The Southwest Florida Ag Expo opened Thursday with a dignitary-studded ribbon-cutting and has continued to draw daily crowds looking for rides, midway attractions and more to the Lee County Civic Center.

With a new name and focus, the now county-run celebration continues through March 10.

If early reaction is an indication, this year’s re-brand from fair to expo hasn’t hindered enthusiasm.

Phyllis Allsworth and Judy Hirschfield, both from Michigan, were two of the first to enter the fairgrounds and experience the festivities on opening night.

“It’s family-oriented. There are many things to do with your family, and it’s military day,” said Allsworth, a veteran. “There are tons of cool stuff to try, and everyone should give the fair a shot.”

The two were most looking forward to enjoying some fresh-cut fries and the attractions as they walked the grounds off Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers.

“It’s a great price for the events and the environment involved here,” Hirschfield said. “It’s a great time for friends and family, and we hope the city includes more events like this in the future.”

Lee County dedicated the efforts of an estimated 300 employees to its first-year organizational effort, also adding 208 parking spots to deal with expected crowds.

Gate admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 4-11. Admission is free for children 3 and under and for retired and active military with ID.Parking is free.

Lee County said the Southwest Florida Ag Expo came together as a team effort.

“It takes a team; we’ve had hundreds of county employees come together. They come from different departments, including Parks and Rec,” said Miriam Dotson, SWFL Ag Expo spokesperson who also serves as communications manager for the Lee County Visitors & Convention Bureau. “We’ve had different parts of the county that have shown their expertise and more experience in putting on large-scale events and being successful.”

“It was a group effort thinking about everything, from making sure that connectivity was good to organizing the vendors,” Dotson said. “There’s more than 300 different animal exhibits and nearly 900 different creative living exhibitors; it’s been a lot to coordinate.”

The expo includes creative living competitions which showcase crafts, culinary, and horticulture exhibits. The contests don’t have any age restrictions and are open to residents of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, and Lee County.

While the expo shines a new spotlight on area youth involved in agricultural programs such as 4-H, the expo includes various rides, live performances, midway games and places to grab some of your favorite festival foods.

Staff spent weeks preparing the event and had high hopes it would bring the Southwest Florida community together.

And they have high hopes for bigger events in the future.

“The response ahead of time, just the community and responding on social media and asking those questions is exciting it is very encouraging,” Dotson said. “I can’t say exactly when or if we will have bigger events like this, but we’re hoping it’s a big goal to bring the community together and keep this going.”

“When we talk about big events like this, it brings in traffic and things like that, but it also has more of a positive benefit. Of course, it’s always the gathering, but being able to get out and learn more about your community,” Dotson said. “Events like this are always great. We want to make sure that you’re logistically planning it properly and thinking about all parties involved and whether you are a visitor coming for the one-time event or if you live here or not. So it’s always great to be able to have these things, but you always want to be careful and making sure everybody is on board.”

Remaining Promotional nights include:

• Senior Day, Wednesday, March 6, gates open at 4 p.m., regular admission, and $5 for 50 years old and older, $25 ride wristband.

• Latin Day, Sunday, March 10, gates open at 11 a.m., regular admission and $40 ride wristband.

Remaining Livestock Show events include:

• Wednesday, March 6

6 p.m. Swine Show and Showmanship Competition

6 p.m. Fur Showmanship Competition

• Thursday, March 7

6 p.m. Steer Show and Showmanship Competition

7 p.m. Fur Awards – Showmanship and Show

7 p.m. Horse Costume Contest

• Friday, March 8

5 p.m. Steer Grooming Show

6 p.m. PeeWees of SWFL & 4-H Cloverbud Awards

6:30 p.m. Horse Speed Show

7 p.m. Small Animal Auction

• Saturday, March 9

Noon Fur Fun Costume Contest

2 p.m. Fur Fun Show – Agility

2 p.m. Market Animal Auction (Steer & Swine)

6 p.m. Horse Fun Show

• Sunday, March 10

11 a.m. Horse Awards

Traffic is expected and additional parking spots have been added, including another location, 18871 Old Bayshore Road, for overflow parking. A shuttle will be available for attendees to travel to the fair.

The event is at The Lee County Civic Center Complex at 11831 Bayshore Road, North Fort Myers.

For more information regarding events, visit swflagexpo.com, or follow the Facebook page.