September-October 2014

SOUTHWESTFLORIDA

Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota

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International Arts Festival

Returns to The Ringling

The Ringling International Arts Festival returns to Sarasota, October 15-18, with a roster of performing artists from the United States, Central and South America, the Middle East, Europe, and Great Britain. The eclectic line-up features contemporary dance, jazz, comic puppetry, world music, nouveau cirque, and a sci-fi fantasy adventure.

Thirty performances of seven productions are scheduled in four venues, all within walkingdistance of The Ringling’s campus. Curtains rise at 2, 5 & 8pm. There will also be free jazz concerts, museum tours and group discussions.

NEWS & PREVIEWS

Opening Night is October 15, 6-10pm, with an array of festival productions before a party in the Museum of Art Courtyard, featuring Bolero Sarasota, a choreographic event inspired by Maurice Ravel’s score, created by Larry Keigwin, and featuring more than 50 local performers in a tribute to the festival’s host city.

Acts at this year’s RIAF include: The Pedrito Martinez Group featuring Ariacne Trujillo: AfroCuban percussionist Martinez leads a quartet of Rumba virtuosi from Cuba, Venezuela and Peru. Performances are October 15 at 7pm, October 16 at 5pm. October 17 at 2 & 8pm, and October 18 at 5pm in the Cook Theatre.

Tangram: Produced by Berlin’s Aurora Nova, created and

performed by ballerina Cristiana Casadio, and combines dance and circus arts. Performances in the Historic Asolo Theatre on October 15 at 7pm, October 16 at 5pm, October 17 at 2 & 8pm, and October 18 at 5pm.

Duo Amal: Bishara Haroni and Yaron Kohlberg: Pianists from Palestine and Israel perform a repertoire ranging from the baroque to the modern period, including works by Israeli and Palestinian composers. Performances are October 15 at 7pm, October 16 at 8pm, October 17 at 5pm, and October 18 at 2pm in the Mildred Sainer Pavilion.

Keigwin + Company: Contemporary dance performance by Artistic Director Larry Keigwin. Performances in the Historic Asolo Theatre October 16 at 2 & 8pm, October 17 at 5pm and October 18 at 2pm.

Vijay Iyer Trio: Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer is joined by drummer Marcus Gilmore and bassist Stephan Crump. Concerts in the Mildred Sainer Pavilion October 16 at 5pm, October 17 at 2 & 8pm and October 18 at 5pm.

The Table: Comedy and puppetry from Great Britain’s The Blind Summit Theatre. Performances October 16 at 2 & 8pm, October 17 at 5pm and October 18 at 2pm in the Cook Theatre.

The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book One: Target Earth: Live-

The Intergalactic Nemesis, Book One: Target Earth, a live-action grahic novel. Performances at the Ringling International Arts Festival, October 16-18.

action graphic novel presented as a radio drama, with music. Two-hour performances (with intermission) October 16 at 5pm. October 17 at 2 & 8pm and October 18 at 2pm, in the Mertz Theatre.

The Ringling is located at 5401 Bay Shore Rd. in Sarasota. For information, call 941.360.7399.

‘Ding’ Darling DaysCelebrates 25th Year

The J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel celebrates the 25th anniversary of its ‘Ding’ Darling Days, October 19-25.

The annual eco-festival features guided walking, kayaking, birding, boat and tram tours, nature presentations, films, live animal shows, arts & crafts, scavenger hunts, archery demos, face painting, educational exhibits, touch tank, photo exhibit, and traveling exhibit of 2014-2015 Federal and Junior Duck Stamp art work.

The ‘Ding’ Darling Days schedule is:

October 19: Free Family Fun Day (admission and events free, puppet show by Heather Henson's Ibex Puppetry)

October 20: Coastal Birds Day

October 21: Beach & Water Day (Jay Norwood ‘Ding’ Darling’s birthday)

October 22: Wilderness Day

October 23: Calusa Day

October 24: Trails Day (Wildlife Drive free to hikers and bicyclists).

October 25: Conservation

The ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge celebrates the 25th Anniversary of their week-long ‘Ding’ Darling Days, October 19-25.

Art Day (all events at Education center are free, plein-air artists painting along Wildlife Drive all day, meet winning Federal Duck Stamp artists, sculpting demo, sketching session, photography tram tour).

The ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge is open dawndusk, with ‘Ding’ Darling Days events 8:30am-7pm. The Wildlife Refuge is located at 1 Wildlife Drive on Sanibel. For information, call 472-1100.

Naples Hosts Storytellers Creative Arts Conference

The 5th annual Storytellers Creative Arts Conference will be held November 6-8 in Naples. The conference encompasses all of the arts including visual, music, film, dance, drama, theater, and writing. Presenters include renowned ‘storytellers’ in each field. Attendees can choose from an array of workshops along three separate tracks: Visual Arts; Music, Film, Drama, Writing & Storytelling, or Media & Technology. Group general sessions will be led by special guest artists and performers.

More than 40 workshops and events will be held in various locations throughout the Naples/Fort Myers area, and will also include:

• An Evening of Music & Arts Concert with award winning Christian music recording artists, Jaci Velasquez and Nic Gonzales (of the band Salvador), along

with local performers and artists, November 7 at 7pm.

• A pre-conference Art Talk and Q&A at Florida Gulf Coast University with renowned Fort Myers-based urban expressionist Marcus Jansen on November 5 at 10am. The talk will be moderated by FGCUGallery Director, John Loscuito.

• An Inspired Artworks Show, featuring juried artworks on the theme of ‘Hope.’

• An after-party at the Figge Conservatory and Baker Museum, Artis-Naples, on November 8, 7-10pm.

Douglas C. Mann is the conference keynote speaker. A record producer, songwriter, music business and book publishing executive and missionary, is the author of The Art of Helping Others: How Artists Can Serve God and Love the World.

Other featured guests include: Jim Krueger, writer and storyteller, is a New York Times best-selling author, awardwinning filmmaker, video game developer, graphic novelist, and comic book writer, best known for his works for DC and Marvel Comics.

Dick Ryan, National Director of InterVarsity Arts Ministries. Former production stage manager for the Ravinia Festival and on the production staff at Lyric Opera of Chicago, he was also artistic director and principal conductor of a regional music theater and founder of a large summer festivalm and is now National Director of InterVarsity Arts Ministries.

Deborah Ford: Actress, author, and documentary filmmaker, has been an officer of United Film & Television Artists, a member of the Southern Ohio Film Association, Marco Island Writers, and Gulf Coast Writers Association. She has won numerous awards for modeling, acting and writing.

The Storytellers’ conference will

also feature ‘Inspired Artworks,’ a juried art exhibition of illustrations, abstract and representational art, graphics, photography, sculpture, and crafts.

Storytellers Creative Arts is located in Southwest Florida. Conceived and founded by Bill Barnett, it was born out of a conviction that the arts and artists and media can make a positive impact in a mediafocused world.

The conference will be held at Covenant Church of Naples, November 6 & 7, 9am-9:30pm and November 8, 8am-4pm.The church is located at 6926 Trail Blvd. in Naples.

Marcus Jansen’s pre-conference talk will be held in the Cohen Center at Florida Gulf Coast University, located at 10501 FGCU Blvd. S. in Fort Myers.

The Jaci Velasquez & Nic Gonzales concert is at the Covenenat Church.

For information, call Storytellers Creative Arts at 250-1822.

FGCU Presents Annual24-Hour Festival

Produced by Barry Cavin, Chairman of the Theater Department, Florida Gulf Coast University’s annual 24-Hour Festival is a special event where students race against the clock

Award-winning recording artists, Jaci Velasquez & Nic Gonzales will be performing in concert on November 7 at the Storytellers Creative Arts Conference in Naples.

to produce the best stage play, film, music, or artwork completed within a 24-hour period. At 6pm on Friday, September 12, students will be given a list of items that have to appear in their film, stage play, visual or performance art, dance, or music piece — and at 6pm on Saturday, September 13, they will submit their finished product. Two hours later, at 8pm, the public is invited to view the results.

Professional artist, Juan Diaz, of Naples, will also be a participant. Diaz’s performance installation will be created with the same constraints as the students and will be revealed during the judges’ deliberation.

Admission to the viewing and awards ceremony on September 13 at 8pm is free. The event will be held in the Arts Complex at FGCU, located at 10501 FGCU Blvd. S. in Fort Myers.

For more information about the 24-Hour Festival, call 590-7268.

BotanicalGarden Reopens with New ‘Green’ Visitor Center

Naples Botanical Garden will debut the new Eleanor & Nicholas Chabraja Visitor Center at its grand re-opening on October 23. During its summer closure, projects such as the completion of the center and three new gardens — the LaGrippe Orchid Garden, Irma’s Garden and Kathryn’s Garden were completed. These new gardens, designed by

Re-opens October 23

unveiling the new Eleanor & Nicholas Chabraja Visitor Center.

renowned Landscape architect Raymond Jungles, are adjacent to the new Visitor Center. The 25,000 square foot Center has been designed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Standards by award-winning Lake|Flato Architects from San Antonio, Texas.

The new Center will increase the number and variety of lectures, exhibits, events, and educational symposiums at Naples Botanical Garden, as well as a new Fogg Café.

The Visitor Center incorporates two important principles: visitor engagement and green building practices. It includes the highest level of sustainable innovation in construction materials and techniques, including: rainwater collection tanks that store 18,000 gallons of rainwater for irrigation; orienting the buildings to maximize the impact of shade and cooling breezes; and using recycled wood and other sustainable products.

The complex will include a large auditorium that can be used for art shows, lectures and seasonal displays; a gourmet café featuring local produce and seafood; and a volunteer services area.

The 170-acre Botanical Garden will re-open October 23 with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10am. The Garden will be open 9am-5pm (Tuesdays 8am- 5pm) beginning the following day.

Naples Botanical Garden is located at 4820 Bayshore Drive in Naples. For information, call 643-7275.

TheatreZone Partners with FGCU’s Bower School

TheatreZone, the non-profit Equity professional theatre group in Naples, will partner with Florida Gulf Coast University’s Bower School of Music & the Arts to produce the Tony-nominated musical Godspell Director Mark Danni has assembled a cast of professional actors and FGCU students. Karen Molnar will choreograph and Robin Frank (a FGCU faculty member) will be musical director as well as play the piano.

Equity actors will play Jesus, John the Baptist, Judas and a disciple. Other disciples will be played by FGCUstudents. The band will be conducted by music director and pianist Robin Frank, accompanied by FGCU music students playing guitar, bass and drums.

Godspell will be performed in the intimate 100-seat FGCU TheatreLab in the Arts Complex on FGCU campuslocated at 10501 FGCU Blvd. S., in Fort Myers. Showtimes are October 2 at 8pm, October 3 at 8pm, October 4 at 2 & 8 pm, and October 5 at 7:30pm.

Call TheatreZone at 888-9663352 for information.

Davis Art Center Opens Second Floor

The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center will open the second floor of the building to the public for

the first time during Fort Myers’ Art Walk on September 5, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6pm. The Center will be open 6-10pm.

The upper floor will feature a new multipurpose space for exhibits, visual and performing arts education, recitals, plays, and other group events. Newly installed sculptures, ‘Hanging On,’ ‘Flight of Fancy,’ and the ‘Athlete,’ by Rainer Lage Mann, can be seen from the second floor window. This three-piece sculpture captures life-size climbers in various gestures and motions.

The Art Center will also unveil a modernist sculpture by local artist, Marvin Gralnick. The three-story modernist

The Davis Art Center will unveil the new 3-story sculpture, ‘Federal Fantasy Flight’ during Fort Myers’ Art Walk, September 5 at 6pm.

sculpture, entitled ‘Federal Fantasy Flight,’ was fabricated by Eric Albert and Lawrence Voytek. The new sculpture is located in the Grand Staircase. The items used in Gralnick’s sculpture make up part of the history of the Art Center. Many of the sculpture’s components are from the building's past as a Federal Courthouse, including the letters from the front of the building, the brass stars from the judge’s bench, and the large gear at the base of the sculpture from the old elevator.

Lawrence Voytek’s solo exhibition ‘What’s up with that?’ also opens during Art Walk, September 5. The exhibition will be on display through September 25. Voytek was Robert Rauschenberg’s fabricator and is a collaborator with Marvin Gralnick. During the evening, Sonic Combine, a band of Voytek, Kat Epple and Laurence Getford, will be performing periodically.

Naples Botanical Garden

Voytek will be doing a number of live performances, which he calls ‘happenings.’

The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center is located at 2301 First Street in the downtown River District. Galleries are open MonFri 10am-5pm. For information, call 333-1933.

Highwaymen at History Museum

The Southwest Florida Museum of History hosts the exhibition ‘Sons of the Sun: The Highwwaymen,’ September 5- January 5. A free opening reception will be held September 5, 5:30-7:30pm.

The exhibit explores the cultural impact of African-American ‘outsider’ artists who emerged in the mid-1950s painting signature images of Florida landscapes and citrus groves. Lacking gallery representation, this loosely affiliated group of 26 artists forged their own style that encapsulated the idealized version of ‘the Florida dream,’ selling their paintings from the trunks of their cars, along roads and highways, and by knocking on doors.

This group of mostly selftaught painters mentored each other, and painted with impressive speed, sometimes selling their paintings before they had completely dried. As art tastes began to change, and as

the artists began falling on hard times, they were finally recognized as an important collective and given the moniker, ‘The Highwaymen’ in 1995.

‘Sons of the Sun: The Highwaymen’ features neverbefore shown works representing several of the original artists and some of their children from the private collection of Tristan & Donna Chapman of Fort Myers, in addition to rare pieces from the private collection of Kelvin Hair of Fort Pierce.

Special guests at the opening reception will be the Chapmans as well as original Highwaymen artists Al Black, James Gibson and the only woman in the group, Mary Ann Carroll. They are joining with official Gulf Citrus Growers Association artist

Kelvin Hair, official Gulf Citrus Growers Association artist and the son of the late Alfred Hair, the group’s charismatic leader and the only Highwayman formally trained by renowned Florida landscape painter A. E. ‘Beanie’ Backus.

Gary Monroe, author of several books about The Florida Highwaymen, will be making a

Kelvin Hair, son of Alfred Hair, will be one of several special guests a the opening reception for ‘Sons of the Sun: The Highwaymen’ exhibit at the SWFLMuseum of History on September 5.

‘Moon Museum (1969): Apollo XII’s Secret Art Mission’ is on view at the Bob Rauchenberg Gallery thru September 27.

presentation, ‘Painting Paradise: The Art of The Highwaymen at the Museum on November 7, 5:30pm. The reception and presentation are free.

The Museum is open Tue-Sat 10am-5pm and is located at 2031 Jackson St. in downtown Fort Myers’ Historic River District. For information, call 321-7430.

Rauschenberg GalleryExhibits

Space Art

The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida SouthWestern State College (formery Edison State College) is now displaying the installation: ‘The Moon Museum (1969): Apollo XII’s Secret Art Mission,’ the little-known Rauschenberg / Experiments in Art & Technology (E.A.T.) project that clandestinely sent and permanently sited original artwork by six artists on the lunar surface in 1969. A postage stamp-sized, paper-thin multiple, the Moon Museum includes the work of Forrest ‘Frosty’ Myers, John Chamberlain, David Novros, Claes Oldenburg, and Andy Warhol in adddition to Rauschenberg, who joined Myers in contributing individual drawings that engineers at Bell Laboratories transferred (using a then cutting-edge photoreduction technique developed for micro-circuitry) onto a handful of identical ceramic wafers. The first-ever ‘Space Art’ object, one copy of the Moon Museum multiple, was then surreptitiously attached to the Apollo XII lunar landing LEM 6, and has now, consequently, resided on the surface of the Moon for the last forty-five years.

The ‘Moon Museum’ exhibit is on view thru September 27.

The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery is located on the campus of Florida SouthWestern College, 8099 College Pkwy. SW in Fort Myers. The gallery is open MonFri 10am-4pm & Sat 11am-3pm. Call 489-9313 for information.

Local Playwrights Get Staged Readings

Theatre Conspiracy will be performing staged readings of works by three local playwrights during the first weekend of September. These three works have been developed through Theatre Conspiracy's playwrighting group ‘Playwright Conspiracy.’ The three playwrights have met once a week for the past ten months developing their work.

