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	Search Events Calendar Spring TrainingTwo major league baseball teams – the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins – kick off their spring training at Fort Myers' Lee County Sports Complex in March.Art of the OlympiansThe new gallery and museum features impressive artwork and an uplifting message, bringing the Olympic spirit to downtown Fort Myers in full force.

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The Edison & Ford Winter Estates glow during the holidays.

Holiday Nights pays tribute to Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and the festivity of the season at a 34-year Lee County tradition enjoyed by more than 33,000 visitors each year. The event kicks off on Dec. 10, 2009, with the first annual Preview Party, including food and beverages riverside, live music and a wreath auction. Tickets are $60 per person.

From Dec. 11, 2009, through Jan. 3, 2010, the Estates host nightly performances of dance, instrumental and choral music; Santa visits; and the Children's Tree Trail, a veritable forest of lighted trees decorated with ornaments hand-made by Lee County students.

Antique, reproduction and designer decorations will follow this year's theme: Favorite Things. The light show will combine a display of tiny bright lights, new LED varieties and antique light displays from the collections of the Estates and museums as far away as the Schenectady Museum in upstate New York (home of GE, which manufactured the lights). The event has also added areas with projected laser light star fields this year.

Thomas and Mina Edison and their good friends Henry and Clara Ford spent their winters in side-by-side homes on the Caloosahatchee River. Edison chose the site for its plants, which he used in his experiments to invent the light bulb. He eventually planted a botanical garden and built a laboratory.

Today the 20-acre Estates and gardens, recently renovated to the tune of $12 million, are one of the region's proudest attractions. They shine at their best during Holiday Nights. The property and the royal palm trees that front it light up every night (the Estates are closed Christmas Eve and Day) from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The Estates' Creative Cottage will exhibit works by Southwest Florida artists, chefs and craftsmen. Visitors are welcome to shop for Christmas gifts, plants and other items in the historic Cottage Shoppe, Museum Store and Garden Shoppe. The Estates Museum and Edison's Lab will be open nightly, as will the Riverside Lights Cafe for refreshments.

Cost of admission is $15 for adults, $1 for children ages 6-12 and free for children under age 6. For more information, call 239-334-7419 or visit www.efwefla.org.

Last modified on Jan 28, 2010

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