By Mike Wright

The Great American Cooter Fest may be all about the turtle, but organizers this year drummed up something else to bring adults out of their shell.

Entertainment in the form of Southern rock music featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame drummer Artimus Pyle will jam downtown Inverness on Friday night and then continue on through Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

The Cooter Festival kicks off Friday night in downtown Inverness, then continues Saturday and Sunday.

The venue stretches from Liberty Park, home of cooter races, Cooter Idol finalists and games for children, to Wallace Brooks Park that, until this year, was left relatively unused in the previous six Cooter festivals.

“We wanted to better utilize that piece of real estate,” said Josh Wooten, president and chief operating officer of the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the festival with the city of Inverness.

Southern rock music, a beer garden and a separate site for teenage entertainment will expand the Cooter experience throughout the two city parks on Big Lake Henderson.

Wooten and assistant city manager Tom Dick said the idea of adding the musical entertainment was born during last year’s Cooter Fest, when rockers associated with Mitch Simmons’ business, Neon Leon’s Zydeco Steak House in Homosassa, played the front porch of an old house the city had recently bought as part of the Cason Funeral Home property.

Simmons asked Pyle, a founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, to return this year. He will play as part of Southern Rock’s Finest, compiled of former Southern bands such as Marshall Tucker, the Outlaws and the Allman Brothers Band.

Wooten said sponsors are paying for the band’s expenses. There is no admission fee for either the downtown Inverness block party Friday night or the weekend afternoon concerts in Wallace Brooks Park.

The city will debut its new stage that cost about $80,000, Dick said. It will be set up in Wallace Brooks Park for Southern Rock’s Finest and three other bands that will perform throughout the weekend.

“We didn’t really expect all that talent,” Wooten said.

Dick said the city expects the stage will pay for itself in five years because the city will not be renting stages for events. Plus, it will make the stage available for rent to other groups.

He said the city officials are excited about the expanded Cooter Fest.

“We just knew we had to take it to a second level this year,” Dick said.

Cooter Fest staples in Wallace Brooks — such as the barbecue contest Saturday and the Sunday morning triathlon — will still take place, he said.

Bands will take the stage from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

A beer garden and Neon Leon’s Steak House will also be available in Wallace Brooks.

“We wanted to segregate that part far from the kids in Liberty,” Wooten said.

An alcohol- and tobacco-free zone for teens is also planned on the former Cason funeral home property abutting the Withlacoochee State Trail. It will feature a dunking booth and Guitar Hero competitions.

–Meet Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame drummer Artimus Pyle, formerly of Lynyrd Skynyrd, at 7 p.m. Thursday at Neon Leon’s Zydeco Steak House, 10350 W. Yulee Dr., Homosassa.

– Cooter Festival: Special section tells all/ Inside

– For more on the Great American Cooter Fest, go to http://www.cooterfestival.com

Lynyrd Skynyrd Rock Memorabilia will be on display

From Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bands Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Rolling Stones, and the author of several books about his time on the road, Gene Odom will be on hand with the largest traveling Lynyrd Skynyrd memorabilia exhibit including gold records, autographed guitars, stage apparel, rare photos and a R&R Hall of Fame trophy presented by Kid Rock. Also, a hat that was worn by Leon Wilkeson the night Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane crashed.

Experience the chills one gets as the true magnitude of this tragedy is revealed when you view photos of Leon wearing this hat at autograph sessions only three days prior to the crash and then see the hat as it is now, after the crash, with holes and mud stains.

Many family members will be on hand with Gene Odom to share their stories and collectables. You may get autographs and pictures. Then meet and hear Artimus Pyle, on of only two surviving band plane crash survivors, as he re-creates the legendary music of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Lynyrd Skynyrd pause a moment from their relentless touring in 1977 for this vintage photo. http://lynyrdskynyrddixie.com/

Another Classic photo from the great Lynyrd Skynyrd Band in 1977. LynyrdSkynyrdDixie.com

Lynyrd Skynyrd with the classic stars and bars. The iconic symbol for Lynyrd Skynyrd and the south. LynyrdSkynyrdDixie.com