Talk of the Town

While living in the French Quarter last year as she worked on her book, Very New Orleans (Algonquin), artist Diana Gessler says she and her husband, Paul, slipped right into the rhythm of the Big Easy, from beignets in the morning at Cafe du Monde to closing down Bourbon Street at night. The long-time Bonita Bay residents, locally known for their charitable bashes, loved it so much they considered making a permanent move before their first taste of a Louisiana summer sent them home to South-west Florida. Hurricane Katrina's devastation is heartbreaking, Diana says, but will not be insurmountable. Since the book's release, the couple's New Orleans friends-from fifth-generation Creole aristocracy to mimes on Jackson Square-have asked her to share a message: "Tell everyone we're coming back, bigger and better."

Road trip: Kim Long, Denise and Brian Cobb, Mary Susan and J.D. Clinton, George Beasley and Joe Cox were among those invited to Miami by Governor Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba, to mark the culmination of Hispanic Heritage Month this fall. On hand were actor Andy Garcia-mugging for the cameras-and legendary musician Arturo Sandoval.

All heart: He might have been the coolest kid at Naples High, but the late Kyle Fernstrom was never too cool to show his mom, Shelly Church, how much he loved her. She says that's what she misses most about Fernstrom, who died last February from complications of a congenital heart defect. Recognized at this year's Philanthropy Day celebration, Fernstrom was also the guiding spirit behind the more than $45,000 his mom's team raised at the American Heart Association's Collier County Heart Walk at Cambier Park.

This is heart month: On Feb. 3, ditch your regulation black and Go Red to raise awareness of women and heart disease. You can also wear a little red number to Collier's Heart Ball on Feb. 25. Chaired by Scott Congress, it takes place at the newly spiffed up Naples Grande Resort & Club (formerly the Registry Resort).

Pugs on parade: Wilma was the Grinch who stole Karen Coney Coplin's ann-ual pug get-together, but Coplin says the comical pups will have their day. She's organizing a Pet Walk for Feb. 19, starting at Sandy Paws on 13th Avenue South and making a six-block round trip. All dogs are welcome, not just pugs, and registration fees will go to the Conservancy's wildlife rehab center. "It's about animals helping animals," Coplin says.

Designing minds: High season doesn't just bring high style to the Gulfshore-it also brings many of the people who create it. High-end jewelry designer John Atencio battled bronchitis to debut his new collection at Naples' Thalheimers (he and owner Bruce Thalheimer are motorcycling buddies); Bruce Yamron welcomed Italian designer Gianni Stivanell of Ambrosi; Charles, the ninth Earl of Spencer, came to Norris Furniture in Naples to talk about his new royal line of home goods (although not, alas, about his sister, Princess Diana). On Feb. 8, the über-stylish Zang Toi is the star of Naples' St. Ann School's annual fashion benefit, back at Saks this year. Mary Ann Bindley, chairing with Christine Flynn, says Toi makes women look and feel beautiful. She's wearing a romantic black Toi gown embellished with pink flowers and topped with one of his cashmere, mink-trimmed wraps.

Stellar cellar: "It's a spiritual sacrifice," said Tom Monaghan of his decision to put his collection of rare wines up for auction at New York's Sotheby's to benefit his new Catholic university, Ave Maria. Giving up what he called "one of my greatest enjoyments," the Domino's Pizza magnate put up 470 lots that spanned the globe, including reds from Napa's Harlan Estates and Super Tuscans from Italy's Ornellaia vineyard. Monaghan's bottles raised $1,628, 442 for the school. The priciest lot, a Chateau Petrus 1989, went for $30,550.

We'll drink to that.

Can you hear him now? Beeper, a hand-raised lorikeet who lives at the new Pollination Pavilion at the Naples Botanical Garden, gets his name from his uncanny imitation of a missed-call alert on a cell phone. This month, look for new NBG director Brian Holley to unveil ambitious long-term plans for the gardens, including designs from famed landscape architects Raymond Jungles and Made Wijaya. Happenings at the gardens this month include Dave Rogers' super-bug exhibit, straight from New York. (Think two-story papier-mâché praying mantises).

At Fort Myers' Canterbury School, board member Amanda Cross was the impetus behind an ambitious new marine science center and display, dedicated to the memory of her fishing-captain husband, W.J. Torpey. Philanthropist and entrepreneur Cross also co-founded Sanibel Cares, which benefits Lee Memorial's Children's Hospital.