Wally Kain will have his play, The Marriage Counselor read on Friday, September 5 at 8pm. Fay Ellen Graetz's play Wind Farm will be performed Saturday, September 6 at 8pm and John Repa's play Harker's Journal will be performed on Sunday, September 7 at 2pm.

The staged readings consist of basic sets and props. Actors read from scripts but move about the stage, except for Harker’s Journal, which will be read only.

Each work will be performed at the Foulds Theatre at the Lee County Alliance for the Arts, located at 10091 McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers. Call 9363239 for information.

ARTISTS WANTED

Storytellers Creative Arts is asking professional and student visual artists throughout Southwest Florida to create and submit artworks for a juried art exhibition as part of the 5th annual Storytellers Creative Arts Conference in Naples, to be held November 6-8. The deadline for submission is September 29.

The exhibition will feature artworks that inspire — all based on the theme ‘Hope.’ Works can include illustration, abstract and representational art, graphics, photography, sculpture, and crafts. For information, call Storytellers Creative Arts at 250-1822.

What’s Brewing on the Beach? A

S RECENTLY AS FIVE YEARS AGO,Southwest Florida was a difficult place to find a local beer. There were craft beers from all over the country, but there was nothing local, no beer with a story tied to the people and the backgrounds of Naples, Fort Myers, or any of the number of Gulf Coast beaches and islands. It would have been challenging to find beer from any Florida brewery, let alone one from around the City of Palms.

Naples Beach Brewing Company

IN 2003,Will Lawson, a transplant from Michigan, moved to Naples to begin a career in golf course management. Will saw a void every time he went to go buy his weekend beer from local stores. Southwest Florida simply lacked the variety that he grew used to in Michigan, one of the most beer-diverse states in the country. In 2007, he decided that he would be the one to fill the craft beer void in this area and he leapt into the world of professional brewing, enrolling in the Siebel Institute of Brewing Science. With his schooling split between Munich, Germany and Chicago, Will quickly got a taste of beer making at its finest. After graduation, Will came home to Michigan and began honing his craft at the Ann Arbor Brewery.

In 2011, Lawson began making his way back to Naples with a business plan in hand and a small 1.5-barrel brewing system (1 BARREL = 31 GALLONS ). He selected a small industrial space to house the system and several 3- barrel fermenters to finish off his brewing setup. In November of 2012, Naples Beach Brewing Company opened its doors at 4110 Enterprise Avenue with the distinguished title of ‘Southwest Florida’s First Craft Brewery. ‘

Lawson then set to work building the brewery’s beer reputation with several core and seasonal brews:

• 5.2% ABV Classic Ale

• 4.7% ABV Weizen

• 5.0% ABV American Pale Ale

• 6.0% ABV Black IPA

• 9.0% ABV Mango Ginger Tripel

• 4.2% ABV Rojo Especial Amber Ale

• 8.0% ABV Imperial Pub Ale Imperial IPA

• 4.8% ABV FestivAle Marzen

• 5.8% ABV American Stout

Naples Beach’s success has driven the brewery to a need for expanded facilities. In May 2014, Naples Beach Brewing purchased the industrial space across from them and added 4500 sq.ft. of space to the brewery’s current 1,250 sq.ft. home. Lawson will upgrade his equipment to a 15-barrel brewing system

by Mark DeNote

– ten times larger than his initial setup. The new space will come complete with a small 900 sq.ft. tasting room for the brewery.

But the best part of the expansion is a personal one for Lawson: the ability to bottle and keg his beer using larger equipment. Why is that such a perk? Lawson will no longer have to brew every day of the week in the Florida sun in order to satisfy demand for Naples Beach beer.

Fort Myers Brewing Company

FORT MYERSBrewing Company, the brainchild of owner Rob Whyte and his wife, Jennifer Gratz, is keeping the craft beer fire burning down in the City of Palms. Another Florida transplant, Whyte got his beer education after homebrewing and working in the beating heart of American craft beer: San Diego, California. Rob got into homebrewing years ago and after abandoning the hobby for some time he slowly returned to it. After sharpening his skills, Whyte was hired by a San Diego brewery.

When he moved to Fort Myers, Whyte was astounded to see that there was no local brewery in his county, so he did what thousands of enterprising American brewers did before him —he founded his own.

He worked for months building the industrial space at 12811 Commerce Lakes Drive into a craft brewery. Fort Myers Brewing was almost ready for opening day in March 2013, when the unthinkable happened: Whyte had to have neck surgery. Family and friends pitched in and Whyte had to go from lead worker to supervisor, then tough out a good deal of pain to finish the prep work for opening day. When opening day finally arrived, no one knew what type of reception the brewery would get. People arrived by the busload. Whyte estimates that on the first day of business over 1,200 people attended the grand opening.

Fort Myers Brewing’s reputation continued to grow based on Whyte’s beers, with several beers (Caloosahatchee Kolsch and Citra Double IPA) winning honors in the first competition the brewery entered, 2014’s Best Florida Beer Competition. The brewery is adding and rotating beers to their lineup, with several mainstays:

• 6.0% ABV Gateway Golden Ale

• 5.4% ABV Tamiami Tan

• 9.3% ABV Cypress Strong Ale

• 5.3% ABV Red Tape Red Ale

• 5.8% ABV City of Palms Pale Ale

Fort Myers Brewing Company won honors in this year’s Best Florida Beer Competition

Naples Beach Brewing Company was the first craft beer brewery in Southwest Florida

Fort Myers Brewing Company has been open for a little over a year now, and already the brewery has expanded — and is expanding again. The first expansion saw a new 10barrel brewing system delivered, allowing the brewery to make more beer. After the dust settled on their one year anniversary party, the brewery was ready for more space in the tasting room. This new expansion would see the brewery expand to 30 taps from the current 10 and quadrupling the tasting room space.

Point Ybel Brewing Company

THE NEWESTproduction brewery to Southwest Florida began as the project of a former fishing guide. Walt Costello, a former homebrewer and guide to Southwest Florida’s waters, wanted to open his brewery on Sanibel Island, but was unable because of current building codes. Costello then took the lemons life handed him and made beer. Costello and his wife Amy worked for months to convert the facility at 16120 San Carlos Boulevard in Point Ybel and turned it into a home for Point Ybel Brewing Company. With its opening in December of 2013, Point Ybel Brewing Company marked the third production brewery in Southwest Florida.

Point Ybel prides itself on tweaking recipes and rotating beers, but the core brews are:

• 7.2% ABV Black Mangrove Dark Ale

• 5.5% ABV Endless Summer Pale Ale

• 5.6% ABV Sanibel Red Ale

• 7.0% ABV Snook Bite IPA

Point Ybel has been open for less than a year and has already had a few national music acts pass through the venue. Acts like Bradenton’s Have Gun Will Travel and Roadkill Ghost Choir stopped through Point Ybel to play a few sets and drink a few beers.

Marco Island Brewery

THE MARCOIsland Brewery

stands alone in Southwest Florida as the only brewpub — a restaurant that serves food, makes its own beer, and serves it on site.

Father and son team Frank and John LaCava run the beer and food in the pub. The brewery serves up pub food and a taste for vintage autos with a fruity Pelican Pilsner and an English-style IPA dubbed The Rock. Marco Island Brewery is

located at 1089 North Collier Boulevard on Marco Island.

coming soon

Old Soul Brewing Company

Old Soul Brewing Company is currently building a brewery on Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers. The brewery is co-owned and operated by two sons, Nicholas and Jacob Schmidt and their father, Mike Schmidt. Finishing touches are currently being applied to the brewery and 1700 sq.ft. tap room. The tap room will feature ten taps of Old Soul beers like a white session pale ale called Untold Legend, a brown ale brewed with Chai tea called Chai, and How Are You?, a gose-style ale called Salty ater, as well as a peanut butter porter called Mad Jack’s Last Pint. Co-owner Nicholas Schmidt says that he wants the brewery and tap room to “reflect family, and welcome everyone to our ultimate beer experience.” As of this writing, Old Soul was planning to be open in September.

Bury Me Brewing Company

Bury Me Brewing Company is the product of a beer lover making his dreams come true. Bill Vaughan, brew master at Bury Me Brewing, began homebrewing in 2006. He worked in beer stores, craft beer bars in Ohio and New York then finally Florida’s Brown Distributing, before landing his dream job co-operating a brewery with the House of Brewz in Gulf Coast Town Center. When Vaughan moved to Southwest Florida, he began working with and for Fort Myers Brewing, but House of Brewz approached him with an opportunity he could not resist — the chance to brew at his own brewery. Vaughan will produce beers with traditional styles as well as experimentation. Bury Me Brewing is currently waiting on approval from the federal government to start brewing; Vaughan expects permitting to finish around September.

Momentum Brewhouse

Momentum Brewhouse is picking up speed towards opening day as Bonita Springs’ firstproduction brewery. Former homebrewer

Brian Hahn and his wife Kate have been building their space at 9786 Bonita Beach Road into a craft brewery. Hahn, a native of northern Illinois, perfected his homebrew recipes, building a portfolio of 28 beer recipes before quitting his engineering job and making the leap to professional brewer, seeking to fill a need in the thirsty southwest Florida beer market.

Momentum Brewhouse will feature a tasting room and lighthearted atmosphere with four to six taps of house beer on draft in an 1100 sq.ft. tasting room. Hahn likes many styles of beer and plans to brew many of them as he gets dialed into his 5-barrel brewing system. While the beer lineup is somewhat up in the air, one of Momentum’s crowdpleasers, Hahn’s Imperial Red Ale will be on this list. Imperial red won the people’s choice award at a homebrew competition at ‘Time to Make Wine’ in Fort Myers and will be listed along with a brown ale, a wheat beer, an Imperial India Pale Ale, and a saison once Momentum opens to the public. That opening is currently expected by September, according to Momentum’s Facebook page. As a rising tide lifts all boats, so too does a growing beer community. The diversity of available ales and lagers made locally with Southwest Florida flavor illustrates how much tastes have changed and demands have grown. Now beer can be brewed, packaged and consumed in the amount of timeit used to take to ship beer into Southwest Florida. To paraphrase Fort Myers’ most famous resident, Thomas Edison, “There is only one Fort Myers [craft beer community] in the United States and there are 90 million people who are going to find it out.” •

Mark DeNote is a wandering beer writer who keeps a home in Florida and an eye on the road in search of fresh, local beer. Mark is the author of The Great Florida Craft Beer Guide and his work has been featured in DRAFT magazine and CraftBeer.com . He chronicles the story behind craft beer on his website FloridaBeerNews.com

Who werethe Florida Highwaymen?

ANINTERVIEWWITHAUTHOR GARY MONROE

by Andrew Elias

Some 50-60 years ago, residents and travellers alike, could find African-American artists selling their landscape paintings out of the trunks of their cars along the highways of Florida, mostly around the Fort Pierce area. Working in their garages and barns, these artists had no formal training and often used construction materials rather than traditional art supplies. Their success in the Jim Crow South and during the civil rights movements is a testament to the allure of their romantic visions of the Florida paradise.

PAINTINGBY R OBERT L. L E WIS

Gary Monroe is one of the leading experts on the Florida Highwaymen, writing several definitive books about this historic group of distinctly American artists.

The Southwest Florida Museum of History will be hosting an exhibition of Highwaymen paintings, ‘Sons of the Sun,’ September5January 3, including several works from private collections that have not been seen by the public. There will be an opening reception attended by three surviving Highwaymen (two men and the only woman). Monroe will be making a presentation about The Highwaymen in November.

I asked Monroe about The Highwaymen and the upcoming exhibition.

•

For people who don’t know... Who were The Florida Highwaymen? And what made them special?

The Highwaymen were a loose association of young African Americans who, from roughly 1960-1980, painted their way out of the orange groves and packing houses into creative, lucrative and fulfilling lives. All but one of the painters, Alfred Hair, were self-taught. Hair had taken painting lessons while in high school, and he’s largely responsible for the assemblage of these 25 men and one woman who decades later would become known as the Highwaymen.

To say that they beat the odds is an understatement. In a time in our history when African Americans lived as second-class citizens, these young people were undeterred by Jim Crow laws and traversed the state during the thick of the Civil Rights era, selling their artwork with aplomb to a white clientele. The Highwaymen left the visual legacy of modern Florida. Some 200,000 of their oil paintings graced homes and offices, symbolizing the aspirations of Floridians and emblematic of what the state meant to Americans – a land of renewal and reward.

When did you first become aware of The Highwaymen? And what about their paintings or story drew you to them?

I learned about the Highwaymen while doing the research for my book, Extraordinary Interpretations: Florida’s Self-taught Artists. Nameless during their tenure, they had just been dubbed the Highwaymen by my friend Jim Fitch. There was neither scholarship nor reliable facts to discern their history then. I decided to put the pieces together, and Jim gladly and gracefully passed the torch. I didn’t quite know what I was getting into, that I would need to wade knee deep in rumor and innuendo, through misinformation and even disinformation, before getting the story straight and offering an informed critique of the artwork.

Laced with pathos, the Highwaymen’s story is a flawless one of transcendence, a quintessentially American tale of determination, ingenuity, hard work and more. It seems to be an unlikely story and the painters the unlikeliest of artists. In fact, I argue that the Highwaymen’s style of fast-painting led to a new and fresher form of landscape art than had been the popular model. With enough tenacity and sets of car tires, anyone could have told their story; my sustaining interest was with interpreting the nature of their art.

Why do you feel The Highwaymen are an important part of American art history?

The way they painted led to their style or form of painting. The bottom line is this: they were barely 20-somethings and most were driven to live fast and make lots of money. That was how they kept score, so to speak. Painting was the means to the end of living well, if not large, while enjoying their youth. In the first book, The Highwaymen: Florida’s AfricanAmerican Landscape Painters, I wrote that they became artists by default. Living fast and large was expensive and they knew that being excluded from the established art market meant they would have to sell their paintings for less money than they would otherwise be worth –about a tenth of the value.

To make up for the shortfall, Alfred Hair reasoned that he’d have to complete ten paintings in the time that it would take professional artists to paint one canvas. He did not bargain for the fact that, by doing so, he would corrupt the accepted ways; that he would, through painting fast, realize a new kind of landscape

imagery, one that favored suggestiveness over precisely described detail.

The paintings of The Highwaymen are sometimes called folk art or ‘outsider’ art or even ‘naive’ art? Do you agree? What is meant by ‘outsider’ art?

Contemporary folk art is an umbrella term that generally accounts for naïve and Outsider art; folk art otherwise refers to tradition-bearing crafts such as quilting and sign making. Today’s folk artists are self-taught, but the Outsider designation suggests that the artist works without regard to much of anything but his or her own imagination; idiosyncrasies generally lead the way. It is fascinating art that often challenges status quo beliefs. I’m not certain where the Highwaymen fit in this scenario. They seem to be in class of their own.

The Highwaymen were almost exclusively men. Tell me about Mary Ann Carroll, the only woman in the group, who you’ve written a book about, which will be published in October.

Mary Ann Carroll: First Lady of the Highwaymen is a labor of love. I planned to stop writing books about the Highwaymen with the third book in the series. Although Mary Ann and

I had become very close, I declined when she asked me to tell her story in a book, but when University Press of Florida, which publishes my books and whose director, with whom I had a pleasant working relationship for a decade, asked me to do it, I felt compelled. I thought the Mary Ann book would be the easiest to write;

I’d already done the heavy lifting but, in reality, it turned out to be the most difficult. All I knew about her and the other Highwaymen artists led me to explore the times during which they came of age and to describe the obstacles they faced as they traveled around Florida hawking stacks of still-wet oil painting to white people. The book explores the Jim Crow environment in which the artists painted and prospered, and it pivots around Mary Ann’s biography, the single mother of seven children who founded her own church, all the while painting. As she put it, she had mouths to feed and “it was an honest dollar for an honest day’s work.”

Three original Highwaymen — Al Black, James Gibson and Mary Ann Carroll — will be attending the opening reception for the exhibition. How do they feel about the renewed interest and acclaim The Highwaymen are receiving of late?

The initial meeting I had, more than 15 years ago, was with James, Mary Ann and Hezekiah Baker (deceased); Al’s certainly the most colorful and intriguing of the remaining Highwaymen. They well represent the Highwaymen, as these are three of the core members, of which there are eight. None of the Highwaymen expected the cultural phenomena that we are seeing today. They were content with having worked in the shadows; they made money and had good times. It was in the past and when it was over they went on their ways. But their warm welcomes and their art having iconic status is testimony to their paintings striking a chord among us Floridians.

