Festival president lighting up the night
But it's love not work for Steven Stage
BY EVAN WILLIAMS ewilliams@florida-weekly.com
Steven W. Stage, a seasoned, grey-haired southerner, whose sense of hospitality is fully intact, lives and works in downtown Fort Myers. He is serving a one year volunteer term as President of The Edison Festival of Light. As such, his schedule demands that he work early and late in between his job as a certified building contractor to make this celebration of Thomas Edison and his glowing history shine.

FLORIDA WEEKLY PHOTO EVAN WILLIAMS President of The Edison Festival of Light, Steven W. Stage

An average workday for Stage starts about 5:30 a.m. He's on the phone and firing off emails around 7, then drops off the kids at school a half-hour later and then he's at the Edison Festival's office downtown by 8. The rest of the day flies by with appointments and meetings.

"It's a tremendous amount of work but it's a labor of love," Stage said.

The festival's temporary, makeshift offices in the City Pier downtown looked out on a grey day over the Caloosahatchee River last week. Meanwhile, Stage discussed his ongoing involvement in the program.

Stage has been behind the scenes of the festival for years, he said, and was mentored in the finer points by past president Ross Martin. "It was mostly marketing this family oriented event to companies who embrace the quality of life here in Southwest Florida, such as Chico's Charities. Cole Peacock, of Chico's, over the last three years, has taken every phone call or email and returned it immediately no matter how crazy an idea I was pushing."

One of Stage's whims was incorporating falling water into the festival's parade; that one fell through.

"No, there's no way," Stage said.

It's not the first time Stage, 49, has faced professional disappointment. When he moved to Florida from Indiana almost 30 years ago, what he got here wasn't what he had in mind.

"I moved here from Indiana to pursue a career as a professional golfer," he said. "And I played well enough to become a construction worker."

But at least he got sunshine.

"I got snowed in, in Indiana," Stage said. "When I realized you could never shovel snow here, I moved to Florida."

Growing up in Indiana, Stage's golf career had taken off. His father was a professional golfer, and Stage and his two sisters often traveled to Florida. But in Indiana, he was a big fish in a little pond.

"In Florida I was plankton in the ocean," he said. "Everyone fed on me. It was the most humbling experience of my life."

But the Edison Festival may be one of the brightest. So how bright will things actually get? Stage said the minimum of 20 floats traveling down the parade route, carrying a total of about 100,000 watts of light, will be hard to miss.

"That's a carbon footprint to think about," he said.

Stage said he's also thinking about the economy this year; most of the festival's events are free, in part because of the support of local businesses.

"We're fortunate that major sponsors like Chicos, Florida Power and Light and the City of Fort Myers continue to be involved in sponsorship even in these trying economic times," Stage said. "Even with the increased cost of fuel, the Galloway Family of Dealerships has not wavered from their normal level of participation."

Events that do carry a price tag aren't as much as last year, Stage said. "Light up the Town" concerts in Centennial Park downtown on Feb. 8 and 9 feature live local and national bands. Among the line-up is local favorite Poor Richard and the Almanacs (Friday night) and long time rocker Eddie Money (Saturday). It's only $5 per night to see it all.

"We are conscious of what it costs," he said.

Stage is also very conscious that he will soon be turning 50 (on Black Friday, he said). Unlike the festival weekend, that's going to be a dark, dark day.

"I told my neighbors I'll be in the middle of the road drinking a beer in my underwear," he joked.

Stage said he's fortunate to have three children (17, 15 and 7) and a wife, Bobbi- Lynn, who understand the long hours he puts into organizing the festival.

"The most exiting thing is the joy on the children's faces at all the events but especially the Junior Parade," he said.

About 17,500 people are projected to be there on Feb.10 for the Junior Parade, which starts in downtown Fort Myers at First Street and Hendry Street at 2:30 p.m.

But personally, he's exited about being in the Grand Parade on Feb. 17, which about 200,000 people get a chance to see. It starts in downtown Fort Myers along Edwards Drive at 7p.m. and lasts about two hours, traveling along Cleveland Avenue to the Edison Stadium at Fort Myers High School.

"I'll have on my Parade Marshall jacket, with a radio in one ear and a Nextel phone hooked to the other," he said. "And I'll be waving like a madman as we go down the parade route."