Best of the Gulfshore 2006

Best Local Performing

Arts Group

Tie: Florida Repertory Theatre (Fort Myers); Naples Philharmonic Orchestra (Naples)

Finalists: Naples Players (Naples); SWFL Symphony Youth Orchestra

(Fort Myers)

Culture? We've got culture. The professional Florida Repertory Theatre wows audiences with a mix of popular offerings and more challenging works, and the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra attracts pros of international caliber. Those performing for the love of it-and winning audiences' hearts-include the Sugden Theatre's Naples Players and the budding virtuosos of the SWFL Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Best Local Entertainer

Tie: Heather Brooks Band (Fort Myers); Kat Epple (Fort Myers)

Finalists: Cahlua & Cream (Naples); Powerhouse (Naples)

Sisters doing it for themselves: Heather Brooks is a sassy singer-songwriter, Kat Epple an Emmy-award-winning composer and flautist, but both strong, smart women deserve the accolade Best. Baby boomers regularly get their groove on to event favorites Cahlua & Cream and Powerhouse.

Best Team to Root For

Miracle (Fort Myers)

Finalists: Everblades (Estero);

FGCU Eagles (Estero)

The real Miracle would be if the baseball team of the same name were at the top of their minor-league division, but the team's many fans don't care, not when going to the games at the Twins' stadium is so much fun. Playing for keeps: hockey's fierce Everblades and FGCU's numerous sports teams, which recently had their excellence recognized with a move into NCAA's Division I.

Best Sports Tournament

ACE Classic (Naples)

Finalists: City of Palms Classic (Fort Myers); Shark Shootout (Naples)

The guys on the green have given us 20 years of pleasure, playing for charity at the annual ACE Classic; the PGA-sanctioned event finds a new Southwest Florida home next season. Golf gets fierce at Greg Norman's popular Shark Shootout, and elbows fly at the nationally recognized City of Palms teen basketball tourney.

SOCIAL SCENE

Best Black-tie Event

Hospital Ball (Naples)

Finalists: Heart Ball (Fort Myers and Naples); President's Gala (Estero)

We love surprises, so imagine our delight when one of the area's oldest black-tie events, the Hospital Ball, mixed it up by donating this year's proceeds to Hurricane Wilma recovery, garnering cheers from the attending crowd. Cardiac causes take a glamorous spin at the region's two Heart Balls, and FGCU's costumed, opulent President's Gala has

quickly become one of our top-grossing balls.

Best Festival

Tie: Edison Festival of Light

(Fort Myers); Naples Winter Wine Festival (Naples)

Finalist: River & Blues Festival

(Fort Myers)

"Let there be light," said Mr. Edison, and every year we celebrate this adopted son's achievement with a weeklong festival, culminating in a spectacular parade. The record-breaking auctions at the Naples Winter Wine Festival are made even more impressive when you hear the stories of the once-struggling children's charities that have received tens of millions of dollars from the festival's foundation. Practice your blues rhymes at the River & Blues Festival, a waterfront benefit for the region's Harry Chapin Food Bank.

Best Local Personality

William Merwin

Finalists: Bill Barnett; Porter Goss

Don't believe in the Power of One? Then consider the way the smart and affable (and did we say good-looking?) William Merwin has united an entire region around his growing Florida Gulf Coast University in his seven years here. Ace poker player and all-around-nice-guy Bill Barnett has the go-ahead for a run at a third term as Naples' mayor, and although Porter Goss has a national profile now, we treasure him for the difference he made in preserving his beloved Sanibel and Captiva. Come home when you can, Mr. Goss.

Best Place to See

Beautiful People

EnVie (Fort Myers)

Finalists: Blu and Crü (Fort Myers and Naples); Café Lurcat (Naples)

Ready for your close-up? A genetically blessed crowd congregates at EnVie, the trendiest of downtown Fort Myers' night spots. You'll find an equally photogenic group at Blu and Crü; these rhyming hot spots are said to be favorite haunts of ballplayers here for spring training. And where could Emeril Lagasse be seen when he was in Naples? Adding luster to the already picturesque Café Lurcat.

Best Thing That Could

Happen Here

A year without hurricanes

Finalists: Affordable housing; courteous and cautious drivers

It isn't the putting up and taking down of shutters that we mind so much as the psychological wear and tear that happens when a 5,000-ton gorilla churns in the Gulf. Let this be the year of no hurricanes, and in the meantime, let's be kind to one another: working together to find solutions for the region's shortage of affordable housing and taking it easy on our roadways. Go in peace.

OUR PANEL

Members of Gulfshore Life's staff and a selection of well-connected Southwest Floridians met to nominate, discuss and vote on this year's Best of the Gulfshore. Judges recused themselves from voting on any categories in which they had a conflict of interest. Meet the minds behind the list:

The director of Fort Myers' Edison Festival of Light, Brandee Bryant has made it a mission to identify the Gulfshore's great restaurants and nightspots since moving here two years ago.

Food and shopping writer Marsha Fottler has written extensively about both in the pages of Gulfshore Life. Gulfshore Life publisher Lynne Groth is the force behind the magazine's special publications, sponsored events and more. Longtime Neapolitan Sukie Honeycutt is a wine expert and one of the owners of Cuisine Management, a company with several area restaurants. Tracy Jones covers charities, parties and everything Southwest Florida as a senior editor of Gulfshore Life. Retired news anchor Jim McLaughlin is a professional photographer and a Pine Island resident. Canterbury School counselor Debra Merwin is involved in numerous charitable organizations all over the Gulfshore. Disc jockey Drew Steele is on the air-and at on-site promotions throughout the Gulfshore-for popular music station B103.9 FM.