A few paintings in the ‘Sons of the Sun’ exhibition at the Southwest Florida Museum of History will be on view for

the public for the first time, from private collections. Tell me about the paintings, the collections and the collectors.

Collectors of Highwaymen art feel that they acquired paintings that were made with them in mind; they personalize the quintessential but generalized Florida scenes. They may swear that they know the exact location from personal experience. About the same painting, one might hear (as I have) that “This is the bend in the St. Johns River where I caught my first Bass when I was 12-years-old, and I’ve been collecting Social Security for more than a decade,” which might compete with, “This is the spot along the Banana River where 56 years ago I used to park the ole Chevy with my wife of 55 years.” That’s the nature of this art. It’s largely because of the artists’ fast-painting, which stripped artifice bare to leave an archetypal image. Whether a collector has one or 100 Highwaymen paintings, their holding mean a lot to them and express their understandings of the Florida experience. The paintings have a way of finding their ways to the rightful owners.

Some of The Highwaymen were real characters, like Alfred Hair, who is cited as the founder or leader. Can you tell me about him?

There are two ways to approach the Highwaymen story – through Harold Newton and through Alfred Hair. Both ways are virtuous; both are right. But Hair’s art and life offer a wellspring that allows for fresh ideas to be explored. His was a beautiful life with a tragic ending, and I was proud to tell the story. The first book is dedicated to him. Hair was said to be movie-star handsome and unquestionably charismatic, a larger-than-life figure without ego or attitude. What will you be speaking about at your presentation in November?

This story needs no embellishment, so I’ll tell how the group formed, how they painted and played, and offer a view of how the artwork functioned and why the paintings sold before the oils had time to dry. It’s a compelling story –not even Steven Spielberg could improve on it.

Of course I’ll survey, via Powerpoint, the artists, tell a bit about each of them as I show their most colorful paintings.

Why should art lovers and history buffs go and see the ‘Sons of the Sun’ exhibition?

There’s a presence to these paintings that are lost to reproduction, and under their glow people can’t help but relate, to lend their own meanings and become part of the art equation; this leads to reflection on things that matter. The Highwaymen’s art, you’ll see, is not merely decoration. •

‘Sons of the Sun: The Highwaymen’ will be on view at the Southwest Florida Museum of History, September 5-January 3. There will be an opening reception September 5, 5:307:30pm, free to the public. Gary Monroe will be making a presentation, ‘Painting Paradise: The Art of The Highwaymen at the Museum on November 7, 5:30pm. The reception and presentation are free. The Museum is open TuesdaySaturday, 10am-5pm and is located at 2031 Jackson St. in downtown Fort Myers’ Historic River District. For information, call 321-7430.

Gary Monroe, author of several books about the Highwaymen, including The Highwaymen: Florida’s African-American Landscape Painters, recognized by The Original Florida Highwaymen as “the official book about the Highwaymen.” For more about The Highwaymen, visit his website: www.floridafolkart.net.

By Carmel a Fabian

Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs has been under new management since the summer of 2013. John Brady, an award-winning landscape photographer, has kept the doors open and is working hard to preserve this historic local attraction. Much has changed in the past15 months. I met John recently at the renewed attraction to discuss its renowned past, exciting present and promising future.

•

What is the history of the Everglades Wonder Gardens?

JOHN: Brothers Bill and Lester Piper left Detroit and opened the Bonita Springs Reptile Gardens in 1936. Over the years they exhibited a large collection of mammals, including bears and deer, but were best known for their many crocodiles, at one time having the largest crocodile in captivity, Big Joe. They were also among the pioneers breeding the Florida panther. The Everglades Wonder Gardens was born during Florida’s Golden Age of roadside attractions and became a very popular zoo. However, by the 1970s public sentiment regarding roadside zoos changed. People no longer wanted to see large animals in small exhibits with chain link fences. The place had run its course in that format. How did you become the manager of the Wonder Gardens?

In the spring of 2013, the Piper family closed the Gardens. They sold the animals to other facilities and put the land up for sale, asking $3.9 million. I realized that someone needed to take over operations immediately to at least maintain the historic botanical jungle before it overran the grounds. I negotiated a lease with the Piper family and, more importantly, negotiated the support of my family, especially my two adult children, Molly and Ryan, who help me keep the place open. My wife, Maggie, has been incredibly understanding.

Were you qualified to run a botanical garden or care for animals?

When I was a boy I collected every snake I could find. Little did I know that all these years later I would have so many reptiles! And I’ve cared about and worked in the Southwest Florida environment as a landscape photographer for 15 years. I have a natural affinity for wildlife and a great interest in plants. In addition to discovering my ability to easily connect with the animals we now have on exhibit, I’ve discovered my green thumb. It’s also helped greatly that Jack Wolman, who worked at the Gardens for the Pipers, came back as our employee.

What changes have you made at the Wonder Gardens?

The heart of the 3 1/ 2 acre Gardens is the old growth plants, including African mahogany, kapok and more than a dozen varieties of palms. A wonderful team of horticulture volunteers led by Dr. Jan Abernathy, a former college professor who has worked with both the Naples Zoo and Naples Botanical Garden, stepped right up to help save these plants and expand the collection. We removed exotic species, cleared vines away from our marquee banyan tree, created a relaxing bromeliad garden with hundreds of donated plants, established an orchid trail with dozens of plants hanging from a Cuban mahoe tree, and placed five very large staghorn ferns around the property.

We also brought animals back, after removing as much of the chain link fence as we could and updating the exhibit spaces. We now have birds and reptiles rescued through Florida Fish & Wildlife and others loaned to us by Keri Lohrman of Bird Gardens of Naples. She is known as the Bird Lady of Naples. We created a butterfly house

PHOT OGRAPHBY K EVIN B ARRIER

out of the old panther exhibit, have a rare Louisiana pine snake, a rescued Sulcata tortoise that a hang glider over Bonita spotted, and dozens of parrots, ducks, turtles, tortoises and more. We’re working to get a rescued eagle and other animals to enhance our offerings.

And we proudly showcase the only flamingos in Southwest Florida. They are colorful, fun and quite a draw along with our 40 gators.

We converted the deer yard into an event lawn and hosted a wedding earlier this year. Several organizations have rented the Gardens to host their fundraisers. We’re also scheduling special events and activities such as yoga classes to attract visitors.

How is all of this saving the Everglades Wonder Gardens?

Keeping the doors open, adding new plants and animals, engaging volunteers and bringing in visitors is just part of the plan to make sure people know and care about the Wonder Gardens. We also established a non-profit organization — the Bonita Wonder Gardens — and currently accept donations through a fund in our name at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. Through the work of our Board of Directors and other interested parties, we are hoping to raise the funds to purchase the land from the Pipers, so this incredible community resource with historic plants not found elsewhere in Southwest Florida doesn’t become commercially developed.

How can people help?

We invite folks to visit us. We’re open daily from 9am-5pm to see the place for themselves. If you visited before June of 2013, you won’t believe the transformation. We would love to have more volunteers, especially folks who have experience with gardening or caring for animals. Even if you don’t, it’s easy to follow the lead of our staff. Just about anybody can chop fruits and vegetables for the animals or rake leaves off our paths. If people want to help preserve the historic Wonder Gardens, we welcome donations and every contribution is greatly appreciated. Many people still think we’re closed, but we’re on our way.

Do you still find time to work as a photographer?

I take two days off each week, and you will often find me in a swamp somewhere. My favorite places are the Ten Thousand Islands, the Big Cypress National Preserve and the many small creeks in our area. I also moved my art gallery to the front entrance of the Wonder Gardens, so

I’ve been able to blend both passions. And now having access to these beautiful plants and animals, I’ve developed an interest in close-up shots versus landscape. My portfolio is expanding.

•

Everglades Wonder Gardens is located at 27180 Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs, just north of Bonita Beach Road and south of West Terry. For more information, call 239-992-2591. Learn more at evergladeswondergardens.com or on Facebook at TheEvergladesWonderGardens. •

Ateam of horticulture volunteers led by Dr.Jan Abernathy,who has worked with both the Naples Zoo and Naples Botanical Garden, stepped up to help save the plants and expand the collection.

Ateam of horticulture volunteers led by Dr.Jan Abernathy,who has worked with both the Naples Zoo and Naples Botanical Garden, stepped up to help save the plants and expand the collection.

Everglades Wonder Gardens –then (TOP)and now (ABOVE).

Everglades Wonder Gardens

(TOP)and now (ABOVE).

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ATTRACTIONS

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BABCOCK WILDERNESS ADVENTURES

8000 State Road 31 • Punta Gorda

800-500-5583

www.babcockwilderness.com

TOUR TIMES VARY DAILY

Babcock Wilderness is a 90 minute eco-tour through our working cattle ranch. Learn the ranch history while getting up close to wildlife and nature. There’s a museum, exhibits, gift shop and The Gator Shack (in season). Get back to nature, join us for a journey into the past. Call for reservations.

BIG ARTS

900 Dunlop Road • Sanibel • 239-395-0900 MON–FRI 9AM–4PM & SAT 9AM–1PMPLUSEVENINGPERFORMANCES

BIGARTSHERB STRAUSS THEATER

2200 Periwinkle Way • Sanibel • 239-472-6862

PERFORMANCES TUE –SUNINSEASON

BOXOFFICE : TUE –FRI 10 AM –2 PM NOV –APRIL

www.BIGARTS.org

Your Home for All the Arts. BIG ARTS provides quality cultural and educational experiences in the arts to the residents and visitors of Sanibel, Captiva, and all of SWFL. Offering over 200 professional performances and exhibits each season, including classical jazz and modern music, dance, live theater, visual arts, and film, plus more than 250 workshops, courses and lecture series about painting, pottery, stained glass, technology, religion, and politics.

CAPTIVA CRUISES

11401 Andy Rosse Lane • Captiva 239-472-5300

www.captivacruises.com

7 DAYSA WEEK 8 AM –9 PM

Captiva Cruises offers sightseeing excursions to the island destinations of Cabbage Key, Useppa, Cayo Costa State Park & Boca Grande as well as Dolphin Adventures, Beach & Shelling, Sunset and Sailing Cruises. Private charters and custom expeditions available for 6 to 148 people.

CENTERS FOR THE ARTS OF BONITA SPRINGS

Visual Arts : 26100 Old 41 Road • Bonita Springs

Performing Arts: 10150 Bonita Beach Road • Bonita Springs 239-495-8989

www.artcenterbonita.org

MON –FRI 9 AM–5 PM & SAT 9 AM –4 PM

Two Centers - One Mission: Arts for All. Committed to enrich the culture of our diverse community by providing opportunities for artistic expression, education and appreciation in a supportive and nurturing environment. Workshops and classes include instruction in: Glass, Painting, Dance, Drawing, Sculpture, Metal, Acting, Singing, and Photography. Events at the center include Member Exhibitions, National Traveling Exhibitions, Lectures, Live Theater and Music and Dance Performances.

CLINIC FOR THE REHABILITATION OF WILDLIFE

3883 Sanibel Captiva Road • Sanibel 239-472-3644

www.crowclinic.org

DEC 15–APR 30 : MON –SAT 10 AM –4 PM

MAY 1–DEC 14 : MON –FRI 10 AM –4 PM

The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW), is a teaching hospital, educational program and visitor education center dedicated to saving wildlife through state-of-the-art veterinary care, research, education, and conservation medicine. CROW’s mission is the rescue, care, rehabilitate, and eventually release back to the wild; sick, injured and orphaned wildlife. Wildlife presentations at 11am & 2pm (Dec 15 – Apr 30) & 11am (May1 – Dec 14).

ENGLEWOOD ART CENTER RINGLING COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN

350 South McCall Road • Englewood 941-474-5548

www.ringling.edu/eac

SEPT –APR : TUE 9 AM –9 PM & WED-SAT 9 AM –4 PM

MAY –JUL : TUE 9 AM –9 PM & WED –SAT 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM

The theme of the Englewood Art Center 2014-2015 season is Art Local. As a community with a distinctively unique character, from the breathtaking Gulf Coast environment to its commitment to independent and small businesses and supporting the arts, EAC ensures that residents and visitors participate in the community, creatively. Offering classes, exhibitions, programs and events, EAC invites artists, art enthusiasts and anyone who supports the creative community in Englewood to join this season.

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SOUTHWESTFLORIDA ATTRACTIONS

EVERGLADES WONDER GARDENS

27180 Old 41 Road • Bonita Springs 239-992-2591

www.evergladeswondergardens.com

D AILY 9 AM –5 PM

Historic and lush 3 1/2 acre botanical jungle with bird and reptile exhibits, including the only flamingos in Southwest Florida, 40 alligators, a butterfly house, bromeliad garden, orchid trail. Refurbished and updated under new management since summer 2013. John Brady Art Gallery, picnic tables and gift shop.

FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE HISTORIC ARCADE THEATRE

2267 First Street • Fort Myers River District 239-332-4488

www.floridarep.org

PERFORMANCES : TUE–SAT 8 PMWITH WED, SUN & SELECT SAT 2 PM

BOXOFFICE : M ON -S AT 10 AM –5 PM & HOURBEFORECURTAIN

Celebrating 17 years of excellence in live professional theatre, Florida Rep is Lee County’s largest non-profit arts organization and services over 80,000 people annually – including over 18,000 young people with its active Educational Programming. Called “One of America’s Top Repertory Companies” by The Wall Street Journal, Florida Rep produces a wide variety of work – comedies, dramas, Tony & Pulitzer winners, and musicals – throughout its October-May season. Free Parking.

GULF COAST SYMPHONY

6314 Corporate Court • suite 100 • Fort Myers 239-277-1700

www.GulfCoastSymphony.org

OFFICE : MON –FRI 10 AM –6 PM

The Gulf Coast Symphony, led by Maestro Andrew Kurtz, is one of the most dynamic community orchestras in the United States. The Symphony is recognized for its highquality symphonic performances as well as its active community engagement and commitment to arts education.

THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM & EDUCATION CENTER OF SWFL

4760 Tamiami Trail North • suite 7 • Naples 239-263-9200

www.holocaustmuseumswfl.org

JAN –APR : TUE –SUN 12:30–5 PM

MAY –DEC : TUE –SUN 1–4 PM

The Museum promotes respect and understanding by teaching the history and lessons of the Holocaust. We “make history personal” utilizing donated artifacts, photographs and individual stories of Southwest Florida residents who are Holocaust Survivors and Camp Liberators. Visitors learn why an act of kindness in daily life can make a huge difference.

IMAGINARIUM SCIENCE CENTER

2000 Cranford Avenue • Fort Myers 239-321-7420

www.i-sci.org

TUE –SAT 10AM –5PM & SUN 12–5PM

Making science fun for everyone! Dig for dinosaurs, touch a cloud, feed a stingray, navigate the river, experience tropical-storm strength winds, experiment with forces and motion, engineer an airplane, and explore nanoscience. See a 3D movie, catch a live-animal show, and enjoy aquariums with alligators, sharks, fish, and turtles.

MURDER MYSTERY DINNER TRAIN

2805 Colonial Boulevard • FORT MYERS

(Parking Lot with Lee County Education Center) 239-275-8487

www.semgulf.com

BOARDING WED –SAT 5:45 PM &SUN 4:45 PM

All aboard for a unique dining experience. Enjoy a fun murder mystery show while our chef prepares your five course dinner on board. The train takes you on a 3 1/2 hour, 40 mile round trip journey across the Caloosahatchee River. Hotel get-away packages available. Special holiday events. Book now online or call to make your reservations.

THE NAPLES ART ASSOCIATION

AT The von Liebig Art Center

585 Park Street • Downtown Naples 239-262-6517

www.naplesart.org

OCT 25–MAY 30 : MON –FRI 10 AM –4 PM & SAT 10 AM –4 PM

Recognized as one of the founding arts organizations in Collier County, Naples Art Association embodies 60 years of commitment to enriching and facilitating art in the Southwest Florida region by building connections to support development and innovation in the visual arts. The Naples Art Association seeks to bring creative opportunities to everyone.

