Friends and neighbors,
August may be winding down, but Naples certainly isn’t. This week, you can sit down to a seven-course pairing dinner, catch nearly 300 waterlilies in bloom, or head out on the Gulf for a sunset painting session.
Sizzle Dining also returns for its tenth year, and later in the week, The Freecoasters are playing a free show at Mercato.
A few good reasons to make plans this week. Hope to see you out there!
Warmly,
Table of Contents
Top 6 Events This Week: Waterlilies, Beach Cleanup & a 7-Course Dinner
1. Hopsized Brewing’s 7-Course Pairing Dinner
📅 Friday, August 28 | 6–8 PM
📍 Hopsized Brewing Company, 9201 Cockleshell Ct. #13, Bonita Springs
Chef Greg Shapiro of Grace & Olive Craft Culinary is back at Hopsized with a seven-course tasting, each plate paired with beer or house sangria. The menu includes yuzu-cured hamachi crudo, a Hmong corn dog with coconut-lime curry ketchup, salmon pastrami and doppio raviolo with orange-braised pork shoulder and roasted peach chèvre. Dessert is dark chocolate crémeux with hazelnut brittle and candied orange. Event info & tickets
2. Run, Beach Cleanup & Brewery After Party
📅 Saturday, August 29 | 7:30 AM–3 PM
📍 Downtown Naples → 8th Ave. S. Beach → Ankrolab Brewing Co.
Pick one part or make a morning of it. The day starts at 7:30 a.m. at Starbucks on Fifth with a 1.5-mile walk or 3-mile run, followed by a beach cleanup at 8th Avenue South from 9–11 a.m. Then it’s over to Ankrolab on Bayshore Drive from noon–3 p.m. for an after-party and fundraiser benefiting Friends of Rookery Bay, sea turtles and local wildlife with live music from Nostaljah. Cleanup supplies will be available while they last. Event info.
3. Waterlily Weekend at Naples Botanical Garden
📅 Saturday & Sunday, August 29–30 | 9 AM–2 PM
📍 Naples Botanical Garden, 4820 Bayshore Dr., Naples
Nearly 300 waterlily specimens are on display throughout the Garden’s aquatic collections, and this weekend celebrates them at peak bloom. There are Victoria waterlily encounters, nature journaling, guided tours and a Waterlily Weigh-Off demonstrating just how much weight a giant Victoria amazonica pad can hold. Waterlily Weekend is included with Garden admission, and kids 17 and under are free. Event info
4. Sunset Paint & Sip at LaPlaya
📅 Saturday, August 29 | 6:30–8:30 PM
📍 LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, 9891 Gulf Shore Dr., Naples
LaPlaya is setting up easels on its beachfront Gulf Lawn for a guided painting class timed to sunset. A local artist from Wine and Canvas leads the evening, and the $50 ticket includes painting supplies and one LaPlaya cocktail. Participants also get 20% off the menu at BALEEN before and after the event. Event info
5. Sizzle Dining Returns for Its 10th Year
📅 Begins Tuesday, September 1
📍 Restaurants throughout Southwest Florida
Sizzle Dining returns for its tenth year with prix-fixe menus at restaurants from Cape Coral to Marco Island. Founder Guy Clarke started the event in Naples as a one-week promotion with about 20 restaurants; it has since grown across Southwest Florida. For every participating breakfast, lunch or dinner sold, $1 goes to the Florida chapter of Blessings in a Backpack. See the restaurants & menus
6. Mercato Nights with The Freecoasters
📅 Thursday, September 3 | 6:30–8:30 PM
📍 Mercato Piazza, 9110 Strada Pl., Naples
The Freecoasters bring a mix of Southern R&B, Jamaican reggae and rocksteady to the Mercato stage Thursday night. The concert is free, lawn chairs are welcome and The Pub will run the event bar. You can also grab takeout from one of Mercato’s restaurants to bring to the Piazza. The concert is weather permitting. Event info
PRESENTED BY Naples Florida Rentals
You Might Forget You Came to Naples for the Beach. 🌴
The beach, Fifth Avenue, and downtown are all close. The problem is, this backyard makes leaving surprisingly difficult.
There’s a heated waterfall pool, a fire pit for after dark, a grill for dinner, mango trees overhead, and a huge fenced yard with room for the whole group, including the dog. When you do feel like getting out, kayaks and paddleboards are nearby.
HEATED POOL · FIRE PIT · PET-FRIENDLY
4 BEDROOMS · HUGE YARD · KAYAK ACCESS
It’s the kind of Naples rental where a day with no plans can turn out to be the best one.
Poll Results: Evening Plans?
Last week we asked: What gets you out of the house on an August evening?
Here’s where you landed:
Happy hour and Live Music tied for first place with 27% of the vote! Then - an unusual second-place tie for sunsets on the water or a special dinner. This feels par for the course for August, where the comforts of A/C are these events’ biggest competition.
This Week’s Poll: Worth-it Happy Hour?
Since happy hour tied for the top spot last week, we want to know what actually makes a good one. What matters most to you at happy hour?
Why It Matters
A good week in Naples does not need much of a plan.
Maybe it is a sunrise run and cleanup, maybe it is waterlilies and a slow afternoon, or maybe it is dinner somewhere new once Sizzle gets underway. Pick the one that sounds good and leave a little room for whatever comes after.
September is almost here, but Naples is not slowing down yet. If you make it to one of these, hit reply and tell me how it was. I am always looking for what deserves a spot in the next issue.
Elizabeth Bellotti
Editor-In-Chief
Naples, Florida
The Naples Florida Review
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