photo mosaic of Naples, Florida pier, Bayfront, Bayside, dolphin jumping, magenta orchid, water birds silhouetted against the sunset
U.S. News ‘Best Places to Live’ list revealed: Is Naples No. 1?

U.S. News ‘Best Places to Live’ list revealed: Is Naples No. 1?

Dave Osborn | Naples Daily News

Neapolitans believe Naples is an awesome place to live, and U.S. News & World Report agrees.

Naples ranks No. 1 in its annual Best Places to Live in the U.S., the only Florida city to make the top 10. The Southwest Florida city often rank high on various “best” lists by the national magazine and others, usually noted for its weather and quality of life.

“I love seeing sunshine almost every day,” said Mark Danni, founder and artistic director of TheatreZone, who’s lived in Naples for 22 years. “I love that Naples has a wide variety of live performing arts groups where Neapolitans can see so many different performing arts productions throughout the year.”

Naples in the past decade also has become more familiar as the Pickleball Capital of the World. The region in April again hosted the another U.S. Open Pickleball Championships. The very first championships were played in Naples in 2016.

What other Florida cities made the list? Read the full article on naplesnews.com.

Looking for a home in the Naples – Bonita Springs – Marco Island area? Contact David at 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com

Naples Players shares inside access to $21M theater renovations

Naples Players shares inside access to $21M theater renovations

Dave Osborn and Jonah Hinebaugh | Naples Daily News

Downtown Naples continues to experience a theater renaissance.

As Gulfshore Playhouse plans to open its new $72 million, 400-seat theater later this year, The Naples Players in June will unveil its new Kizzie Theater in downtown Naples.

The $21 million renovation of The Naples Players’ Sugden Community Theatre caps a three-year project that will culminate June 26, when the theater company will offer “42nd Street,” to run through July 21.

The newly renovated Kizzie Theater features state-of-the-art technology, a balcony and additional accessibility accommodations, The Naples Players said in a recent news release.

The 44,500-square-foot facility also boasts a 450-seat Broadway-style theater, a 105-seat Black Box theater and a 105-seat Educational Theater. It will house new costume shops, rehearsal studios and more.

For those who can’t wait until late June to see the theater, a grand reopening is planned for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 1, and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 2. It’s free but patrons are encouraged to call the Box Office to reserve their seats, at (239) 263-7990.

See the photos on naplesnews.com.

Do you want to find a home in the vibrant Naples area? Contact David at 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com

No talking? No texting? Naples’ new Alamo Drafthouse, a movie lover’s paradise

No talking? No texting? Naples’ new Alamo Drafthouse, a movie lover’s paradise

Charles Runnells | Naples Daily News

Alamo Drafthouse might be the coolest movie-theater chain in America. And they’ve just opened their first Florida spot ― right here in Naples.

So, of course, I had to drop everything and go.

Immediately.

I’m a huge fan of movies ― whether it’s arthouse cinema or the latest Marvel/Star Wars blockbuster. And film nuts like me know and revere the name Alamo Drafthouse.

Dinner at your theater seat? A beautiful picture and sound you feel in your bones? A zero-tolerance policy for people who talk or text during the movie?

That sounds like paradise to me.

Two tickets, please.

Silverspot left last summer, Alamo Drafthouse filled Mercato space

I’ve been wanting to go to an Alamo Drafthouse ever since seeing a CBS Sunday Morning segment on the theater chain in 2016. But I thought I’d never get the chance.

Then we got the news last year: Alamo was taking over the former Silverspot Cinema at North Naples’ shopping center Mercato.

Why Naples? General manager Brock Cowgill says they’d been wanting to expand into Florida, and it was easier to move into a preexisting theater than to build an all-new one.

“But it’s also a great market,” Cowgill says. “The southwest part of Florida is growing rapidly.”

Whatever their reasons, I’m glad they’re here. So just six days after the Alamo opened April 29, my girlfriend Silvia and I climbed into my car and made the 45-minute drive south from Cape Coral to North Naples.

And that long drive was totally worth it. Especially for Silvia, who stopped going to movie theaters years ago because of annoying people.

Read more of Charles and Sylvia’s experience at Alamo Drafthouse on naplesnews.com.

Hellfire Burger to goat cheese pizza: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema menu offers variety

Hellfire Burger to goat cheese pizza: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema menu offers variety

Dave Osborn | Naples Daily News

There’s movie theater popcorn and then there’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema popcorn.

Picking the film will be the easy part. Movie-goers will then have to choose from the traditional Bottomless Popcorn ($9.95, with real butter and free refills); Truffle Herb Parmesan Popcorn ($11.95); and Churro Popcorn ($11.95, “tossed with custom blend of cinnamon, sugar, maple & vanilla”).

The new theater at Mercato in North Naples opens April 29, in the same location as Silverspot, which opened in 2009 ― one year after the outdoor shopping and entertainment center opened.

With so many food and drink choices, if Billy Joel tried to include them all in a song, it would be longer than his 4½-minute 1989 hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

What else to know about the movie house.