NAPLES BOTANICAL GARDEN

4820 Bayshore Drive • Naples 239-643-7275

www.naplesgarden.org

M ON –S UN 9 AM –5 PM & T UE 8 AM –5 PM Stroll through 170 acres of lush tropical cultivated gardens and native preserve. Enjoy gardens inspired by landscapes from around the world. The new Chabraja Visitor Center includes three new smaller gardens, Kapnick Hall for traveling exhibitions, and Fogg Café. Please note that the Garden is closed for construction with our public Grand Opening October 23.

SEMINOLE CASINO IMMOKALEE

506 S First Street • Immokalee 800-218-0007

www.seminoleImmokaleecasino.com

24 HOURSA DAY 365 DAYSA YEAR

Seminole Casino Immokalee is SWFL’s premier gaming destination. With 1,200 slots, it is home to Florida’s largest jackpots and loosest machines. The 75,000 sq.ft. plus casino offers 34 live table games, including Blackjack, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow and Texas Hold ‘em Bonus Poker. When it’s time to cash in, dine out at one of the delicious restaurants, including 1st Street Deli and EE-TO-LEET-KE Grill. Or visit the Zig Zag Lounge for a cocktail and nightly live entertainment. Seminole Casino Immokalee – Escape to the Action.

SHELL FACTORY & NATURE PARK SOARING EAGLE ZIP LINE

2787 Tamiami Trail North • North Fort Myers 239-995-2141

www.shellfactory.com

7 DAYSAWEEK 10AMTILLDUSK

The world’s largest collection of rare shells, sponges, coral, fossils and sea life specimens. Thousands of gifts and unique displays, exhibits and collections including the year-round Christmas House, Natural History Exhibit and Money Museum. Capt’n Fishbones offers seafood and steaks, cocktails and children’s menu. Get wet with water wars, enjoy bumper boats, miniature golf, playgrounds, The Groovy Stop Video Arcade, and the new Soaring Eagle Zip Line. The Nature Park presents many species of animals, birds, reptiles and fish; two aviaries, butterfly garden, petting farm, touch center, eco-lab, a botanical trail, gemstone mining, and picnic area.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA MUSEUMOF HISTORY

2031 Jackson Street • Fort Myers River District 239-321-7430

www.swflmuseumofhistory.com

TUE –SAT 10 AM –5 PM

History comes alive as you travel back in time to explore Southwest Florida as it was from the Ice Age to modernday. Meet prehistoric beasts, the Calusa and Seminole Indians, Spanish explorers, military, farmers, and fishermen. Step aboard a 1929 private Pullman railcar and peek inside a Cracker House.

VENICE THEATRE

140 W. Tampa Avenue • Venice 941-488-1115

www.venicestage.com

BOXOFFICE : MON –FRI 10 AM –5 PM, SAT 10 AM –1PM & HOURBEFOREPERFORMANCE

Located just an hour north of Fort Myers, Venice Theatre is the second largest community theatre in the country! Their 65th season features musicals, comedies, dramas, concerts, and cabarets including: The Full Monty, Rocky Horror, Mary Poppins, Next to Normal , The Capitol Steps, and much more.

Old, New, Borrowed and Blue A

S THE WEDDINGS OF SUMMER WANEI think about “Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue” and realize I have heard some excellent new albums that fit those four categories.

Something Old DR. JOHN Ske-Dat-De-Dat... The Spirit of Satch (CONCORD)

It only takes a few moments to appreciate that this album is going to be special.

It opens with the Blind Boys of Alabama singing the opening line of Louis Armstrong’s iconic ‘Wonderful World’ before Dr. John enters and shifts the song into a rowdy celebration of simple heartfelt soul. Then he caps it off with a blazing trumpet solo by the great Nicholas Payton. The band is seriously hot and Dr. John has never sounded better - husky but healthy - and his piano playing is at the top of his game.

by Andrew Elias

At a time when performers decades younger are nostalgically replaying old hits — and 40 years after his own hit ‘Right Place, Wrong Time’ — 74 year old Dr. John is making some of the best music of his life, with a freshness and vitality surpassing artists a quarter his age.

Something New THE ORWELLS Disgraceland (CANVASBACK)

What do you think would happen if a bunch of high school guys living in the Mid-West, who grew up after 9/11 and during the Great Recession, and listened to The Strokes and Nirvana as they were reaching puberty, would sound like if they formed a band? The answer is The Orwells. And ‘Southern Comfort’ is the song they’d sing. If I didn’t know better I’d swear it was Johnny Thunders or the New York Dolls. Not that its a copy or rip-off. It’s just that good a song.

At 74 years of age, Dr. John is making some of the best music of his career

Ske-Dat-De-Dat...The Spirit of Satch is acelebration of Armstrong’s music, a nod to the greatest New Orleans musician by another of its greats — with some of the best trumpeters of our times: Nicholas Payton, Terence Blanchard, Arturo Sandoval, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

It’s a wide-ranging collection of hits and classics (‘Mack the Knife,’ ‘When You’re Smiling,’ ‘World on a String’) and more obscure and much bluesier songs (‘Sweet Hunk O’ Trash,’ ‘Dippermouth Blues,’ ‘Tight Like That,’ ‘Gutbucket Blues’). But rather than revisit the songs and mimic Satchmo’s style, he reinvents them. ‘Mack the Knife’ even features some excellent and smart rapping by Mike Ladd.

Some songs ride the same funky grooves that marked his outstanding collaboration with The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Locked Down. Others are smoother and jazzier. But whether he’s rockin’ out with Shemekia Copeland on ‘Sweet Hunk O’ Trash’ or crooning at the piano with Bonnie Raitt on the joyous ‘World on a String,’ Dr. John is still the master — a national treasure.

‘Righteous One,’ the song they blew Letterman away with when they performed the first time on his show, is an instant classic. Sung as half plea and half dare, the song nails the particular angst of teenagers today, as same as it ever was. With a Stooges-like guitar assault, Mario Cuomo’s writhing vocals (reminiscent of Jim Morrison) and the exciting feeling that it all could go off the rails at any moment, it should be the kind of grungy hit that ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was in the early 1990s. That’s just the first two songs. ‘Dirty Sheets’ follows, a classic teen anthem that girls from good homes should probably not listen to, but hey, The Orwells are probably the boys they shouldn’t hang out with either. ‘Who Needs You,’ Let It Burn’ and ‘Gotta Get Down’ are all Iggy Pop attitude and Ramones-like drive —rebellious, relentless rock ‘n’ Roll. ‘Bathroom Tiles’ and ‘Always n Forever’ hint at a side of the band that’s more power-pop than punk, but ‘Norman’ and ‘Blood Bubbles’ are pretty dark stuff. Simply a great punk rock album. The kind of rock ‘n’ roll you should play louder than you should. Rock ‘n’ roll for teenagers, and that teenager is us all. Disgraceland will be a landmark album, one that future musicians cite as inspiration to form a band in their garage or basement. It’s that much fun.

Something Borrowed KELLY WILLIS & BRUCE ROBISON Our Year

(THIRTY TIGERS)

Not quite the royalty of country music’s Johnny Cash & June Carter or George Jones & Tammy Wynette, the husband and wife team of Bruce Robison & Kelly

The Orwells are the kind of band that will spawn hundreds of future bands in garages all over the country

Willis are nonetheless one of the most acclaimed and popular couples in Americana roots music. Each has been recording for years, playing music that incorporates disparate influences from Texas to New Orleans to Nashville, and writing simple, honest and romantic songs.

Just the second album to be officially released as a duo, Our Year features two well-crafted songs by Robison (‘Carousel’ and ‘Anywhere But Here’) and Kelly (‘Lonely for You’) as well as littleknown gems by T Bone Burnett and Walter Hyatt, and old favorites “I’ll Go to My Grave Loving You’ (a hit for the Statler Brothers) and the Tom T. Hall classic and Jeannie C. Riley hit, ‘Harper Valley PTA,’ which was made for Kelly’s voice, with equal parts fragility and confidence.

Our Year is an album full of strong songs, beautiful harmonies, and lots of fiddling and pedal steel guitar. Country music the way it’s supposed to be.

Something Blue

HAROLD MABERN

Right On Time

LOUIS HAYES

Return of the Jazz Communicators

CYRUS CHESTNUT

Midnight Melodies

ORRIN EVANS

Liberation Blues

ERIC REED

Groovewise

JIMMY COBB

The Original Mob

VINCENT HERRING

The Uptown Shuffle

JAVON JACKSON Expression (SMOKE SESSIONS)

The jazz pantheon includes historic labels such as Prestige, Blue Note, Riverside, Impulse, Verve, and Savoy - labels that not only had a roster of superb musicians, but also often had a unique studio sound or creative attitude. Smoke Sessions Records is the creation of the owners of the famous Smoke Jazz & Supper Club in New York City. With a slew of new releases, it will be hard-pressed to achieve the creative heights and winning track records of the great labels of the past, but it is on the way to establishing itself as one of the top new jazz labels. With the release of nine albums recorded live at the jazz club, with vintage techniques and modern technology, and at times fea-

turing some of the same musicians, the recordings have both a unity of spirit and variety of styles. The labels’ first release is Right on Time by piano great Harold Mabern. Recorded last year over the weekend of his 77th birthday, the album reflects Mabern’s mastery of traditional bebop as well as his eagerness to explore taking his music in new directions. In a a trio with John Webber on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums, Mabern tackles the disco hit ‘Dance With Me’ and the theme from the TV show Laverne & Shirley, ‘Making Our Dreams Come True’ with the same excitement he brings to Duke Ellington’s ‘Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,’ Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘My Favorite Things’ and Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘The Nearness of You.’ The standout of this bluesy set is the jazz classic ‘Cherokee.’

Louis Hayes is another master of jazz drumming, driving historic sessions by the likes of Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson, Dexter Gordon and McCoy Tyner. His Smoke Sessions recording, Return of the Jazz Communicators refers back to Hayes’ band in the 1960s with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson and Kenny Barron. Although this album features the saxophone of Abraham Burton (‘Portrait of Jennie’) and the vibraphone of Steve Nelson (Billy Strayhorn’s ‘Lush Life’ and Mulgrew Miller’s ‘Soul-Leo’), it’s Hayes himself, 77 years old, that really shines on the more upbeat tracks.

The three most recent releases from Smoke Sessions come from a trio of outstanding pianists: Cyrus Chestnut (age 51), Eric Reed (44) and Orrin Evans (38). Joining Chestnut is bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Lewis, veterans of the John Hicks trio, so it’s no surprise that on a session that includes two songs by Billy Strayhorn, one by Miles Davis, and the jazz classics, Milt Jackson’ ‘Bag’s Groove’ and John Coltrane’s ‘Giant Steps,’ it’s the three tracks by Hicks that stand out.

Eric Reed is usually heard in a trio so it’s especially exciting to hear him in a quartet. The set starts with a swinging take on Clifford

Jordon’s ‘Powerful Paul Robeson,’ performed impromptu for Jordon’s wife, who was in the club at the time. The session also includes original compositions dedicated to Mulgrew Miller, Cedar Walton and Marian McPartland. Reed is committed to carry on the jazz traditions that inspire him while maintaining the drive to always push the music forward.

It’s hard to keep up with pianist, bandleader and music provocateur Orrin Evans. He releases albums with big bands, small combos of varying sizes, and as a solo artist, with incredible regularity, continually exploring all kinds of new sounds with a wide array of musical cohorts. What makes this session special, other than the incredible 32-minutes of ‘The Liberation Blues Suite,’ is the pairing of trumpeter Sean Jones with tenor saxophonist JD Allen. The session was recorded immediately following the passing of Evan’s close friend and bassist, Dwayne Burno, and is dedicated to his memory. It is an emotional set with inspired playing by Evans and all, with the added treat of guest vocalist Joanna Pascale, who happened to be in the club, singing ‘The Night Has a Thousand Eyes.’

Orrin Evans drives the session by the young tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson on his release, Expressions while Cyrus Chestnut joins alto saxophonist Vincent herring on his excellent release, The Uptown Shuffle

Few jazz drummers have had as remarkable a career as Jimmy Cobb. Best known as Miles Davis’ drummer for years, most notably on the groundbreaking album Kind of Blue, his new release The Original Mob finds Cobb working with three former students: pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist John Webber and guitarist Peter Bernstein. The first time they have played together in years, the sessions prove that the chemistry of the group and the artistry of each member has not lessened. Standards like ‘Old Devil Moon,’ ‘Nobody Else But Me,’ ‘Sunday in New York’ and ‘Stranger in Paradise’ are wonderful, warm and playful. The folks at Smoke jazz club have come out of the gate with more than a few first rate live recordings for their new Smoke Sessions label and we can only wish them success and hope to hear many more in the coming months and years. The incredible magic of live jazz is alive and well. •

Sept

1

MONDAY

•Films for Film Lovers: ‘Ciao Professore!’ Center for Performing Arts, MoeAuditorium & Film C enter, 10150 Bonita Be ach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 495-8989.

•Indie Movie Monday: Independent film screening hosted by Fort Myers Film Festival. Davis Art Center, 2301 1st St, Ft Myers. Happy hour 6:30p, film 7p. 333-1933.

2

TUESDAY

•Art Reception: Harbour View Gallery: 5789 Cape Harbour Dr, #104, Cape Coral. 6-8p. Free. 5405789.

•Art Reception: Museum of the Islands, 5728 Sesame, Pine Island Center. 5-7p. Free.283-1525.

3

WEDNESDAY

•Youth Theater Auditions: Charlotte’s Web. Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 4-7p. Free. 495-8989.

4

THURSDAY

• A n d i S m i t h : C omic. Belushi’s Live, Tilted Kilt, 13851 S Tamiami Tr, Ft Myers.7p. 330-4390.

• M i c h a e l M a c k : Off the Ho ok Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, Fort Myers. 8p. 389-6901.

•New Works Festival: Rust on Bone play reading. Gulfshore Playhouse. Norris Center, 755 5thAve S, Ft Myers. 8p. 866-8114111.

•Youth Theater Auditions: Charlotte’s Web. Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 4-7p. Free. 495-8989.

5 FRIDAY

•Andi Smith: Comic. Belushi’s Live, Tilted Kilt, 13851 S Tamiami Tr, Ft Myers.7 & 9p. 330-4390.

•Art Reception: Unit A,

1922 Evans Ave, Ft Myers. 6-9p. Free. 340-6467.

•Art Reception: Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 5-7p. Free. 939-2787.

•Art Reception: Arts for ACT Gallery, 2265 1st St, Ft Myers, 6-9p. Free. 3375050.

•Art Reception: Cape Coral Arts Studio,4533 Coronado Pkwy in Rubicond Park, Cape Coral. 5-7p. Free. 574-0802.

•A r t R e c e p t i o n : C enter for Visual Arts Bonita Springs, 26100 Old 41 Rd, BonitaSprings. 6-8p. Free. 495-8989.

• A r t R e c e p t i o n : SWFL

Museum of History,2031 Jackson St, Ft Myers. 5:30-7:30p. Free. 3217430.

•Art Walk: Receptions, exhibits, demos, live music at several galleries & studios. Downtown Ft Myers’ historic River District. 610p. Free. 855-732-3836.

•Book Signing: Timothy Jacobs. Savvy On First, 2263 1st St, Ft Myers. 510p. Free.561-1399.

•Grand Opening Art Reception: Upper floors open for 1st time. Davis Art Center, 2301 1st St, Ft Myers. 610p. Free. 333-1933.

•Michael Mack: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Ft Myers. 8p. 389-6901.

•New Works Festival: Harlowe play reading. Gulfshore Playhouse. Norris Center, 755 5thAve S, Ft Myers. 8p. 866-811-4111.

•The Marriage Counselor: Staged readings. Theatre Conspiracy. Foulds Theatre,Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 8p.936-3239.

6 SATURDAY

•3 Doors Down AcousticSongs from the Basement: BB Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 Edison Pkwy, Ft Myers. 8p. 481-4849.

• A n d i S m i t h : C omic. Belushi’s Live, Tilted Kilt, 13851 S Tamiami Tr, Ft Myers. 7 & 9p. 330-4390.

•Auditions: For The Spitfire Grill. The Naples Players. Sugden Community Theatre, 701 5th Ave S. 12p. Appt needed. 434-7340.

•Gallery Walk & Demo:

Artist Carol Broman. Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 10a. Free. 939-2787.

•Graham Wood Drout & Iko Iko: Concert. Buckingham Blues Bar, 5641 Buckingham Rd,Ft Myers. 9p-12a. 693-7111.

