First Annual Friends Of The Bay A Massive Success!

Put-in-Bay Took Over Fort Myers Beach For Friends Of The Bay!

Fort Myers Beach was South Put-in-Bay for the weekend as we flocked to Florida for Friends Of The Bay!

We are overwhelmed with the incredible turnout, and the amazing time that was had by all. We’re already counting down the days until Friends Of The Bay 2026!

Read on to find out how it all went down, and why you should join for next year’s Friends Of The Bay celebration!

If You Want To Be A Friend Of The Bay, You've Also Gotta Come To The Bay! Duh! Plan your trip with these links!

The Party Got Started At Lighthouse TikiBar

As people arrived in Fort Myers Beach and settled into their hotel rooms and vacation rentals, or the many business owners and Put-in-Bay employees that have their own places in the offseason in Fort Myers, they slowly started making their way to Lighthouse Tiki Bar for the evening!

Every hour a few more Friends Of The Bay trickled in, and before you knew it, Put-in-Bay had conquered the Tiki Bar!

We had an amazing night of fun and revelry, and got a little crazy! But not too crazy, because we all knew the best was yet to come for this Friends Of The Bay weekend!

Bob Gatewood Brought The House Down At Margaritaville!

The next day at Margaritaville was the heart of the event.

Bob Gatewood gave an incredible performance, playing Put-in-Bay classics for a huge crowd who loved every second of it!

We got a huge group photo of most, but not all of the Margaritaville crowd, an iconic shot of an incredible occasion!

We Spent Sunday On The Beach At Lani Kai

Sunday was a much more casual affair, as everyone got together at Lani Kai on the beach for fun and relaxation!

The weather was incredible after a couple of chilly days to start the weekend, so the gang was able to enjoy the beach in full!

Lani Kai was the perfect place to spend a casual Sunday with all our Friends Of The Bay!

Back To Margaritaville On Monday For A Pool Party And Farewells!

Now many people had to head back to real life and couldn’t stick around on Monday, but those who did headed back to Margaritaville for a Put-in-Bay Pool Day!

A great wrap-up to an amazing weekend!

We'll See Each Other Again Soon, AT PUT-IN-BAY!

There’s only one thing to do before we all get together again at Fort Myers Beach next January.

And that’s to get together at Put-in-Bay this summer! To start your search for a place to stay, check out Friends Of The Bay organizers’ Paul Jeris’ Island Club Rentals, Ed Fitzgerald’s Commodore Resort and Brad Ohlemacher’s Bird’s Nest Resort! If you need some other options check out our comprehensive Put-in-Bay lodging page!

A Getaway So Great, We're Going To Do It Every Year! Last Weekend In January!

Everyone who came to the event agreed, Friends Of The Bay should be more than just a one time thing!

The dates this year were already picked deliberately. Flights are inexpensive, post-holiday fatigue is going away, and it’s the perfect cold-weather break before the home stretch to spring.

So there isn’t much need to think this through much further, we’re locking it in! Friends Of The Bay will be the last weekend of January every year from now on!

Keep An Eye On This Space For Updates On The 2026 Edition! Jan. 30-Feb. 2 Approximately

We will update this page frequently as we begin to plan and prepare for the 2026 edition of our now annual event!

As always, we’re not going to just shoot for doing the same thing over and over again, but instead we’ll be looking to make it bigger and better! So we’ll still have some surprises in store for those who came last year!

So SAVE THE DATE! Friends Of The Bay II in Fort Myers Beach, FL, January 30th to February 2nd, 2026!