Belle’s dress was not described as blue; her apron not white. For eight visually impaired guests at The Naples Players’ 2023 production of Beauty and the Beast JR—Belle’s dress was thick and starchy. Beast’s ears were soft and fluffy, like a teddy bear. TNP invited visually impaired guests backstage to meet with the cast and interact with the set and wardrobe as part of the organization’s newer ‘touch tours,’ an offering that TNP aims to incorporate into all of its productions. The tours exalt the community theater’s recently updated mission statement that focuses on inclusivity. TNP recogniz ..read more

OK, I’m gonna put the hook in the vise. We want the shank parallel to the floor … The next thing we’re gonna figure out is what size eyes we want. The eyes will affect the sink rate.” I am sitting in the home workshop of Drew Chicone, saltwater fly-tying master, watching him create a salmon-colored imitation shrimp to attract fish. He wraps thread around the hook to form a body, secures little black bead chain eyes and adds silicone legs to mimic the crustacean’s anatomy, sparkling fibers for attention-grabbing shimmer and rabbit fur to regulate the fly’s movement. He snips the thread end and ..read more

Mariah Landry Landscape Architect, VIVA Landscapes Mariah Landry isn’t a force of nature. She’s a force for nature. During business hours, you’ll find her poring over blueprints for a lush and liveable native landscape, complete with walkable gardens with endemic plants, to weather the storms on Sanibel Island. After hours, or perhaps before, you may spot her on the water with her charter captain-photographer husband, John, or meeting with longtime partner Captains for Clean Water to brainstorm creative ways to promote native foliage, as they did with the mangrove arrangements that adorned ta ..read more

For husband-wife team Rasit and Ilkay Turk, the best art is inspired by the past. The pair behind Fort Myers’ The House of Turk & Turk silk accessories line sparked buzz when they expanded into the home last year. Their third homeware collection, The Garden of Nile—launched in February—connects to the brand’s wearable art line, with the same name and similar print as Turk & Turk’s best-selling scarf. Hailing from Istanbul, Turkey, a former capital of the Roman and Byzantine empires, the couple draws inspiration from ancient cultures. When she painted The Garden of Nile motif, Ilkay th ..read more

When Nicole and Manny Cruz rise at 3:30 a.m., it is already sticky-hot across the couple’s 200-acre farm, located near the line between Lee and Hendry counties. Orange groves stretch for miles, surrounding the farm on all sides. Valencias covered in dew scent the air where the calving herds will soon graze, their coats pearlescent from a good rain the night before and the protein-rich grass they feed on all year. Nicole and Manny pull on mud-caked boots and step out of their unassuming ranch home into the dim light outside. In the distance, thousands of chickens, ducks and guinea hens craft a ..read more

When Jacques and Lysielle Cariot created their alluring Bleu Provence in Naples in 1999, the French natives opened a portal direct from the Florida shores to the sun-kissed South of France. What began as a rather humble homage to their roots has evolved into a legacy restaurant where gastronauts go to lose themselves in a grand culinary voyage that renders geography irrelevant. The restaurant, awash in crisp white and vibrant blue hues, exudes casual-chic—a French trademark—where the service is attentive without being overbearing or pretentious. And the voluptuous menu highlights a veritable ..read more

Years had passed since she used these muscles, but it felt natural. The piece was just a simple sketch of a plant cell for her son’s homework, but Martha Maria Cantu was instantly lost in the process. Once finished, the young mother looked up to see a pair of saucer-sized eyes staring at the page. “He called over his siblings and said, ‘Look, look what Mom did! She’s like a professional artist,’ and I was like, ‘What do you mean? I am a professional artist,’” Martha says, chuckling at the memory. The kids watched in awe as Martha pulled drawings and paintings that hadn’t seen light in years ..read more

On a hot, humid afternoon, the kind where green leaves melt into an embrace, Annabelle Tometich shows me where her mother’s mango tree stood before Hurricane Irma claimed it. Standing just off Fort Myers’ McGregor Boulevard, her mom’s home is a resilient Old Florida bungalow with a low roof and deep eaves. The mango tree, however, is a ghost, a divot in the ground hinting at the girth and age of a once-large tree, the one for which Annabelle’s first book, The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida and Felony, is titled. The tree appears throughout the pages like an oil slick with an iridescen ..read more

Southwest Florida is blossoming with activities for families this April—from Earth Day celebrations designed to cultivate budding gardeners to muddy obstacle course races for runners of all ages to children’s musicals filled with zany antics. Here are the events you can’t miss this spring month.    EARTH DAY    April 20 35th Annual “Ding” Darling Day Conservation Carnival at Lakes Park, Fort Myers J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge takes conservation to the city and celebrates the planet we call home, with hands-on activities like face painting and carnival games ..read more

April brings abundant activities for Southwest Floridians. In Naples, the Minto US OPEN Pickleball Championships sees the sport’s top athletes duel it out on the courts. In Immokalee, an Earth Day celebration beckons nature lovers to get their hands dirty in the outdoors. In Fort Myers, audiences “Wait for It” no more, as the Hamilton Broadway touring company takes the stage at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. Catch these must-do events this April.   Now through April 21 She Loves Me at Gulfshore Playhouse, Naples This show serves as a farewell love letter to the Norris Center befor ..read more