•Int’l Observe the Moon Night: Telescope viewing, astronomy shows. Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium, 3450 Ortiz Ave, Ft Myers. 7p. Free. 275-3435.

•Michael Mack: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Fort Myers. 8p. 389-6901.

•New Works Festival: Doublewide play reading. Gulfshore Playhouse. Norris Center, 755 5thAve S, Ft Myers. 8p. 866-811-4111.

•Wind Farm: Staged readings. Theatre Conspiracy. Foulds Theatre, Alliance forthe Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 8p.936-3239.

7 SUNDAY

•Harker’s Journal: Staged readings. Theatre Conspiracy. Foulds Theatre, Alliancefor the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 2p.936-3239.

•Michael Mack: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Fort Myers. 7p. 389-6901.

• N e w W o r k s F e s t i v a l : Shepherd’s Bush play reading. Gulfshore Playhouse. Norris Center, 755 5thAve S, Ft Myers. 3p. 866-811-4111.

8 MONDAY

•Films for Film Lovers: ‘Monsieur Lazhar!’ Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 4958989.

11

THURSDAY

•April Macie: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Fort Myers. 8p. 389-6901.

•Art Reception: FGCU ArtLab, FGCU library, 10501 FGCU BlvdS., Ft Myers. 5p. Free. 590-7199.

12

FRIDAY

•24-Hour Festival: FGCU students produce stage play, film, music, or artwork with 24-hours. FGCU, Arts Complex, FGCU Blvd S, Ft. Myers. 8p. Free. 590-7268.

•April Macie: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

whatGoeson

The Betty Fox Band play at The Hut at Peace Tropical Gardens in Buckingham on September 13. For information, call 693-7111.

The Mudflappers Band perform Septemebr 13 at SummerJazz on the Gulf, at the Naples Beach Hotel in Naples. Call 261-2222 for information.

what Goes on

•Art Reception: Art Council of SWFL Co-Op Gallery, Coconut Point Mall, 8074 Mediterranean Dr,Estero. 5-7p. Free. 267-3049.

13

SATURDAY

•April Macie: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

•Art Reception: Englewood Art Center,350 S. MaCall Rd,Englewood. 2-4p.Free. 941-474-5548.

•Craft Beer & Music Festival: Music by Deb & The Dynamics, Rocker and Mudbone.Fundraiser. The Bell Tower Shops. 13499 US 41 SE, Ft Myers. 3-8p. Free. 489-1221.

•The Betty Fox Band: Concert. Buckingham Blues Bar, 5641 Buckingham Rd, Ft Myers.9p-12a. 693-7111.

•The Goldtones: Doo-wop concert.140 W. Tampa Ave, Venice. 8p. 941-4881115.

•The Mudflappers Band: SummerJazz on the Gulf free outdoor concert. Naples Beach Hotel & GolfClub, 851 Gulf Shore Blvd. N, Naples. 6:309:30p. 261-2222.

•Vaudeville: Local acts, f undraiser. Laboratory Theater of Florida,1634 Woodford Ave, Ft Myers. 7p. 218-0481.

14 SUNDAY

•April Macie: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 7p. 389-6901.

18

THURSDAY

•Theo Von: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

19

•JP Soars & The Red Hots: Concert. Buckingham Blues Bar, 5641 Buckingham Rd, FtMyers. 9p-12a. 6937111.

•Theo Von: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

21

SUNDAY

•Bluegrass Concert: The Bugtussle Ramblers, Pete & Sylvia, Captain Joe & the Bottom Feeders. Foulds Theatre, Alliance for the Arts,10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 2p. 9392787.

•Theo Von: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 7p. 389-6901.

23

TUESDAY

•Naples Jazzmasters: Dixieland concerts. River Park Community Center, 3rd Ave N &11th St N, Naples. 1-3p. Free. 263-1113.

24

WEDNESDAY

•Improv Tonight! : Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Road SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 495-8989.

House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Fort Myers. 8p. 389-6901.

11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero.4 & 7:30p.948-7825.

28 SUNDAY

•Iliza Schlesinger: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Fort Myers. 7p. 389-6901.

•Island Hopper Songwriter Festival: Captiva. ‘tween Waters Inn, Keylime Bistro, The Mucky Duck, Doc Ford’s, Cantina Captiva, RC Otter’s, Royal Shell, Old Captiva House. 11:30a10p.338-3500.

•Varekai from Cirque Du Doleil: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero. 1:30 & 5p.9487825.

29

MONDAY

• J a m e s E h n e s : C oncert. Davis Art Center,2301 1st St, Ft Myers. Cocktails 7p, show 8p. Free. 333-1933.

30

Rd, Immokalee. 9a-12p. Register. 657-2253.

TUESDAY

•Naples Jazzmasters: Dixieland concert. River Park Community Center, 3rd Ave N &11th St N, Naples. 1-3p. Free. 263-1113.

workshop. Moorings Presbyterian Church, 791 HarbourDr, Naples. 9a. Register. 254-9999.

2 THURSDAY

•Ethan Bortnick: BB Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 Edison Pkwy, Ft Myers. 7p. 481-4849.

•Godspell: TheatreZone & FGCU Theatre Dept. FGCU TheatreLab, Arts Complex, 10501FGCU Blvd S, Ft Myers. 8p. 888-966-3352.

•Mark Curry: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Fort Myers. 8p. 389-6901.

3 FRIDAY

•Art Reception: Unit A, 1922 Evans Ave, Ft Myers. 6-9p. Free. 340-6467.

•Art Reception: Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 5-7p. Free. 939-2787.

•Art Reception: Arts for ACT Gallery, 2265 1st St, Ft Myers, 6-9p. Free. 3375050.

FRIDAY

•Music Walk: Live music & dancing at several cafes, clubs & galleries. Downtown Ft Myers’ historic River District. 6-10p. Free. 855-732-3836.

•Theo Von: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

20

SATURDAY

•Gulf Coast Writers Association Meeting: Speaker Tom Hayden, News-Press editor. Zion Lutheran Church, 7401 Winkler Rd, Ft Myers. 10a-12p. Free. 247-4515.

•Va r e k a i f r o m C i r q u e Du Doleil: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero. 7:30p. 948-7825. 25

•Island Hopper Songwriter Festival: Captiva.Crow’s Nest, Keylime Bistro, The Mucky Duck, Doc Ford’s, Cantina Captiva. 7-10p. 338-3500.

THURSDAY

•Iliza Schlesinger: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 3896901.

•The Music of Saint-Saens: Featuring ‘Carnival of the Animals ’ Gala concert & reception. Bower students & Naples Philharmonic members. FGCU, U. Tobe Recital Hall, Music bldg, 10501 FGCU Blvd S, Ft Myers. 7p. 590-7292.

•Varekai from Cirque Du Doleil: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero. 7:30p.948-7825.

26

FRIDAY

•Dine & Dash for the Cure: Live music, contests. Fundraiser. The Bell Tower Shops.13499 US 41 SE, Ft Myers. 6-8p. Free. 4891221.

•Ellie Lee: Concert. Buckingham Blues Bar, 5641 Buckingham Rd, Ft Myers. 9p-12a.693-7111.

•Iliza Schlesinger: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside

•Varekai from Cirque Du Doleil: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero. 4p.948-7825.

27 SATURDAY

• a M U S E d : Art party fundraiser. Music, interactive art, tapas. Alliance for the Arts, 10091McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 7p. 9392787.

•Gulfshore Ballet: Dance performance. Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. Time TBA. Free. 590-6191.

•Iliza Schlesinger: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Fort Myers. 8 & 10p. 3896901.

•Island Hopper Songwriter Festival: Captiva.Crow’s Nest, Keylime Bistro, The Mucky Duck, Doc Ford’s, Cantina Captiva, RC Otter’s, Royal Shell. 11:30a10p.338-3500.

•John Nemeth: Concert. Buckingham Blues Bar, 5641 Buckingham Rd, Ft Myers. 9p-12a. 693-7111.

•Mushroom Walk: With expert. CREW Marsh Hiking Trails, 4600 Corkscrew

•National Estuaries Day: Guided boat tours, kayaking, touch tank, animal presentations, educational exhibits, arts & crafts, science labs, films, Guy Harvey art exhibit, etc. Rookery Bay National Research Reserve, 300Tower Rd, Naples. 10a3p. Free.530-5977.

•Varekai from Cirque Du Doleil: Germain Arena,

Oct 1 WEDNESDAY

•Ikebana Meeting: Japanese Flower Arranging Society. Ichiyo School of Ikebana

•Art Reception: Cape Coral Arts Studio, 4533 Coronado Pkwy in Rubicond Park, Cape Coral. 57p.Free. 574-0802.

•Art Walk: Receptions, exhibits, demos, live music at several galleries & studios. Downtown Ft Myers’ historic River District. 6-10p. Free. 855732-3836.

•Book Signing: Timothy Jacobs. Savvy On First, 2263 1st St, Ft Myers. ?510p. Free.561-1399.

Iliza Schelsinger performs September 25-28 at Off the Hook Comedy Club inside House of Brewz in Gulf Coast Town Center in Fort Myers. Call 389-6901 for information.

The Bugtussle Band perform September 21 at the Bluegrass concert at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers. For information, call 939-2787.

•Godspell: TheatreZone & FGCU Theatre Dept. FGCU TheatreLab, Arts Complex, 10501FGCU Blvd S, Ft Myers. 8p. 888-9663352.

•Indie Movie Monday: Independent film screening hosted by Fort Myers Film Festival. Davis Art Center, 2301 1st St, Ft Myers. Happy hour 6:30p, film 7p.333-1933.

•Island Hopper Songwriter Festival: Ft Myers Beach. Coconuts at Pink Shell, Nervous Nellies, Matanza’s Upper Deck, Yucatan Beach Stand, The Beached Whale, Smokin’ Oyster Brewery, The Beach Pierside Grill, The Cottage at Gulfshore. 6-10p.338-3500.

•Linda Fazioli – Tribute to Patsy Cline: Cultural Park Theatre, 528 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. 7p. 772-5862.

•Mark Curry: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

4 SATURDAY

•Gallery Walk & Demo: Artist Carol Broman. Alliance for the Arts, 10091McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 10a. Free. 939-2787.

•Godspell: TheatreZone & FGCU Theatre Dept. FGCU TheatreLab, Arts Complex, 10501FGCU Blvd S, Ft Myers. 2 & 8p. 888966-3352.

•Island Hopper Songwriter Festival: Ft Myers Beach. Coconuts at Pink Shell, Nervous Nellies, Matanza’s Upper Deck, Yucatan Beach Stand, The BeachedWhale, Smokin’ Oyster Brewery, The Beach Pierside Grill, The Cottage at Gulfshore. 12-5p.338-3500.

•Linda Fazioli – Tribute to Patsy Cline: Cultural Park Theatre, 528 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. 7p. 772-5862.

•Mark Curry: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8 & 10p. 389-6901.

•Victor Wainwright & Wildroots: Concert. Buckingham Blues Bar, 5641 Buckingham Rd,Ft Myers. 9p-12a. 693-7111.

5 SUNDAY

• Linda Fazioli – Tribute to Patsy Cline: Cultural Park Theatre, 528 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. 7p. 772-5862.

•Godspell: TheatreZone & FGCU Theatre Dept. FGCU TheatreLab, Arts Complex, 10501 FGCU Blvd S,

Ft Myers. 7:30p. 888-9663352.

•Island Hopper Songwriter Festival: Ft Myers Beach. Coconuts at Pink Shell, Nervous Nellies, Matanza’s Upper Deck, Yucatan Beach Stand, TheBeached Whale, Smokin’ Oyster Brewery, The Beach Pierside Grill, Parrot Key.11a10p.338-3500.

•Mark Curry: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 7p. 389-6901.

6

MONDAY

•Art Reception: Harbour View Gallery:5789 Cape Harbour Dr, #104, Cape Coral. 6-8p. Free. 5405789.

•Films for Film Lovers:

41 Rd, Bonita Springs. 13:30p. Free. 495-8989.

•Art After Dark: Receptions, exhibits, demos, music at several galleries & studios. Crayton Cove, Naples City Dock, 8th St S & 12th Ave S, Naples. 69p. Free. 403-8393.

•Art Reception: Englewood Art Center, 350 S. MaCall Rd, Englewood. 2-4p. Free.941-474-5548.

•Baroque Music: Naples Philharmonic & Philharmonic Chorus. 8p. Artis–Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd, Naples. 8p. 597-1900.

•Chris Franjola: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

16

THURSDAY

•Art Reception: BIG ARTS, 900 Dunlop Rd, Sanibel. 5:30-7:30p. Free. 4729700.

• D u o A m a l - B i s h a r a Haroni & Yaron Kohlberg: Classical music concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Mildred Sainer Pavilion, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 8p. 941-360-7399.

•Godfrey: Off the Hook

Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

•Jazz Sunsets on the Bay: Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Ba yfront Gardens, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd,Sarasota. Food & drinks. 5-8p. 941-3607399.

•KKeigwin + Company: Dance performance. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Historic Asolo Theater, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd,

Sarasota. 2 & 8p. 941-3607399.

•Pedrito Martinez Group: Concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival . Cook Theatre, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-360-7399.

•Tangram: Dance & circus arts. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Historic Asolo Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-360-7399.

•The Intergalactic Nemesis: Live graphic novel

‘Avenue Montaigne.’ Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium& Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 495-8989. 9

•Deb & The Dynamics. Concert. The Hut at the Peace Tropical Gardens, 5150 Buckingham Rd, Ft Myers. 1:30-5:30p. Free. 2250907.

THURSDAY

•Chris Franjola: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

•Teen Theater Auditions: ‘Into the Woods, Jr’ (ages 12-19). Center for PerformingArts Bonita Springs, 10150 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs. 5-8p. Free. 495-8989.

FRIDAY

•Art Reception: Art Council of SWFL Co-Op Gallery, Coconut Point Mall, 8074 Mediterranean Dr,Estero. 5-7p. Free. 267-3049.

•Art Reception: Center for Visual Arts Bonita Springs, 26100 Old 41 Rd, BonitaSprings. 6-8p. Free. 495-8989.

•Art Reception: Naples Arts Association, The von Liebig Art Center, 585 Park St S, Naples. 5:307:30p. Free. 262-6517.

•Chris Franjola: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 7 & 9p. 3896901.

•Yappy Hour: Dog party, refreshments, live music. Fundraiser. The Bell Tower Shops.13499 US 41 SE, Ft Myers. 6-8p. Free. 4891221.

SATURDAY

• A c t i v i t y D a y : Fo lding Paper - The Infinite Possibilities of Origami. Center forVisual Arts, 26100 Old

SUNDAY

•The Lauren Mitchell Band: Concert. Buckingham Blues Bar, 5641 Buckingham Rd, FtMyers. 9p-12a. 6937111. 12

• C h r i s F r a n j o l a : Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 7p. 3896901.

•Earth, Wind & Fire: BB Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 Edison Pkwy, Ft Myers. 7p. 481-4849.

•Holocaust Survivor Talk: Sandalwood Square, 4760 Tamiami Tr N, # 107, Naples. 4p. Free. 263-9200.

13

MONDAY

•Films for Film Lovers: ‘Damage.’ Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium &Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 4958989.

15

WEDNESDAY

•Florida’s Funny Competition: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110,Fort Myers. 8p. 389-6901.

•Opening Night Celebration: Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Pedrito Martinez Group, Tangram, Duo Amal, Bolero Sarasota, fireworks. The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 6p. 941-360-7399.

•Sesame Street Live - Make a New Friend: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero. 10:30a & 6:30p. 948-7825.

what Goes on

radio drama. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. MertzTheatre, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-360-7399.

•The Table: Blind Summit Theatre. Puppetry. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Cook Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 2 & 8p. 941-3607399.

•Vijay Iyer Trio: Jazz concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Mildred Sainer Pavilion, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-360-7399.

17 FRIDAY

•Duo Amal - Bishara

Haroni & Yaron Kohlberg: Classical music concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. MildredSainer Pavilion, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-360-7399.

• F l o r i d a E v e r b l a d e s v s S o u t h C a r o l i n a S t i n g

Rays: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero. 7:30p. 948-7825.

•Godfrey: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8p. 389-6901.

