No, Billy Dean doesn’t live in Southwest Florida. Although the country star performs here so often, you’d be forgiven for thinking that.
Dean plays all over the place in the Fort Myers/Naples area: The annual Naples Winter Wine Festival. Fundraisers to help at-risk kids or the victims of domestic violence. Lots of private shows.
And now: A monthly residency at Players Circle Theater in North Fort Myers, where Dean sings his many hits, tells stories and brings some of his musical friends onstage.
Dean who lives on St. George Island in Florida’s panhandle has friends in Southwest Florida and a longtime connection to kids charities such as the wine fest and The Harlem Heights Foundation.
Tommy’s opens at the Shell Factory
By CHUCK BALLARO - | Jan 27, 2021
The long-awaited Tommy s Tiki Bar has opened at The Shell Factory & Nature Park.
It took a year and a half from start to finish, but the Shell Factory was finally able to cut the ribbon on one of its biggest projects ever this month, when it opened Tommy’s Tiki Bar.
Many friends and supporters were on hand to witness the opening of the covered outdoor bar on Jan. 13, which finally put a cap on the three big projects that were done on the restaurant portion of the complex.
Robert Cacioppo, artistic director at the Players Circle, said there will be something for everybody this season.
“When I do theater, I like to have a wide variety. I think the nightclub season we’ve chosen reflects that,” Cacioppo said. “We have a comedian who’s improvisational, another is a storyteller, we have jazz and country. We have a really nice mix.”
Shows will run from Feb. 4 through April 1 at the venue that has reinvented itself from a 200-seat professional theater to a 50-seat nightclub with spaced seating, temperature checks, thorough sanitizing, and masks worn by all audience members, in compliance with all CDC guidelines.