Pine Island's biggest annual bash is back this weekend, with the LCEC 5th Annual Stone Crab Music Fest — Blues & Brews set to take over Winn-Dixie Plaza in St. James City on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Organizers are billing it as the largest festival ever thrown by the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce, promising fresh stone crab, cold beer and a full day of live blues to close out the season's biggest community gathering.
The event is presented by the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce, according to the Pine Island Eagle, which reports the festival will feature blues music, cold beer, stone crabs, and a mix of Pine Island businesses and crafters. Chamber president Dave Conner told the outlet he expects a fun lineup with locally known bands and said the festival now has something for everyone. Conner also said the stone crab season appears to have been pretty good this year, a notion backed up by commercial fisherman Robert Busscher, who told the News-Press that the 2026 season was one of the best years for stone crab claws he had seen.
Four Bands, One Jumbotron and a Full Day of Music
The music schedule kicks off at 11 a.m. with the Mattlee Crew, followed by the CJ Sterlace Band around 1 p.m., Frank Bang & The Secret Stash at approximately 3 p.m., and RJ Howson and Friends closing out the day at 5 p.m., per the Eagle's reporting. Live music will run continuously throughout the day. At 1 p.m., organizers plan to show the Miami Dolphins versus Detroit Lions football game on a jumbotron TV, giving fans a reason to linger even if blues isn't their thing.
Beyond the stage, the festival will offer fresh stone crab claws alongside crab chowder, crab cakes and crab rolls, plus mullet dips, shrimp, hot dogs, ice cream, cold beer and tropical adult beverages. More than 70 island businesses and organizations are expected to set up shop, offering crafts, arts and business information throughout the plaza.
Getting There and Giving Back
Organizers are asking attendees to park outside the plaza and use the local taxi service, with shuttles also running to Truist Bank, The Island Crab and Beacon of Hope. The entrance requests a $5 donation to support island businesses and Pine Island nonprofit organizations, and attendees are encouraged to bring a chair for the day. The festival's Winn-Dixie Plaza venue sits at 9864 Stringfellow Road in St. James City, though listings have varied on the exact address and hours — the chamber's own event page cites both 9940 Stringfellow Road and an 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. window, while Visit Fort Myers lists the same date running only until 6 p.m.
LCEC and Suncoast Beverage Sales are serving as festival sponsors, with Suncoast Beverage Sales having served as presenting sponsor since the festival began, according to the Eagle. Conner said LCEC does a lot for Pine Island, and the festival itself is timed to the Sunday before Veterans Day — a date that also lands well after stone crab season opened on Oct. 15.
A Season Shaped by Weather and Claws
Stone crab season production depends heavily on the number of claws fishermen bring in, and hurricanes have repeatedly disrupted both the harvest and the festival itself in past years. The 2025 festival was originally delayed due to hurricane activity, and the 2022 event was canceled outright because of Hurricane Ian. Fishermen harvest the crabs by breaking off the legal-size claws and returning the live crab to the water, where it can regrow them, a practice the News-Press has documented in its coverage of the regional stone crab industry.
Past festivals have drawn big crowds with a similar formula of food, music and community spirit. The 2025 event, held at the Winn-Dixie Shopping Plaza, was described by the Pine Island Eagle as a draw built on food vendors, bands and continuous encouragement of island businesses. The inaugural festival in 2023 sold out of roughly 250 pounds of stone crab by early afternoon and drew about 60 vendors, including Fine Swine, Tropical Island Pizza and Pine Island Spice Co., with a voluntary $5 gate donation benefiting the island's FISH food pantry and local businesses.