•Jazz Sunsets on the Bay: Ringling Int’l Art Festiva l. Bayfront Gardens, The Ringling,5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. Food & drinks. 5-8p. 941-3607399.

•KKeigwin + Company: Dance performance. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Cook Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-360-7399.

•Music Walk: Live music & dancing at several cafes, clubs & galleries. Downtown Ft Myers’ historic River District. 6-10p. Free. 855-732-3836.

•Pedrito Martinez Group: Concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival . Cook Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 2 & 8p. 941-360-7399.

•Tangram: Dance & circus arts.Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Historic Asolo Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 2 & 8p. 941-360-7399.

•The Intergalactic Nemesis: Live graphic novel radio drama. Ringling Int’l Art Festival.Mertz Theatre, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 2 & 8p. 941-360-7399.

•The Table: Blind Summit Theatre. Puppetry.Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Cook Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-3607399.

SATURDAY

•Vijay Iyer Trio: Jazz concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Mildred Sainer Pavilion, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota.2 & 8p. 941-3607399. 18

•D u o A m a l - B i s h a r a Haroni & Yaron Kohlberg: Classical music concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. MildredSainer Pavilion, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 2p. 941-360-7399.

•Fall for the Arts Family Festival: Local art, music, dance, theatre groups. Exhibits, performances, wo rks hops, activities, author signings, kids activities. Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 10a-3p. Free. 939-2787.

•Fall Wildflower Walk: With expert. CREW Marsh Hiking Trails, 4600 Corkscrew Rd, Immokalee. 9a-12p. Register. 657-2253.

•Florida Everblades vs South Carolina Sting Rays: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero. 7p. 948-7825.

•Godfrey: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 8 & 10p. 389-6901.

•Gulf Coast Writers Association Meeting: Critique groups workshop. Zion Lutheran Church, 7401 Winkler Rd, Ft Myers. 10a12p. Free. 247-4515.

•Keigwin + Company: Dance performance. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Cook Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 2p. 941-360-7399.

•Lightwire Theater presents DiNO-Light Live: Center for Performing Arts, MoeAuditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 3 & 7p. 495-8989.

•Pedrito Martinez Group: Concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival . Cook Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-360-7399.

•Tangram: Dance & circus arts.Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Historic Asolo Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5p. 941-360-7399.

•The Intergalactic Nemesis: Live graphic novel radio drama. Ringling Int’l Art Festival.Mertz Theatre, The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 2p. 941-360-7399.

•The Table: Blind Summit Theatre. Puppetry.Ringling Int’l Art Festival.

Cook Theatre, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 2p. 941-3607399.

•Vijay Iyer Trio: Jazz concert. Ringling Int’l Art Festival. Mildred Sainer Pavilion, TheRingling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota.5p. 941-360-7399.

19 SUNDAY

•’Ding’ Darling Days: Family Fun Day. Guided walks, kids activities, animal presentations, educational exhibits, films, live entertainment, Heather Henson’s Ibex Puppetry troupe etc. ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Refuge, 1 Wildlife Dr, Sanibel. 7a6:30p. Free. 472-1100.

•Godfrey: Off the Hook Comedy Club, inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, FortMyers. 7p. 389-6901.

•Ringo Starr & His AllStarr Band: With Todd Rundgren. BB Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 Edison Pkwy, Ft Myers. 7p. 481-4849.

20 MONDAY

•Bling, Baubles & Bubbly: Jewelry exhibit & sale, fundraiser. Kathleen Bradford Studio/Gallery, 4259 Bonita Beach Rd, Bonita Springs. Refreshments. 58p. 776-6844.

• ’ D i n g ’ D a r l i n g D a y s : Coastal Bird Day. Guided walks, kids activities, animal presentations,educational exhibits, films, live entertainment, etc. ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Refuge, 1Wildlife Dr, Sanibel. 7a6:30p. 472-1100.

•Films for Film Lovers: ‘August Rush.’ Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium& Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 4958989.

21 TUESDAY

•’Ding’ Darling Days: Beach & Water Day. Guided walks, kids activities, animal presentations, educational exhibits, films, live entertainment, etc. ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Refuge, 1Wildlife Dr, Sanibel. 7a6:30p. 472-1100.

22

WEDNESDAY

• ’ D i n g ’ D a r l i n g D a y s : Wilderness Day. Guided walks, kids activities, animal presentations,educational exhibits, films, live entertainment, etc. ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Refuge, 1Wildlife Dr, Sanibel. 7a6:30p. 472-1100.

23 THURSDAY

•’Ding’ Darling Days: Calusa Day. Guided walks, kids activities, animal presentations,educational exhibits, films, live entertainment, etc. ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Refuge, 1Wildlife Dr, Sanibel. 7a-6:30p. 472-1100.

•Naples Botanical Garden

R e - O p e n i n g C e r e m o n y : 4820 Bayshore Dr, Naples. 10a.643-7275.

• N a p l e s P h i l h a r m o n i c : Masterworks concert. Artis–Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd, Naples. 8p. 597-1900.

24

FRIDAY

•’Ding’ Darling Days: Trails Day. Guided walks, kids activities, animal presentations,educational exhibits, films, live entertainment, animal Olympics, etc. ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Refuge, 1Wildlife Dr, Sanibel. 7a6:30p. Free for 472-1100.

•F l o r i d a E v e r b l a d e s vs Orlando Solar Bears: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy, Estero. 7:30p. 948-7825.

•Murder, Music & Mayhem: CFABS Players Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. Centerfor Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 495-8989.

25

SATURDAY

• A c t i v i t y D a y : Fo lding Paper - The Infinite Pos-

•

sibilities of Origami. Center forVisual Arts, 26100 Old 41 Rd, Bonita Springs. 1-3:30p. Free. 495-8989.

Comedy. BB Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 Edison Pkwy, Ft Myers. 8p. 4814849.

• C a b a r e t & C a b e r n e t : Young Artists Awards concert, recption, auction, f undraiser. Foulds Theatre, Alliance for the Arts, 10091 MvGregor Blvd, FtMyers. 6-9p. 574-9321.

•’Ding’ Darling Days: Conservation Art Day. Plein air painting, guided walks, kids activities, animal presentations,educational exhibits, films, live entertainment, etc. ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Refuge, 1Wildlife Dr, Sanibel. 7a6:30p. 472-1100.

•Ft Myers Mastersingers: Chamber Chorus Concert with FGCU Chamber Chorus. Venue TBA. 3pm. 288-2535.

•Murder, Music & Mayhem: CFABS Community Players Murder Mystery DinnerTheater. Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita BeachRd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 4958989.

26 SUNDAY

•Ft Myers Mastersingers: Chamber Chorus Concert with FGCU Chamber Chorus. Venue TBA. 3pm. 288-2535.

S p o o k t a c u l a r : C oncert, costume contest, party. BB Mann Performing Arts Hall, 13350 Edison Pkwy, Ft Myers. 1p.277-1700.

•Naples Dixieland Jazz Band: Free concert. Cambier Park, 6th Ave S & 8th St S,Naples. 2-4p. Bring blankets & chairs. Free. 263-1113

• N a p l e s P h i l h a r m o n i c : Masterworks concert. 8p. Artis–Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd, Naples. 8p. 597-1900.

27 MONDAY

•Films for Film Lovers: Wadjika.’ Center for Performing Arts, MoeAuditorium & Film Center, 10150 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 4958989.

29 WEDNESDAY

•Halloween Costume Party - Trained for Deception: Murder Mystery Dinner Train Theater,2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 6:30p. 275-8487.

•N a p l e s P h i l h a r m o n i c J a z z O r c h e s t r a : W ith guest Jason Marsalis. 8:30p. Artis–Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd, Naples. 8p. 597-1900.

30 THURSDAY

• A r t C o n n e c t s L e c t u r e : Taking Advantage of Today’s Technology. Naples Arts Association, The von Liebig Art Center, 585 Park St S, Naples. 5:30p. 262-6517.

Vijay Iyer performs with his Trio, October 16-18 at the Ringling International Arts Festival in Sarasota. For information, call 841-360-7399.

•Deb & the Dynamics: Concert. Center for Performing Arts, Moe Auditorium & FilmCenter, 10150 B onita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. 7p. 4958989.

•Halloween Costume Party - Trained for Deception: Murder Mystery Dinner Train Theater,2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 6:30p. 275-8487.

31 FRIDAY

• F a m i l y F a l l F e s t i v a l : Cos tumes encouraged. Sanibel Community House, 2173 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel. 5-7p. Admittanceis b ag of candy. 472-2155.

•Halloween Costume Party - Trained for Deception: Murder Mystery Dinner Train Theater, 2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 6:30p. 275-8487.

•Jim Jinelli as Elvis Presley: Cultural Park Theatre, 528 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. 7p. 772-5862.

ongoing theater

•4000 Miles : Oct 3-18. Let’s Put On a Show Productions, Golden Gate Community Center, 5701 Golden Gate Pkwy, Naples. 389-9192.

• A S l i m C h a n c e o f Murder: Sun, Wed & Thu Nov 5-27. Murder Mystery Dinner Train,2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 275-8487.

•Alice in Wonderland Jr : Sep 11-21. Venice Theatre, 1 40 W. Tampa Ave, Venice. 941-488-1115.

• B e t r a y a l : O ct 3-18. Theatre Conspiracy. Foulds Theatre, Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 936-3239.

•Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story: Oct 9 - Nov 15. Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, 1380Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 2784422.

•Better Late: Sep 18 - Nov 1. Off Broadway Palm Theatre, 1380 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 278-4422.

•Deathtrap: Oct 3-25.

Laboratory Theater of Florida,1634Woodford Ave, Ft Myers. 218-0481.

•Don’t Dress for Dinner: Sep 30 - Oct 19. Venice Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave, Venice. 941-488-1115.

• G o d s p e l l : O ct 2-5; TheatreZone & FGCU Theatre Dept. FGCU TheatreLab, Arts Complex,

10501 FGCU Blvd, Ft Myers. 888-966-3352.

• G o d s p e l l : Sep 19-28.

Cultural Park Theatre, 528 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. 772-5862.

•Miss Nelson Has A Field

Day: Fri & Sat Oct 17 -

Nov 14. Broadway Palm Children’s Theatre, 1380 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 278-4422.

• N e w W o r k s F e s t i v a l : Sep 4-6. Play readings.

Gulfshore Playhouse, Norris Center, 755 5th Ave

S, Naples. 866-811-4111.

•Noises Off: Sep 24 - Oct

18. The Naples Players. Sugden Theater, 701 5th Ave S, Naples. 263-7990.

•Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show: Oct 10 - Nov 1. Venice Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave, Venice. 941-488-1115.

•Royal Palm Noir: Thru Sep 27.Murder Mystery Dinner Train,2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 275-8487.

•The Bald Soprano: Sep 1721 & 24-28. Ghostbird Theater. Davis Art Center, 2301 1st St, Ft Myers. 3331933.

•The Great Gotsby Murder: Fri & Sat Oct 3 - Nov 22.Murder Mystery Dinner Train,2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 275-8487.

•The Mountaintop: Oct 419. Gulfshore Playhouse, Norris Center, 755 5th Ave S, Naples. 866-811-4111.

•Time Stands Still: Oct 22Nov 15. The Naples Players. Sugden Theater, 701 5th Ave S, Naples. 263-7990.

•Those Were The Days: Sep 4 - Oct 4. Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, 1380 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 278-4422.

•Train of Deception: Sun, Wed & Thu thru Nov 27.Murder Mystery Dinner Train,2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 275-8487.

•You’re Never Too Old: Oct 17-26. Cultural Park Theatre, 528 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. 7725862.

•Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike: Oct 28 - Nov 19. Florida Repertory Theatre, 2267 1st St, Ft Myers. 3324488.

THEATERS

•Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre: Those Were the Days: Sep 4 - Oct 4; Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story: Oct 9 - Nov 15;1380 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 278-4422.

•Broadway Palm Children’s Theatre: Miss Nelson Has a Bad Field Day:Oct 17Nov 14.1380 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 278-4422.

•Cultural Park Theater: Godspell: Sep 19-28; You’re Never Too Late: Oct 17-26. 528 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. 772-5862.

•F G C U T h e a t r e L a b : Oct 3-5: Godspell (with TheatreZone). Arts Complex, 10501 FGCU Blvd S, Ft Myers. 5907268.

•FFlorida Repertory Theatre: Oct 28 - Nov 19: Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike ArcadeTheatre, 2267 1st St, Ft Myers. 332-4488.

•Murder Mystery Dinner

Train Theater: Fri & Sat thru Sep 27: Royal Palm Noir; Sun & Wed thru Nov

2: Trained for Deception; Fri & Sat Oct 3 - Nov 22: The Great Gotsby Murder; Oct 29-31: Halloween Costume Party Train. 2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 275-8487.

•Naples Players: Noises

Off: Sep 24 - Oct 18, Time Stands Still: Oct 22 - Nov 15; Spitfire Grill: Sugden Theater, 701 5th Ave S, Naples. 263-7990.

•

Oct: ACSWFL Arts in Color. Mon-Fri, 11a-3p & 69p 1st Fri of month. Free. 275-3970.

•Arts For ACT Gallery: 2265 First St, Ft Myers. Sep 3-30: Cesar Aguliera’s ‘Anthologies & Other Echos’, Rachel Moorman; O ct 3-Nov 3: Danielle Br anchaud’s Disparate Forces’, Sandra Yeyati.

Mon-Sat 11a-4:30p, 1st & 3rd Fri 11a-10p. Call for Sat hrs. Free. 337-5050.

• A r t s o f t h e I n l a n d Gallery: Keiser U at the Fo rum, 9100 Forum Corporate Pkwy, Ft Myers. Mon-Thu 8a-8p, Fri 8a-5p, Sat 9a-1p. Free. 277-1336.

•Baker Museum: ArtisNaples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd, Naples. Sep 6 - Oct 5: Art as Activism; Sep 20Nov 9: Shrenk Student

Photography;; Sep 27 - Jan 4: Someday is Now - The Art of Corita Kent; Oct 24 - Jan 18: Fine Lines - American Drawings from the Brooklyn Museum. Tue-Sat 10a-4p & Sun 12-4p. 597-1900.

•Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery: 4332 Pine Island Rd, Matlacha. Sun & Mon 10a5p, Tue-Sat 10a-7p. Free. 283-1335.

•BIG ARTS: 900 Dunlop R d, Sanibel. Oct 16Nov 28: Petticoat Painters of Sarasota, DiscARTed. Mon-Sat 9a-4p. Free. 3950900.

•Bob Rauschenberg Gallery: Florida SouthWestern St ate College, 8099 Co llege Pkwy SW, Ft Myers. Thru Sep 27: The Moon Museum (1969)Apollo XII’s Secret Art Mission.Mon-Fri 10a-4p & Sat 11a-3p. Free. 489-9313.

•Cape Coral Art League: 516 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. Oct: Color My World, Nov: Happy Hour, Dec: Festival of theArts. Oct-May Mon-Thu 11a-4p. Free, 772-5657.

Cape Coral. Thru Oct 31: Kyra Belan, Kathy Kuser. 9a-5p. Free. 481-2081.

•Centers for the Arts of Bonita Springs: 26100 Old 41 Rd, BonitaSprings. Sep 5-18: Black & White and Shades of Gray; Oct 10 - Jan 4: Folding PaperThe Infinite Possibilities of Origami.Mon-Fri 10a4p & Sat 1-5p. Free. 4958989.

• C l y d e B u t c h e r ’ s B i g Cypress Gallery: 52388 Tamiami Tr MM 54.5, Ochopee. Daily 10a-5p. Free. 695-2428.

•Clyde Butcher’s Venice Gallery & Studio : 237 Warfield Ave, Venice. TueFri 10a-4:30p. Free. 4860811.

Theatre: Better Late: Sep 18 - Nov 1. 1380 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 278-4422.

•The Laboratory Theater of Florida: Deathtrap: Oct 325. 1634Woodford Ave, Ft Myers. 218-0481.

•

•Beth Sistrunk Fine Art: 5760 Shirley St, # 15, Naples. Tue & Thu 1-4p. Free. 293-4904.

Betrayal: Oct 3-18. Foulds Theatre, Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. 936-3239.

•TheatreZone: Oct 3-5: Godspell (with FGCU Theatre Dept). G & L Theatre, Community School of Naples, 13275 Livingston Rd, Naples. 888-966-3352.

