Your go-to guide for navigating the Gulf Coast’s cultural calendar, from regional traditions and world premieres to snacks that fuel discovery.
Perfect Pairings
Every marquee moment deserves its match—here’s whereto sip and savor before or after the show.
Black Tie Affair: On January 21 at Marco Island Center for the Arts, slip into the skillful stylings of pianist Ben Rosenblum, whose command of jazz traditions makes him a favorite among Southwest Florida audiences. Dress to the nines and cap off the evening in Ario at JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, a sultry, dress-to-impress bar befitting jazz’s Roaring Twenties heyday.
Southern Soul: Downtown Fort Myers’ newest spot for Southern soul food with a refined edge, Fancy’s Southern Cafe, makes for the perfect place to prime your palate for teen bluegrass phenom Wyatt Ellis. The Grand Ole Opry-caliber mandolinist, singer, and songwriter takes the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center stage on January 16.
Aw Shucks: Head to Naples for a nautically inspired afternoon exploring shell artist Karine Almir’s intricate Sailor’s Valentines at Eydel Fine Arts Gallery’s Mixed Media Menagerie exhibit, opening January 1. Then, honor the artist’s medium on-plate with a seasonal bounty of oysters from The Syren.
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Courtesy Marco Island Center for the Arts
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Courtesy Wyatt Ellis
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Teen bluegrass star Wyatt Ellis brings his talents to Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center on January 16.
Make a Day of It
Botanicals in Bayshore: From lush gardens to verdant nurseries and blooming murals, Bayshore Arts District offers abundant natural inspiration for Naples Botanical Garden’s annual Plein Air Fest on January 24.
The Main Event: Head to Naples Botanical Garden between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to observe local artists render their inspirations—live and alfresco—in a variety of mediums.
Java Jaunt: Pop over to chef John Colón’s new coffee and brunch go-to, Bayshore Bodega, where waterfront views meld with Mediterranean and Spanish flavor combinations.
Nursery Musings: Peruse plants and locally made pots and planters from artisans like Brianna Elaty at Green Door Nursery, a family-run operation specializing in rare and exotic blooms.
Garden to Gallery: Keep the artistry going with a pit stop at Bayshore Art Gallery—formerly Things I Like By Catherine. There, Marc Zimmerman’s tropical florals and landscapes echo Naples Botanical Garden’s splendor, while the nearby mural running along The Gardenia House takes the floral infusion to the streets.
Happy Hour: An under-the-radar Bayshore icon, The Real Macaw brings island charm to happy hour with live music from Ricky Freeman and Steve Dubois under a palm tree canopy.
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Marc Zimmerman’s Collaboration
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The Bayshore Arts District makes for a botanically driven backdrop, with dining, events and artistry meant to be enjoyed alfresco.
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Marc Zimmerman’s Large Floral Invention
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At Bayshore Art Gallery, previously Things I Like By Catherine, Marc Zimmerman’s bold, floral abstracts echo the subtropical landscape.
In The Know
A theatrical premiere and the revival of an old tradition herald the arrival of a longstanding Gulfshore Playhouse dream—to be a birthplace for theater.
When Gulfshore Playhouse opened the door to its Baker Theatre and Education Center last fall, founder Kristen Coury shared her vision for the space. She saw it as a place where shows don’t just tour through the facility but begin there. January 29 marks the first major step toward that vision with the world premiere of Circle Forward.
Back in 2023, when Kristen and her troupe performed out of the petite Norris Center of Cambier Park, playwright Deb Hiett presented one of the first readings of her time-bending tale of love, loss and humor at Gulfshore Playhouse’s New Works Festival. It takes time to get things right—Deb spent the following years perfecting her script and mastering the staging (and making a cameo in the Barbie movie); Gulfshore Playhouse dove into constructing a theater suited to the type of grand tale playwrights dream of bringing to life.
Now, as the two converge once again for Circle Forward’s world premiere, Kristen and her team are taking the time to honor the occasion and look forward to the future. “We are relaunching our New Works Festival as the Next Wave Festival, which kicks off on the opening weekend of Circle Forward,” says chief marketing officer Rachel Applegate. “So at the same time we’re offering the world premiere of a play that we championed, we’ll be doing readings of new plays that you may see in the future at Gulfshore Playhouse.”
Photography by Christina Bankson
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Curator Spotlight
Marge LeeMeet the transformational curator behind Tribby Arts Center at Shell Point, who debuts an environmentally driven exhibit from St. Louis textile artist Sun Smith-Forêt on January 28.
Resident curator Marge Lee consults a mental checklist when deciding what exhibit to schedule for Tribby Arts Center at Shell Point: It has to have variety and surprise, it needs to be approachable for all ages, and when visitors walk in, they have to say ‘Wow!’ The latter was a sentiment Marge picked up from Southwest Florida’s late philanthropist and art lover Maggie Tribby—the namesake half of the two-woman driving force behind the center’s transformational 2021 opening.
When Marge and her husband retired to Shell Point 11 years ago, she quickly drew the attention of the retirement community’s administration. Her three decades of experience working with museum curation, communication and consulting—from Saint Louis Art Museum to Baltimore Museum of Art to the National Trust for Historic Preservation—made Marge the perfect candidate to collaborate with Maggie, who had expressed an interest in funding a sculpture garden on the grounds. “At the same time, I became aware that the facilities for art here at Shell Point were not what a lot of people would like to see,” she says of the handful of craft studios available at the time. “But I saw a passion to create, and those even who were not artists were saying, ‘We love the arts, we like to go see good exhibitions, but we’re not as mobile as we would like to be.’”
Marge responded by partnering with Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center to host Ageless Creativity, an exhibit of works from Shell Point residents that revived long-abandoned talks of building an art center on the community’s grounds. She brought the idea to the community’s new president, Martin Schappell, who said there was land available, but there was a catch: The residents would need to raise the money themselves, and they’d have to do it in six months. “I remember sitting in his office saying, ‘We can do that,’” Marge says. “Then I walked out of his office thinking, ‘How are we going to do that?’”
In search of a legacy project, Maggie agreed to donate $10 million in seed money. Marge brought the momentum to the residents. “I told them, ‘I promise, if you support this art center, it will change your lives for the better,” she says. By the end of the year, they’d secured the necessary funds.
Now, Tribby Arts Center is a bastion of creativity for residents and regional art lovers alike, with studios, a library, and sprawling gallery and performing arts spaces that host year-round talent from across the country. “There’s people up there every day, engaged in the exhibits, working in studios. The performances sell out,” she says. “It’s a wonderful thing.”
Courtesy Tribby Arts Center at Shell Point
Curator Marge Lee was the driving force behind Shell Point’s lofty art center, which was completed in 2021.