"I do not want to be a food truck park anymore," owner Rebecca Maddox told the Naples Press about the venue she opened on Haldeman Creek in November 2018. Celebration Park closed for more than six weeks for a $1 million refresh and reopened in October. It now has about half as many trucks as before.
Fewer trucks is the headline, but the bigger change is what the park is now meant for. The refreshed layout, the bar menu and the calendar all point to a place for long evenings by the water. That puts it in step with the rest of Bayshore Drive, which now gives people a reason to come for breakfast and another reason to come back after dark.
Half the Trucks, a Stage in the Middle
For years the park's identity was simple. People came for the trucks, ordered at a window and found a picnic table. The refresh rearranges the property so the food comes first at the entrance and the rest of the park is set up for staying.
| Element | Before the refresh | After the October relaunch |
|---|---|---|
| Food trucks | About eight on site | About half as many, parked near the Becca Avenue entrance |
| Stage | Off the water | Moved to the center of the park |
| Waterfront | Seating and bar | More furniture down on the water, with a fully re-equipped bar |
| Logo | Featured a food truck | Four forest green leaves around an orange star cross, with no truck |
The trucks and the water are now separated by open ground. In the Naples Press account, the space between them holds the new stage, more seating and an open area for dancing. The sound system was installed by a team Maddox brought in from New York. Maddox also listed new bathrooms, lighting, railings, landscaping and more comfortable furniture. The new orange shows up on resin Adirondack-style chairs and on the umbrellas over the high-tops and picnic tables.
Maddox said the work was "not completely done" when the park reopened, and that she expected a grand opening "probably early November" once the final touches were finished. She has said she would like to add a flagpole with an American flag and have "Taps" played each night as it is lowered.
The Trucks That Stayed
The trucks are fewer, but the lineup still covers a lot of ground. At the relaunch, the Naples Press listed these chef-driven trucks:
- Authentic Greek, with gyros, spinach pie, souvlaki, salads and baklava
- Gigi's Chicken Coop, with tenders, wings, wraps, ribs and mac and cheese
- GoGo Gourmet, with Wagyu Philly cheesesteaks, New Zealand lamb chops, grilled cheese and hot dogs
- OCN Seafood Co., with grouper bites and sandwiches, lobster rolls, and seafood baskets and bowls
- Rick's Taco Cartel, with tacos, quesadillas, nachos and Mexican street corn
The rebuilt bar sits on the western end of the property, overlooking the water, and it is where the new menu goes furthest. Next to margaritas, mojitos and espresso martinis are house drinks. The Banana Colada uses rum, banana, coconut and lime. The Maple Mai Tai pairs rum and curaçao with almond and maple. The Cucumber Mule uses cucumber vodka and ginger beer, and The Last Straw mixes tequila blanco with strawberry and ginger. Mocktails are on the list too. Maddox told the Naples Press that the bar menu is "completely changed and updated" and that the park will put much more emphasis on events and party catering.
A Schedule Built Around Sunset
The hours fit an evening venue. On its official site, Celebration Park at 2880 Becca Ave. lists these hours:
- Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The park is closed on Mondays. Happy hour runs Tuesday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m., so it ends close to sunset on a November evening.
The park's events calendar gives each night a theme. This week's lineup ran Taco Tuesday, Pizza & Wine Wednesday, Tito's & Burgers Thursday, Opa! Fridays and Taste of the Park Saturday. For anyone reading this on Thursday, November 5, here is the rest of the week:
- Thursday, November 5: Tito's & Burgers Thursday.
- Friday, November 6: Opa! Fridays, with Florida Rhythm Kings on stage from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Saturday, November 7: Taste of the Park Saturday, with Travis G from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and BBMAK from 8 to 10 p.m.
Saturday's music runs in two sets that start near sunset and end at closing time. The stage in the middle of the park is meant for exactly that kind of night.
The Other Side of Bayshore Drive
Maddox explained the timing of the refresh by pointing across the street. She also owns Rebecca's and The Maddox at 2955 Bayshore Drive, and she told the Naples Press that the progress on Bayshore "encouraged me to spend a million bucks to redo the park." She put the park's past traffic at "tens of thousands, 50,000 people a month," and said she did not want visitors to see a worn venue and decide "that's Bayshore."
Across the street, the day now starts earlier. Rebecca's opened in 2023, and the Naples Daily News reported on October 22 that in early October it added The Morning Affair. It is an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet inspired by Maddox's travels and by European hotel breakfasts, with flaky pastries, French quiche, smoked salmon and fresh honeycomb. Rebecca's also serves brunch, lunch and dinner and runs the Three60 Wine shop. The Maddox is a private social club on the same campus. Its design includes private tasting rooms, wine storage and a cigar patio.
Put together, one owner now runs a European breakfast and a wine bar on one side of Bayshore Drive and a waterfront stage with a sunset bar on the other.
February Brings the Cars to Bayshore
The clearest sign that Bayshore is drawing events that used to belong to downtown comes in winter. The Naples Press reported that Cars on 5th announced in the first week of September that it was moving to Bayshore Drive under the name Cars on 5th: Naples Bayshore. The Naples Daily News put the date at February 6, 2027, and Jay Leno is scheduled to return.
The size of the move shows in the numbers. According to the Naples Press, the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District's annual report credits the 2025 show with $1.6 million in direct business downtown and 1,535 hotel room nights. On Bayshore, the roughly 750 cars will be lined up in a single parking lane along the northbound boulevard. That makes the walk about twice as long as the old downtown route, and organizers are arranging shuttles with stops along the way. Fifth Avenue South will still have a car show. The Fifth Avenue BID's own show is scheduled for February 27.
A show that lines up cars along the length of Bayshore Drive needs places along the route where people can stop, eat and sit down. Before the refresh, Celebration Park was known as a food truck park. It now has a waterfront bar, a center stage and a calendar of themed nights.
When you are ready to plan a season around Bayshore's evenings, or to find a home within an easy drive of Haldeman Creek's sunsets, Angelica Andrews is glad to share the local view. Request a Private Consultation.
