FORT MYERS, Fla.--- Cars, trucks, and vans circled around streets in downtown Fort Myers as drivers searched for spots.
"We had a hard time parking," said Mary Romano, after she eventually found a spot.
Friday night was the opening night of ArtFest in downtown Fort Myers. Last year's event had ninety thousand people attend.
People that headed downtown Friday night were worried about the congestion.
"We came here to see the art work and everything looks wonderful," said Mike Watts, who made the drive up from Naples with his family. "It was very difficult to find parking. We are five blocks down and we came early," he added.
Drivers hunted for spots on the streets that weren't shutdown for the art festival. Ryan Walker and his family had to hurry up and move their car before the streets closed.
"We're going to go and move it and put it in a place where we know it won't get towed," said Walker, as he was walking back to move his car with his children.
Some people decided to shell out $10 to park in the garage by Main Street in order to avoid some of the hassle. However, even those spots got filled.
"We had to circle the block several times and traffic is a little slow," said Roberta Casaletto, who was in town from Boston. "We were able to find a spot when someone was leaving," she added.
People who have gone to ArtFest before said the earlier you plan to arrive the better.
"We drove here from Pine Island last year and circled everywhere," said JoAnne Foster, while she stopped by a few of the exhibits. "We didn't find any and after an hour, we drove back home," she added.
The City of Fort Myers told 4 In Your Corner there's plenty of parking to be had. ArtFest and the City of Fort Myers offer a free trolley service to help people get from their cars to the event.
ArtFest will be back Saturday and Sunday. The festival opens at 10 a.m and ends at 5 p.m each day.
