grandkids, too, and she hopes they love it as much as she does.

"We've made a tradition out of it," she said.

They all sat on lawn chairs in the middle of Cleveland Avenue at about 5 p.m. Saturday, patiently waiting for the parade to start. The road was closed to traffic for the parade.

"I like the bands and the floats," Thomas said. "And I just like to people watch."

— Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com. Follow or message him on social media: Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), X (formerly Twitter) (@charlesrunnells), Threads (@crunnells1) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Edison Fest parade brings thousands to downtown Fort Myers