•Venice Theatre: Alice in Wonderland: Sep 11-21; Don’t Dress for Dinner: Sep 30Oct 19; Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show: Oct 10 - Nov 1. 140 W. Tampa Ave, Venice. 941-488-1115.

exhibitions

•Alliance for the Arts: 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. Sep 5-20. Modern AtelierModern Methods of Today’s Tr aining, Tracy Owen Cullimore; Oct 3 - Nov1: Layers, Collage & Assemblage.Mon-Fri 9a5p & Sat 9a-1p. Free. 9392787.

•Art Council of Southwest Florida Co-Op Gallery : Coconut Point Mall, 8074 Mediterranean Dr, Estero. Oct-Apr Tue-Thu & Sat 10a-6p, Fri 11a-7p, Sun 125p; May-Sep Thu & Sat 10a-6p, Fri 11a-7p, Sun 125p. Free. 267-3049.

•Art League of Fort Myers: 1451 Monroe St, Ft Myers. Sep: Sharp Focus;

•Cape Coral Arts Studio: 45 33 Coronado Pkwy in Rubicond Park, Cape Co ra l. Thru Sep 25: Aquarium; Oct 3-30: PanAmerican Alliance. MonThu 9a-9p, Fri & Sat 9a4p. Free. 574-0802.

•Cape Coral Library: 921 39th Terrace & SW 9th Ct,

•Collier County Museum: 3301 Tamiami Tr E, Nap les. Thru Nov 7: The French in Florida. Educational programs, Wed, 2pm. Mon-Sat 9a-4p. free. 774-8476.

•Davis Arts Center: 2301 First St, Ft Myers.Sep 526: Lawrence Voytek‘What’s Up with That’; Oct 3-24: Stage 16.Mon-Fri 10a-5p & 6-9p 1st Fri of month. Free. 337-1933.

•Englewood Art Center: Ringling College of Art & Design, 350 S. MaCall Rd, Englewood. Sep 9 - Oct 3: Anything Goes, Maggie Pratt, Eric Groff; Oct 7Nov 7: Abstract Art, Joni Younkins-Herzog. Tue 9a9p & Wed-Sat 9a-4p. Free. 941-474-5548.

• F l o r i d a G u l f C o a s t University Art Galleries: 10501 FGCU Blvd S., Ft Myers. Thru Sep 11: Death of a River - Collaborative Printmaking Project; thru Sep 25: Harvey LittletonNo Secrets.Main Gallery in Arts Complex & ArtLab in Library: Mon-Fri, 10a4p & Thu 10a-8p. Free. 590-7199.

•Fort Myers Beach Art Association: 3030 Shell Mound, Ft Myers Beach. Oct 16 - Nov 14: Gravity. Oct-May Mon-Sat 10a-3p & Sun 12-3p, Jun-Sep Wed & Thu 9a-12p. Free. 4633909.

•Gallerie du Soleil: 393 Broad Ave S, Naples. MonSat, 10a-6p & Sun 12-5p. Free. 417-3450.

•Gallery on Fifth: Mercato, 5130 Strada Pl, Naples. Mon-Sat, 10a-6p & Sun 125p. Free. 220-7503.

•Gardner Colby Gallery: 386 & 365 Broad Ave S, Naples. Mon-Sat 10a5:30p & Sun 12-5p. Free. 403-7787.

•Grand Illusion Gallery: 2443 First St, Ft Myers. Mon & Fri 10a-5p & Sat 11a-3p, 1st Fri of month.

Deb & The Dynamics perform in concert at the Center for the Performing Arts of Bonita Springs on October 30. Call 495-8989 for information.

what Goes on

10a-10p. 461-7245.

• G u e s s - F i s h e r G a l l e r y : 1187 8th St S, Naples. Art

After Dark: 2nd Sat NovMay. Mon-Thu 12-5p, Fr & Sat 12-9p, Sun 1-5p. Free. 263-3417.

•Harbour View Gallery: 5789 Cape Harbour Dr, #104, Cape Coral. Sep: K atrina Parker, Jessi Dilch;Oct: Zdenka Fiala, Sharon Shaw.Daily 11a8p. Free. 540-5789.

•Hirdie-Girdie Art Gallery: 2490 Library Way, Sanibel. Mon-Sat 10a-5p. Free. 395-0027.

•Howl Gallery / Tattoo: 4160 Cleveland Ave, Ft. Myers.Sep: Todd Carigan. Oct: Seldon Hunt. MonThu 11a-8p, Fri & Sat 1210p,6-9p 1st Fri of month.Free. 332-0161.

•HW Gallery: 1305 Third St S, Naples. Daily 10a-5p. Free. 263-6640.

• I m m o k a l e e P i o n e e r

Museum: 1215 Roberts Ave, Immokalee. Thru Nov 30: Images of Immokalee. Mon-Fri 9a-4p. Free. 6582466.

•Island Visions: 4643 Pine Island Rd, Matlacha. Daily10a-5p. 282-0452.

•Jo-Ann Sanborn Sunshine

Studios: The Esplanade, 760 N Collier Blvd, #102, Marco Island. Jan-Mar

Mon-Fri 10a-5p, Apr-Dec

Wed-Fri 10a-5p & Sat 10a2p. Free. 404-9179

• K a t h l e e n B r a d f o r d

S t u d i o / G a l l e r y : 4259

Bonita Beach Rd, Bonita Springs.Oct 20: Bling, Baubles & Bubbly. Oct-

MayTue-Sat 11a-5p, JunSep by appt. Free. 7766844.

•Longboat Key Art Center: Ringling College of Art & Design, 6860 Longboat Key Dr S, Longboat Key. Thru Dec 18: Natural

Environments - Louis Cabot

Photography. Oct 10 - Nov 10: Agelss CreativityLongboat Key Luminaries.

Oct-Dec Tue-Fri 11a-5p; JanApr Tue-Sat 11a-5p, May

Tue-Fri 11a-5p, Jun-Sep 11a4p. Free. 941-383-2345.

• L o v e g r o v e G a l l e r y & Garden: 4637 Pine Island Rd NW, Matlacha.Daily 10a-5p.Free. 283-6453.

•M a r c o I s l a n d C e n t e r

f o r t h e A r t s : 1010

WinterberryDr, Marco Island. Tue-Sat 9a-4p. Free. 394-4221.

•Marco Island Historical Museum: 180 S Heathwood Dr, Marco Island. Tue-Sat 9a-4p. Free. 642-1440.

•Marianne Friedland Gallery: 359 Broad Ave S, Naples. Mon-Sat 10-5p. Free. 262-3484.

•Miville Gallery: 2200 1st St, Ft Myers. Mon-Sat 10a-

8p & Sun 12-7p. Free. 3333130.

•Museum of the Islands: 5728 Sesame, Pine Island Center. Oct 1-31: Wildlife Photographer Bill Hitchcock. 283-1525.

•Naples Art Association at The von Liebig Art Center: 585 Park St, Naples.Thru Sep 26: Camera USA - Nat’l Photo Exhibit, Pictures in Process - Members Photo Exhibit; Oct 13 - Nov 6: NAA

Biennial, Ride the Color Wheel.Mon-Fri 9a-4p. 262-6517

•Naples Depot Museum: 1051 Fifth Ave S, Naples. Thru Oct 31: Extraction & Deficit - Beach Painting Series by Cesar Aguilera. Mon-Sat 9a-4p. Free. 2626525.

•Phil Fisher Gallery: 810 12th Ave S, Naples. Art

After Dark:2nd Sat NovMay.Mon-Thu 11a-5p, Fri & Sat 11a-9p. Free. 4038393.

•Richard H Rush Library: Special Collections Gallery, Florida SouthWestern State College, 8099 College Pkwy, Ft Myers. Ongoing: High Renaissance to Impressionism, The Sanders Porcelain Exhibit.

Mon-Fri 10a-2p. Free. 489-9220.

• R i c k M o o r e F i n e A r t Gallery: The Village on Venetian Bay, 4230 Gulf Shore Blvd N, Naples. Free. 434-6464.

•Ringling Museum of Art: 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. Thru Sep 3: Beth Lipman - Precarious Possessions; thru Oct 26:Thomas Chimes from the Permanent Collection; thru Dec 7:Danny Lyon: the Bikeriders; thru Feb 28: Seeing the Unseen.

Ongoing: New Acquisitions, 20th CenturyAbstract Art, Asian & Cypriot Art. Gardens of Ringling Guided

Tour: Thu 10:30a.Daily 10a-5p, Thu 10a-8p. 941359-5700.

•Rookery Bay Research Reserve & Environmental Learning Center: 300 Tower Rd, Naples.Thru Sep 29: Wonders of the Beach & Bay - Linda Soderquist watercolors. Tue & Th 10a & 1p. MonFri 9a-4p. 417-6310.

•Rosen Gallery & Studios: North Line Plaza, 2172 J & C Blvd, N Naples. MonSat, 12-6p. Free. 821-1061.

•Selby Gallery : Ringling College of Art + Design, 27 00 N. Tamiami Tr, Sarasota. Sep-Apr MonSat 10a-4p; May-Aug MonFri 10a-4p. Free. 941-3597563.

Wine & Dine SWFL DININGGUIDE

BERT’S BAR & GRILL: 4271 Pine Island Rd, Matlacha.282-3232. Open Daily 11a-11p. Waterfront locationwith outside casual affordable dining on the Dock. Million Dollar View of Matlacha Pass and open water.Seafood, Burgers, Baskets & More. Wed & Fri 4-9pm All-YouCan-Eat Fish Fry $ 9.99. Live music nightly. www.bertsbar.com

BLUE WINDOWS FRENCH BISTRO: 15250 South Tamiami Tr, #107, Ft Myers. 849-0622. Mon-Sat open at 5p for diinner. Authentic French Bistro in Fort Myers. Fine dining and intimate atmosphere with the flavors of France along with genuine Southern charm. Experience ‘Paris without the jetlag.’ Reservations accepted. www.bluewindowsbistro.com

BROADWAY PALM: 1380 Colonial Blvd., Ft. Myers. 278-4422. Wed-Sun 5:30p dinner & 7p show, with selected children’s matinees 11:45a lunch & 1:15p show. Broadway Palm, Southwest Florida's premier Dinner Theatre, is a great destination for those looking for quality entertainment and a delicious buffet at a great price. www.broadwaypalm.com

CAPT’N FISHBONES FISH N’ STEAK HOUSE: Shell Factory & Nature Park, 2787 N Tamiami Tr, N Ft Myers. 995-2141. Tue-Sun 11am-8pm & Fri 11am-9pm. Lunch & dinner at tables and booths inside or outside in the newly renovated Steak House and Dolphin Club and new Tiki Hut area. Sandwiches, seafood, steaks, ribs, prime rib, pasta, etc. All-you-can eat Fish Fry Tue, Wed, Fri. Rib special Thu. Live entertainment selected evenings. www.shellfactory.com

GARDNER'S PARK TEA HOUSE: Shops at The Butterfly Estates, 1815-3 Fowler St, Ft Myers. 6902359. Sun-Thu 10a-5p, Fri & Sat 10a-7p. Gardner's Park Tea House celebrates the historic achievements of Southwest Florida's earliest residents. Enjoy robust organic teas, handmade soups, salads, sandwiches, desserts, fudge and ‘Fogurt.’ www.gardnersparkteahouse.com

•Sheldon Fine Art: 460 Fifth Ave S, Naples. 10a10p. Free. 649-6255.

• S W F L C o m m u n i i t y Foundation: 8771 College Pkwy, bldg 2, # 201, Ft Myers. Mon-Fri 8a-5p. 274-5900.

•SWFL Museum of History: 2031 Jackson St, FtMyers. Thru Sep 6: Enchantments - The Photographic Adventures of Julian Dimock & Clyde Butcher; Sep 5 - Jan 3: Sons of the Sun - The Highwaymen. Tue-Sat 10a-5p. 321-7430.

• S p a c e 3 9 A r t B a r & Lounge: 39 Patio de Leon, Ft Myers. Tue-Sat 5:30close.Free. 204-9949.

•Sweet Art Gallery: 2054 Tr ade Center Way, Naples.Nov-AprMon-Fri 10a-5p, 1st Wed 5-8p, 3rd Fri 6-8p, Sat by appt; MayOct Mon-Fri 11a-4p & Sat by appt. Free. 597-2110.

•The Artists’ Gallery: The Esplanade, 760 Collier Blvd, Marco Island. Winter: Mon-Wed 10a-5p, Thu &

IL POMODORO: 9681 Gladiolus Dr, Ft Myers. 985-0080. Lunch 11a-2p Mon-Fri, Dinner MonSat 4:30-9p. Cucina Italiana. Locally owned & operated. Great food and service in hip, casual, family-friendly room. A taste of Italy. News-Press: 3 1/2 stars. www.ilpomodororestaurant.com

MURDER MYSTERY TRAIN: 2805 Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers. 275-8487. Wed-Sat 5:45p & Sun 4:45p. All aboard for a unique dining experience. Enjoy a fun murder mystery show while the chef prepares your five course dinner on board. The train takes you on a 3 1/2 hour, 40 mile round trip journey across the Caloosahatchee River. Special holiday events. www.semgulf.com

RIVERWALK: at Tin City, 1200 5th Ave S, Naples. 263-2734. Open seven days for lunch & dinner, Sunday brunch. For outdoor waterfront dining that’s a little history and a lot of fun, since 1979. Freshest seafood, salads, steaks & sandwiches, Gulf Coast style. Sunday Brunch and Make Your Own Bloody Mary Bar. www.riverwalktincity.com

THE DOCK: At Crayton Cove, 12 Ave S, Naples. 263-9940. Open seven days for lunch & dinner, Sunday brunch. Bay views, great food and a laid back attitude. ‘The real taste of Naples’ since 1976. Freshest seafood, salads, steaks and sandwiches with tropical flair. Sunday Brunch and Make Your Own Bloody Mary Bar. www.dockcraytoncove.com

THE HUT at the Peace Tropical Gardens: 5051 Buckingham Rd. 225-0907. Tue-Sun 11:30am –close. The historic Hut has been completely restored. The magnificent gardens date back to the 1920's. Chef Jeff Rizzo brings his culinary artistry to the place in Southwest Florida for your special event or a night out. www.hutrestaurant.com

Z CRÊPES CAFÉ: Shops at The Butterfly Estates, 1815-1 Fowler St, Ft Myers. 690-2359. Sun-Thur 10a-5p, Fri & Sat 10a-7p. ZCrêpes Café offers a modern take to traditional French favorites. A simple menu richly infused with the freshest of flavors. www.zcrepes.com

Fri 10a-8p,Sat 10a-4p, Sun 10a-2p. Free. 7844436.

•The Lady from Haiti: 110 10th St N, Naples. MonSat 10:30a-5p. 649-8607.

•Tincture Gallery: 1412 Dean St, #100, Ft Myers. Daily 10a-9p. Free. 4724557.

•Tower Gallery: 751 Tarpon Bay Rd, Sanibel. Daily 10a-9p. Free. 340-6467.

•Trudy Labell Fine Art: Bingham Galleria,2425 Tamiami Trail N, #102, Naples. Mon-Fri 11a-4p & Sat 11a-2p. Free. 434-7778.

• U n i o n A r t i s t s S t u d i o s : Alliance of the Arts, 10051 McGregor Blvd, #202, Edwards Bldg, Ft Myers. Free. 826-3861.

•Unit A contemporary art space: 1922 Evans Ave, Ft Myers. Art by Marcus Jansen. By appt. Receptions 1st Fri of month 6-10p. Free. 240-1053.

•Vallez Studio : Crayton Cove, 784 12th Ave S, Naples. Free. 262-0381.

•VEMA: 10051 McGregor Blvd, # 201, Ft Myers. Sat 9a-1p & by appt. Free 8497772.

•Visual Arts Center: 210 Maud St, Punta Gorda. Mon-Fri, 9a-4p & Sat 10a2p. Free. 951-639-8810.

•Watson MacRae Gallery: 2340 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.Mon-Sat 10:30a5p. Free. 472-3386.

attractions

• B a b c o c k W i l d e r n e s s Adventures: 8000 State Rd 31,Punta Gorda. TueSat. Reserve for tours. 800-500-5583.

