Friday, July 17, 2026
Cars on 5th says it's leaving Naples
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It's a heat-advisory Friday, neighbors — 90 on the thermometer and feeling meaner than that until things ease around 7 tonight. And the day's real jolt: Cars on 5th, the show that's raised nearly $10 million for charity on Fifth Avenue South, says its 2027 edition will likely happen somewhere other than Naples.
Today
Heat advisory until 7 p.m. — but the water's clean
Coastal Collier is under a heat advisory through 7 tonight, so save the yard work for another day. If you're headed for the Gulf, go early: FWC's latest red tide samples came back all clear at every Collier beach tested, from Barefoot down to South Marco.
Stuff the Bus for Collier kids
The Boys & Girls Club is collecting backpacks and school supplies to fill buses at its Naples campus starting July 20. Summer is the quiet season for giving here, and this one's as easy as tossing a few extra items in the cart.
This Weekend
Storms won't keep banker's hours this weekend
WINK's forecasters see an unsettled pattern bringing both morning and afternoon storms through Sunday — a break from our usual clockwork 3 p.m. soaking. Boaters and beach-goers, grab the earliest window you can and keep an eye on the radar.
Metal gets its moment in Bonita
'Forged & Found: A Celebration of Metal in Art' just opened at Arts Bonita's Visual Arts Center and hangs through Aug. 27. A ready-made indoor plan for when those weekend storms roll in.
Local News
Cars on 5th walks away from downtown
Organizers turned down a city permit that would have dramatically shrunk the show, and the 2027 edition will likely land outside Naples entirely. That's one of Fifth Avenue South's biggest days of the year — and a charity engine worth nearly $10 million over eight runnings — heading for the exit.
A private beach club breaks ground on Vanderbilt
Construction has started on Paraíso Beach Club, a members-only spot with dining, pools and Gulf access opening in late 2027. In a town where beach access is a blood sport, another private door on one of North Naples' most public stretches of sand is worth watching.
See smoke this summer? It's probably on purpose
Conservation Collier plans prescribed burns at six preserves between now and September to keep habitats healthy and wildfire fuel down. If a smoke column pops up on your drive east, check before you worry.
Food & Drink
Burger Monger brings a drive-thru to North Naples
The Tampa-born smash-burger chain is converting the former Kelly's Roast Beef site into one of its first-ever drive-thrus, opening between now and September. Drive-thru anything is rare in this town; drive-thru burgers, rarer still.
The Dock turns 50
Fifty years of chalkboard menus, canoe races and hurricane comebacks at Crayton Cove, and it's still where Naples Bay feels most like Old Naples. Gulfshore Life's look back is a proper locals' season read.