One tasty aspect of living in paradise is the tropical fruit we get to enjoy.
A variety of lychee and mango trees can be found growing in front yards and backyards across Southwest Florida. And during this time of the year, those trees are laden with juicy fruit.
The Naples Botanical Garden celebrates this “fruitful season” with its annual Tasting the Tropics fruit festival. This year, the event will take place Saturday June 28, and Sunday June 29, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors will be able to sample tropical fruits from around the world, discover fruiting plants grown in the garden, watch live demonstrations and take a fruit-themed tour.
The Naples Daily News is joining the festival this year. And we’re bringing award-winning author ― and former JLB restaurant critic and food writer Annabelle Tometich ― with us. Tometich is the author of the award-winning book “The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony.” Her book was called “sweet, sharp” by The New York Times, and was named among the best books of 2024 by The Washington Post and NPR.
About “The Mango Tree”
Reporter Charles Runnells interviewed Tometich last year. He described The Mango Tree as:
“The Mango Tree” — subtitled “A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony” — revolves around her mom’s 2015 arrest for shooting a BB gun at a couple she claimed was stealing her mangoes. But it also examines Tometich’s life growing up in a volatile, sometimes violent Fort Myers household; the racism she encountered as a mixed-race Filipino-American in Southwest Florida (including from her own grandmother); her mom’s beloved mango tree; and her journey to eventually accept her mother ― warts and all.
Tometich will be at the Naples Daily News booth Saturday, June 28, from 10- 11 a.m. at the Tasting the Tropics festival. She will be meeting readers, talking about mangoes and signing copies of her book. Staff from the Naples Daily News will also be available to answer questions.
Tickets to the event are free with Naples Botanical Garden admission. For more information about the festival, and for a detailed itinerary, visit the Naples Botanical Garden’s Tasting the Tropics page.
If you go: Annabelle Tometich at Tasting the Tropics
What: A chance to meet Annabelle Tometich, an award winning author and former JLB dining critic, at the Naples Daily News booth at the Naples Botanical Garden’s Tasting the Tropics festival.
When: Tometich will be at the Naples Daily News booth on Saturday, June 28, from 10- 11 a.m. Tasting the Tropics runs 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, and Sunday, June 29.
Where: Naples Botanical Garden, 4820 Bayshore Drive, Naples, FL 34112
Cost: Tasting the Tropics is included with Naples Botanical Garden admission; free for Garden members. The Garden will also be offering tropical fruit tours. Those are $10 for Garden members and $15 for non-members.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Join us, and an award-winning author, at Naples Botanical Garden’s Tasting the Tropics
Reporting by Jigsha Desai, Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