• B a i l e y - M a t t h e w s S h e l l Museum: 3075 SanibelC aptiva Rd, Sanibel. Raymond Burr Memorial Exhibit,Deep-Sea Mollusks, Henry Domke - Nature Photographer. World Record-Sized Shells. Open Daily 10a-5p. 395-2233.

• B a k e r M u s e u m : ArtisNaples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd, Naples. Sep 6 - Oct

5: Art as Activism; Sep 20 - Nov 9: Shrenk Student Photography;; Sep 27Jan 4: Someday is NowThe Art of Corita Kent; Oct 24 - Jan 18: Fine LinesAmerican Drawings from the Brooklyn Museum. Tue-Sat 10a-4p & Sun 124p. 597-1900.

• B u r r o u g h s H o m e & Gardens: 2505 First St, Ft Myers. Living history tours daily 11a & 1p, 5-9p. 337-0706.

•Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium: 3450 Ortiz Ave, Ft Myers. Museum, butterfly aviary, trails, live animal shows daily, Planetarium shows, WedSat, 10a-5p & Sun, 11a-5p. 275-3435.

• C a p e

o

r

c a l Museum: 544 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral. Wed, Thu & Sun 1-4p. 7727037.

•Captiva Cruises: 11401 Andy Rosse Ln, Captiva. Sightseeing cruises to Cabbage Key, Useppa, Cayo

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

Costa State Park, Boca Grande. Dolphin sighting shelling, sunset, sailing cruises. 472-5300.

• C h i l d r e n ’ s M u s e u m o f

Naples: North Collier Park, 15 080 Livingston Rd, Naples. Special hours for children on autistic spectrum: Breaking the B arriers, 2nd Sat of month 8 - 9a & Sensory Night, 4th Tue of month 58p. Register. 514-0084.

•Collier County Museum: 3301 Tamiami Tr E, Nap les. Thru Nov 7: The French in Florida. E ducational programs, Wed, 2pm. Mon-Sat 9a-4p. free. 774-8476.

•Conservancy of SWFL : 1495 Smith Preserve Way off Goodlette Frank Rd. 9:30a-4:30p. 430-2466.

•C o r k s c r e w S w a m p

Sanctuary: 375 Sanctuary Rd W, Naples. Blair

Audubon Center, Boardwalk Exploration & Exhibits. Daily 7a-5:30p. 348-9151.

•CREW: Corkscrew Regional Ecosyst em Watershed, 23998 Corkscrew Rd, Estero. Guided walks: 1st & 3rd Tue & 2nd Sat, NovApr, Marsh Hiking Trails, 4600 Corkscrew Rd, Immokalee. Trails open sunrise-sunset. 657-2253.

• C R O W : Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, 3883 Sanibel-Captiva Rd, Sanibel. Healing Winds Visitor Education Center.

Wonders of Wildlife: Nature presentations Mon-Fri 11a. Tue-Sun 10a-4p. 472-3644.

• D i n g D a r l i n g N a t i o n a l

Wildlife Refuge: 1 Wildlife Dr, Sanibel. Sat-Thu 7a7p. Education Center: May-Dec 9a-4p, Jan-Apr 9a-5p.472-1100.

• E d i s o n & F o r d W i n t e r

Estates Museum: 2350 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. Daily 9a-5:30p. 334-7419.

• E v e r g l a d e s W o n d e r

Gardens: 27180 Old 41 Rd, BonitaSprings.Botanical gardens, animals, art gallery.Daily 9a-4p. 9922591.

• H o l o c a u s t M u s e u m & E d u c a t i o n C e n t e r o f

SWFL: Sandalwood Square, 4760 Tamiami Tr N, # 107, Naples. Oct 1-31: Fall Exhibit. Jan-Apr Tue-Sat 12:30-5p, Sat & Sun 1-4p; May-Jul & Sep-Dec TueSun 1-4p. Guided Tours: 1:30p. 263-9200. • I m a g i n a r i u m S c i e n c e

Center: 2000 Cranford St, Ft Myers. Mon-Sat 10a-5p & Sun 12-5p. 321-7420.

Museum: 1215 Roberts Ave, Immokalee. Thru Nov 30: Images of Immokalee. Mon-Fri 9a-4p. Free. 6582466.

•Marco Island Historical Museum: 180 S Heathwood Dr, Marco Island. Tue-Sat

9a-4p. Free. 642-1440.

•Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium : 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota.

Eco-boat tours daily.

Immersion Cinema. Daily, 10a-5p. 941-388-4441.

•Museum of the Everglades: 105 W Bwy,Everglades City. Sep 1-30: A celebration of Rob Storter’s Life.

Tue-Fri 9a-5p & Sat 9a4p. Free. 695-0008.

•Museum of the Islands: 5728 Sesame, Pine Island Center. Oct 1-31: Wildlife

Photographer Bill Hitchcock. 283-1525.

•Naples Botanical Garden: 4820 Bayshore Dr, Naples.Reopening ceremony Oct 23 10a.Daily

9a-5p, Tue8a-5p.6437275.

• N a p l e s D e p o t M u s e u m : 1051 Fifth Ave S, Naples. Thru Oct 31: Extraction & Deficit - Beach Painting Series by Cesar Aguilera.

Mon-Sat 9a-4p. Free. 2626525.

•Naples Zoo at Caribbean

Gardens: 1590 GoodletteFrank Rd, Naples. Daily 9a-5p. 262-5409.

•Palm Cottage Museum & Norris Gardens: Naples

Historical Society, 137 12th Ave. S, Naples.

Walking tours of Naples

Historic District: Wed 10a;

Guided garden tours: 1st & 3rd Thu of month 10a.

Tours: Tue-Sat 1-4p. Free. 261-8164.

•Ringling Museum of Art: 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota. Thru Sep 3: Beth Lipman - Precarious Possessions; thru Oct 26:Thomas Chimes from the Permanent Collection; thru Dec 7:Danny Lyon: the Bikeriders; thru Feb 28: Seeing the Unseen. Ongoing: New Acquisitions, 20th CenturyAbstract

Art, Asian & Cypriot Art. Gardens of Ringling Guided

Tour: Thu 10:30a.Daily 10a-5p, Thu 10a-8p. 941359-5700.

• R o o k e r y B a y N a t i o n a l

R e s e a r c h R e s e r v e : Environmental Center, 300 Tower Rd, Naples. Thru Sep 29: Wonders of the Beach & Bay - Linda Soderquist watercolors. Daily programs: 11a & 2p. Guided kayak trips Tue & Th 10a & 1p. Mon-Fri 9a4p. 530-5940.

•Sanibel Historical Museum & Village: 950 Dunlop Rd, Sanibel. Wed-Sat, 10a-4p. 472-4648.

•Shell Factory & Nature Park: 2787 N Tamiami Trail, N Ft Myers. Shell

exhibits, Animal exhibits, petting farm, Christmas House, Natural History Exhibit, Money Museum, water games, video arcade, miniature golf, playgrounds, Soaring Eagle Zip Line. Daily 10a-5p. 9952141.

•SWFL Historical Society: 10091 McGregor Blvd, Ft Myers. Wed 9a-12p & 4-7p, Sat 9a-12p. Free. 9394044.

•SWFL Museum of History: 2031 Jackson St, Ft Myers. Thru Sep 6:Enchantments - The Photographic Adventures of Julian Dimock & Clyde Butcher; Sep 5 - Jan 3: Sons of the Sun - The Highwaymen. Tue-Sat 10a-5p. 321-7430.

•The Butterfly Estates : 1815 Fowler St, Ft Myers. Sun & Tue-Th 10a-5p, Sat 10a-7p. 690-2359.

parks

•Bonita Beach Park: 27954 Hickory Blvd., Bonita Springs. 533-7444.

•Bowditch Point Regional Park: 50 Estero Blvd, Ft Myers Beach. Guide walks: Tue & Sat 9:30a Nov-Apr. 463-3764.

•Bunche Beach: 18201 John Morris Rd, Ft Myers. Guided walks: 1st & 3rd Tue 5p Nov-Apr. 707-6794.

•Caloosahatchee Regional Park: 18500 North River Rd, Alva. Guided walk: 1st Sat & 3rd Tue of month 9a Sep-May. 693-2690.

• C o l l i e r - S e m i n o l e S t a t e Park: US 41 (Tamiami Trail), S Naples. Guided walks: Sat 10a. Hiking trail, self-guided boardw alk nature trail, exhibits, camping, fishing, boating canoeing. 394-3397.

•Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park: 11135 Gulfshore Dr, Naples. Beach, fishing, picnic areas. 597-6196.

• E s t e r o P a r k : 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd, Estero. 248-1609.

•Everglades National Park: Gulf Coast Visitor Center, 815 Oyster Bar Ln. Everglades City. 9a-4:30p. 695-3311.

•Hickeys Creek Mitigation Park: 17980 Palm Beach Blvd, Alva. Guided walks: 1st Tue 9a Sep-May. 6932690.

•Koreshan State Historic Site State Park: US Hwy 41 & Corkscrew Rd, Estero. 992-0311.

• L a k e s R e g i o n a l P a r k : 7330 Gladiolus Dr, Ft Myers. Halloween Festival: Oct 17-31, weekends 10a9p, weekdays 6-9p. Guided walks: 1st Sat 8:30a,

Garden tour: 2nd Sat. 5337575.

•Lovers Key State Park: South of Ft Myers Beach. 463-4588.

•Lynn Hall Park: 950 Estero Blvd, Ft Myers Beach. Laughter Yoga: Fri 8a Nov-Apr. 229-7356.

•Manatee Park: 10901 Palm Beach Blvd, Ft Myers. 8adusk. 690-5030.

•Matanzas Pass Preserve: 119 Bay Rd, Ft Myers Beach. Guided walks: Thu 9:30a Nov-Apr. 707-3015.

•Myakka River State Park: 13207 SR 72, Sarasota. Canoeing, camping, wildlife tours by air-boat & tram, scenic drive, guided walks. 361-6511.

•North Collier Regional Park : 15000 Livingston Rd, Naples. 252-4060.

•North Ft Myers Park: 2021 N Tamiami Tr, N Ft Myers. Yoga: Wed 6p. 652-4512.

•Rutenberg Park Eco-Living Center: ‘Florida-Friendly’ Garden/Landscape Workshops: Wed 10:30a. Free. 533-7515.

•Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve: 7791 Penzance Blvd, Ft Myers. Guided walks: daily 9a Nov-Apr. Free. 533-7550.

•

55 Homestead Rd, Lehigh Acres. 369-1521.

•

16730 Bass Rd, Ft Myers. Flow Yoga & Mat Pilates: Mon-Thu 9a; Yoga & Meditation: Tue 4:30p; Tai chi: Wed 1p; Laughter Yoga: Wed 6:30p. Classes free. 432-2154.

nightclubs

•Alto Live Jazz Kitchen: 492 Bayfront Pl, Naples. Live jazz Tue-Sun. 2612586.

•Belushi’s Live: Above Titled Kilt, 13851 S Tamiami Tr, Ft Myers. Comedy 1st wknd of month. Live music weekends. 4335299.

•Bert’s Bar & Grill: 4271 Pine Island Rd, Matlacha.Live music. Thu: Deb & The Dynamics.282-3232.

•Buckingham Blues Bar : 5641 Buckingham Rd., Ft Myers.Open blues jams Wed 8-11p & Sun 3-6p, free. Sep 6: Graham Wood Drout & Iko Iko; Sep 13: Betty Fox Band; Sep 20: JP Soars & the Red Hots; Sep 26: Ellie Lee; Sep 27: John Nemeth; Oct 4: V ictor Wainwright & Wildroots; Oct 11: Lauren Mitchell Band.693-7111.

•

F r

•Laugh-In Comedy Café: College Pkwy Shopping Center at College Pkwy & Winkler Rd, Ft Myers. Live comedy Fri & Sat. 479-LAFF.

•Matanzas on the Bay: 414 Crescent St, Ft Myers Beach.father Al & the Jazz Congregation: Fri 6-9p Sep & Oct; live music nitely 6-9p. 463-3838

•Morgan House: 33 Patio DeLeon, Ft Myers. Live music Thu-Sat 6-10p. 3373377.

• O f f t h e H o o k C o m e d y

C l u b : Inside House of Brewz, 10045 Gulf Center Dr, E110, Ft Myers. ThuSun nites. 389-6901.

•Old Naples Comedy Club: 1100 6th Ave S, Naples. 455-2844.

•Red Rock Saloon: 2278 First St, Ft Myers. Live music Tue, Fri, Sat. 6898667.

•Reserve Cigar & Wine Bar: 10950 S. Cleveland Ave, Ft Myers. Live music Fri & Sat. 210-0300.

•Roadhouse Café: 15660 San Carlos Blvd, Ft Myers. Live music. 415-4375.

• S p a c e 3 9 A r t B a r & Lounge: 39 Patio de Leon, Ft Myers. Live music Wed-Sat 8:30-11p. 2049949.

•Teri-Tini’s: 7050 Crystal Dr, Ft Myers. Live music nitely 7:30-11pm. 2775475.

•The Hut at the Peace Tropical Gardens : 5150 Buckingham Rd, Ft Myers. Sep 11: Deb & The Dynamics.Jana Wright Smith: Thu & Sat 6:3010p, Jerry Dycke: Thu 69p, Harry Cassano: Fri 7:30-10p. Free.225-0907.

• T h e J o i n t a t C a p e H a r b o u r : 5785 Cape Harbour Dr, Cape Coral. Live music Tue, Fri, Sun. 542-0123.

• T h e V e r a n d a : 2122

Second St, Ft Myers. Rick

Russell: Thu-Sat 6:309:30p in piano lounge. 332-2065.

•World of Beer: Bell Tower Shops, 13499 S Cleveland Ave, Ft Myers. Live music Thu-Sat. 437-2411.

•Yabo: 16230 Summerlin Rd, Ft Myers. Live music. 225-9226.

FARMERS MARKETS

TUESDAY

•Surfside Sunset Market: Shops at Surfside, 2408 Surfside Blvd, Cape Coral. Nov-Apr 4-8p. 549-6900.

THURSDAY

•River District Farmers Market: Centennial Park, 2000 W First St, Ft Myers. 7a-1p. 321-7100.

FRIDAY

•Bayfront Farmers Market: 465 Bayfront Pl, Naples. 4-8p. 293-9703.

•Bonita Springs Fresh Food Market: SWFL Performing Arts Center, 11515 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Bonita Springs. Oct-Mar9a-1p. 389-6901.

•Friendly Farmers Market: Golden Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden Gate Pkwy, Naples. 3-7p. 786942-8300.

• G o v e r n m e n t C o m p l e x Farmers Market: 3335 US 41 E, Naples. 11a-2p.

• S h o p p e s a t V a n d e r b i l t F a r m e r s M a r k e t : Collection at Vanderbilt, 2355 Vanderbilt Beach Rd,Naples. 12-4p. 2732350.

SATURDAY

• A l l i a n c e f o r t h e A r t s ’

G r e e n M a r k e t : 10091 McGregor Blvd., Ft Myers. 9a-1p. 939-2787.

•Bonita Springs Farmers Market: The Promenade Shoppes, 26811 South Bay Dr,Bonita Springs. 7a-12p. 495-8464.

• C o r n e r s t o n e F a r m e r s Market: Cornerstone United Methodist Church, 8200 Immokalee Rd, Naples. Oct-Apr 8a-1p.

•Friendly Farmers Market: Golden Gate Community Center, 4701 Golden Gate Pkwy, Naples. 9a-3p. 786942-8300.

• N a p l e s G r e e n M a r k e t : 2150 Goodlette Rd, Nap les. Oct-Apr 8a-1p. 594-9358.

• S h o p p e s a t V a n d e r b i l t

Farmers Market: Collection at Vanderbilt, Airport Pulling Rd & Vanderbilt Beach Rd,Naples. OctMay 8a-2p. 273-2350.

•Third Street Farmer’s Market: 1220 Third St S, Naples. 7:30-11:30a. 6496707

SUNDAY

• N o r t h N a p l e s G r e e n M a r k e t : Ole Towne Center, 8020 Grand Lely Dr, Naples. 12-4p. 5949358.

•Pine Island Tropical Fruit Market: Stringfellow Rd & Ficus Tree Ln, Bokeelia. 10a-3p.

• P i n e R i d g e F a r m e r s M a r k e t : Pine Ridge Rd & Airport Pulling Rd, Naples.Oct-May 9a-2p. 200-4401.