Late October in Naples and Southwest Florida is when the calendar really starts to fill. Stone crab season has opened, the Naples International Film Festival is in full swing, and Halloween fun is popping up across the region. Here is your guide to what is happening from Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25.
Naples Stone Crab Festival at Tin City
The 16th Annual Stone Crab Festival returns to Historic Tin City at 1200 5th Avenue South in Naples, Friday through Sunday. Hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission and general parking are free. Expect fresh, locally harvested stone crab claws, live music all weekend, and vendors selling coastal art, jewelry and local crafts along the waterfront.
If you are new to Southwest Florida, stone crab is one of our most celebrated seasonal traditions. Florida's season runs from mid-October through early May, and only the claws are harvested before the crabs are returned to the water. Eating them cold with mustard sauce, somewhere with a view of the water, is a rite of passage here.
Naples International Film Festival at Artis Naples
The 18th Annual Naples International Film Festival continues through Sunday at Artis Naples and participating venues around town. Nearly 60 independent films are on the program, including narrative features, documentaries and short films, with many filmmakers on hand for conversations after their screenings. Sunday brings a festival highlight: the Naples Philharmonic performing John Williams' score to the original 1978 Superman, live, while the film plays on the big screen.
Naples Yard & Garden Show
Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the annual Naples Yard & Garden Show returns to UF/IFAS Collier County Extension at 14700 Immokalee Road. Vendors bring orchids, fruit trees, palms, butterfly plants, tropical specimens and garden art. Collier County Master Gardener volunteers lead demonstrations at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon each day on orchid mounting, herb gardening and fairy gardens, and the on-site Plant Clinic will look at photos of any plant that is giving you trouble. Kids can visit the resident chickens, explore the fruit tree orchard and enjoy free face painting in the Fairy Garden.
For anyone who has just bought a home in Naples or is dreaming about a lanai full of orchids and a mango tree in the backyard, this is one of the best places to learn what thrives in our climate.
Halloween Fun in Naples and Fort Myers
This is the final weekend for Boo at the Zoo at Naples Zoo and the Pumpkin Patch on the Event Lawn at Mercato. The Monster Mash Bash fills Veterans Park Saturday evening, Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs hosts a Boo-tanical Evening Friday, and Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve hosts Sloughween Friday and Saturday nights.
Comedy, Theater and Live Music
Gulfshore Playhouse opens The World Goes Round Friday night, and The Naples Players close Over the River and Through the Woods this weekend. Jeff Dye headlines Off the Hook Comedy Cafe Friday and Saturday, with Martin Moreno on Sunday, and Eric Eaton plays Snappers Comedy Cafe in Fort Myers. Arts Bonita hosts Jason Ricci and The Bad Kind Friday and Classic Skynyrd Live Saturday. Live music fills patios all weekend, from Dogtooth Sports Bar and Blue Martini in Naples to Sugarshack Downtown in Bonita Springs and the Snook Inn on Marco Island.
Oktoberfest, Sports and Farmers Markets
The Beer Bar at Seed to Table hosts Oktoberfest Weekend Saturday and Sunday, with Rock Republic on stage Saturday night, and the German-American Social Club of Cape Coral celebrates Friday through Sunday. FC Naples hosts Spokane Velocity FC Saturday at 7 p.m. at Paradise Coast Sports Complex. Farmers markets run Saturday at Third Street South, The Shoppes at Vanderbilt and the Promenade at Bonita Bay, with Sunday markets on Pine Ridge Road and Sanibel Island.
Looking Ahead
Hallowine comes to Mercato Thursday, October 29. Halloween weekend brings the 5th Avenue South Halloween Spooktacular at Cambier Park and the Día de los Muertos Celebration at Naples Botanical Garden, October 31 to November 1.
Why This Weekend Matters If You Are Considering Naples or Southwest Florida
A weekend like this one captures what fall feels like here. Stone crabs on the water, an international film festival downtown, an afternoon picking out orchids for the lanai, and the beach never more than a few minutes away. It is not a vacation itinerary. It is simply how people live here, week after week.
If Naples has been on your mind, whether as a second home, a future move, or a place you are still getting to know, I am always happy to be a resource. Reach out anytime, or sign up for This Week in Paradise, my weekly guide to living, playing and owning in Southwest Florida, delivered to your inbox every Friday.
Diane Harris, Realtor and Luxury Properties Specialist
Serving Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero, Marco Island, Collier County, Lee County and the surrounding Southwest Florida area
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