Emma Witmer

2 weeks ago | gulfshorelife.com | Annamarie Simoldoni |Addison Pezoldt |Emma Witmer

BEST TRAINING GROUNDS For our Community Advisory Board members—leaders who juggle demanding careers, philanthropic commitments and social engagements—physical wellbeing isn’t optional. Workouts provide the foundation that sustains their demanding lives, giving them the energy to show up fully for the causes they champion and the stamina to stay sharp long-term. When every minute counts, the right personal trainer becomes a secret weapon.

2 weeks ago | gulfshorelife.com | Emma Witmer

BEST LOCAL SOUND My First Street loft, with its main drag-facing windows slung open to let in the breeze, makes the perfect vantage point for Downtown Fort Myers happenings. When we hear a heartfelt rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” drift through the window on a first Friday, my partner and I know to grab our shoes and head to the cordoned-off street below for a taste of River District talent—it’s time for Music Walk.

2 weeks ago | gulfshorelife.com | Emma Witmer

BEST TABLE ART  The table is set for breakfast. A pricked egg yolk, lush and warm, spills gently over a porcelain plate, the soft viscosity swimming across delicate green and gold floral brushstrokes. Scone crumbs scatter across a dish encircled in cerulean waves. Amid Marie Daâge’s curated tablescapes, precision and spontaneity dance in careful harmony. The Parisian’s eponymous haute porcelain maison exalts the art of hosting by holding steadfast to France’s 18th-century traditions.

3 weeks ago | gulfshorelife.com | Emma Witmer

The way Sebastian Rios talks about jazz feels as reminiscent of linguistics as musical theory. The 28-year-old bassist and composer for New Jazz Underground—the Juilliard-trained trio bringing its talents to Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center (SBDAC) on April 18—is intimately familiar with the genre’s syntactical history but by no means averse to peppering contemporary slang into his compositions. “Even before the Great American Songbook, there was the blues. Those rhythms are so universal.

Feb 6, 2025 | gulfshorelife.com | Emma Witmer

Sequined hemlines and pocket squares lift and flutter as throngs of well-heeled guests gather around the promenade at Gulfshore Playhouse’s new Baker Theatre & Education Center. The windows are darkened, and the doors of the sleek, bowing construction, which evokes a lapping tide or the flow of a musical score, are cordoned off by a cobalt ribbon tied in a bow. It’s a cool, windy October evening, the year’s first true fall day, and the crowd is buzzing with excitement.