Sunday, June 21, 2026
Our Botanical Garden just struck gold in London
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Happy Father's Day and happy solstice — it's the longest day of the year, sunny and 90° with a heat index near 103 by afternoon, so chase the shade. The bigger news: our own Naples Botanical Garden just brought home gold from the most famous flower show in the world.
Today
Dad's day — and probably the dishwasher's too
A roundup of today's Father's Day specials on food and craft beer around town. Dave Barry says what dads really want is a nap, but a good meal and an excuse to leave the house is a close second.
Clear water, but beat the heat to it
FWC's latest samples show no red tide from Barefoot down to the Pier, so the Gulf's wide open — but with a heat index near 103 and the usual afternoon storms building, mornings are the move. Low tide lands at 12:44.
Local News
Naples Botanical Garden brought home Chelsea gold
A team from the garden helped win a gold medal at London's Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show — basically the Wimbledon of horticulture — for an exhibit on native Chinese orchids. Quiet bragging rights for a garden that half-floods every summer.
North Naples is finally getting that Publix
After months of dead air, the Gateway Shoppes Publix is set to break ground soon and open mid-2027 — and it's bringing two new neighbors, Luna Mesa and a Ramen House, into the center with it.
A music camp that outgrew every room it's in
It started with two dozen kids in one Golden Gate classroom in 2006; this year it crammed 530 students into every usable space at North Naples Church. A nice measure of how much the area has grown — and how badly parents want a summer that isn't screens.
Food & Drink
Fifth Avenue's summer reward is back
From July 8 through Sept. 30, the third annual Flavors of Fifth puts prix-fixe menus at downtown Fifth Avenue South restaurants — the offseason payoff for those of us who stick around through the heat.
A big-name chef just signed on for our biggest wine night
Charlie Palmer will be chef de cuisine for the 2027 Naples Winter Wine Festival (Jan. 29–31), the auction that routinely raises tens of millions for Collier kids. Tickets are a long way off, but around here the lineup-watching starts early.