More than Goobers and Gummi Bears
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema serves candy including M&M’s and Sour Patch Kids, but it’s the extensive menu for food and drinks that makes it stand out more than most other movie house companies.

There are 11 starters, including the three popcorn options but also healthier choices like vegan cauliflower bites and avocado toast; seven sandwiches, from the Hellfire Burger to the Beyond Meat Vegan Burger; four salads; three entrees, including fish & chips; seven pizzas choices, including Brussels Sprout, Bacon & Goat Cheese; five flavors of shakes; and four kids only options, like mini-corn dogs.

And the drink options are about as robust, with 24 beers on draft; 11 “bottles and cans” choices for beers, White Claw and more; nine red wines, such as a $120 bottle of Benton Lane Pinot Noir from Oregon; six white wines; five rose and sparkling; and a dozen signature cocktails, like the Habanero Margarita, Alamo Old Fashioned and Bourbon Peach Smash.

There’s more: 17 whiskeys, including a couple 10-year bourbons; nine agaves; five gins; seven rums; five vodkas; two Brandies; three “boozy shakes”; and one non-alcoholic drink (Seedlip Grove 42).

Read the full article on naplesnews.com.

There are many wonderful home ownership opportunities in Naples and the surrounding Southwest Florida areas of Bonita Springs and Marco Island? Contact David to find a home that suits your needs, Call 239-285-1086 or David@DavidFlorida.com

Virtual reality. Zipline. Translucent tubes. A lot of firsts for Great Wolf Lodge in Fla.

Virtual reality. Zipline. Translucent tubes. A lot of firsts for Great Wolf Lodge in Fla.

Phil Fernandez | Naples Daily News

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series on Florida’s first Great Wolf Lodge, one of the most significant endeavors in Naples history that’s drawing plenty of questions from you. One of Collier County’s biggest private workplaces, the 530,000-square-foot retreat and water park is slated as Southwest Florida’s third largest employer in tourism, drawing by itself the same number of visitors in a year that all of Collier in its entirety attracts in nearly three months time.

If you thought the $250 million Great Wolf Lodge was just about a 500-room resort and a 92,000-square-foot water park, think again when it comes to its Florida debut slated for September.

For the first time ever, Great Wolf Lodge will be featuring numerous new high-flying and futuristic attractions in its upcoming next generation Florida location that hasn’t previously been offered at its 20 other properties.

In the Know got an early first peek ahead of a Thursday Naples reveal of what’s in store for Southwest Florida, and nearly all of it doesn’t involve getting wet at the locale off I-75 and Collier Boulevard.

Here’s what to know.

What new attraction will be above Great Wolf Lodge’s Adventure Park?
The Howlers Peak Ropes Course will feature its first indoor zipline element, stretching 150 feet in length and providing a 180-degree panoramic view of the 60,000-square-foot newly imagined Adventure Park, which is entered from the resort’s Grand Lobby by traversing under a canopy of mossy branches and twinkling lights.

The course itself provides families the opportunity to balance on ropes, cross bridges and climb through obstacles, with the safety of a harness.

Where will new Great Wolf ‘harness-free climbing expedition’ take you? Read more on naplesnews.com.

Dining, music and fun: Mercato is hot and getting hotter

Dining, music and fun: Mercato is hot and getting hotter

J. Kyle Foster | Naples Daily News

On a Saturday afternoon in January, Mercato in North Naples is busy and will get busier as the hours pass.

People come for the experience – from food and shopping to unique events and outdoor entertainment; from family fun to adult time that includes romantic dinners, cigars, drinks and dancing. The later the night, the heels get higher and the clothes get tighter.

At 4 p.m., it is 75 degrees and a group of 6- to 8-year-old girls practices cartwheels on artificial turf in the middle of the shopping center and later play hide-and-seek – all near busy restaurants, retail stores and an art show that has the street in between closed.

At 8 p.m., the green space is filled with people listening to Wendell Ray singing DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean,” some sitting in chairs they brought with them. Others dancing. Children hop and run around. Stiletto-clad women in short skirts walk by to go to the three late-night spots – Blue Martini, Cavo and Burn.

Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating to take advantage of the Southwest Florida weather and the desire for visitors to enjoy it. Among the restaurants are The 239 Naples, Bar Tulia, The Capital Grille, The Pub, The Hampton Social, Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, Chipotle, Grace & Shelly’s Cupcakes, Kilwin’s ice cream.

Some of these also have locations eight miles south on Fifth Avenue South, also a very popular shopping and eating area in Naples.

“We share a lot of guests (with) downtown,” said Daniel McLean, general manager of Mercato’s Bar Tulia, whose first location was on Fifth. The cocktail menus at each location are created by the bartenders and are different, as are most of the menu items, he said.”It’s even more reason to go to both places” McLean said.

Shopping mall vs. downtown feel
“It’s like a walking shopping mall,” said Heidi Zizza as she was having drinks with friends at a table in the corner near the sidewalk at Blue Martini. “It’s very different from Fifth. Fifth Avenue is more of a downtown.”

Read the full article with photos onnaplesnews.com.

Find a home convenient to great restaurants and entertainment in southwest Florida. Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.