With Fairhope’s heralded Arts & Crafts Festival celebrating its 74th year, expect to be impressed and entertained March 20 - 22. This year’s theme is “Classic Fairhope in Black and White.” Every day from 10 am until 5 pm, the downtown streets will be filled with hundreds of artists and artisans from all over the country displaying and selling their creations. Special event parking and shuttles will help carry the more than 200,000 expected visitors to and from the Festival site.

There is a very hip and cool art scene happening in Mobile and Baldwin counties, and Brian Tan is right in the thick of it. He was recently awarded the 2026 Visual Artist of the Year at the Artys, a project of the Mobile Arts Council that recognizes artists who have made a meaningful impact on the creative community. 

A driving sound of a 1950s-style rockabilly band spills from the Handlebar. The music rolls out to the blocked-off street and mixes with the growl of rat rod engines. Children run between scrap-metal bumpers as men and women lean over open hoods, talking shop and admiring the weld lines of the vintage cars lined up for public viewing. Spring’s blossoming ligustrum hangs in the air among the gasoline, grease, and grit. 

Some really innovative people live among us, who are always doing interesting things, and frankly, it’s hard to stay on top of everything they have going on. Two of whom are a married couple, John and Lynn Henderson Oldshue. Every time our paths cross, I learn that they are working on multiple projects that have a positive impact on our lives and communities.

Coming from Fairhope, we turned right off Highway 98 at Magnolia Springs and drove straight to the end of Highway 49 to the new Tin Top Restaurant and Oyster Bar. Sitting majestically beside the beautiful Bon Secour River, like a great big lodge, it is more reminiscent of visiting someone's home on the water.

This past Friday, we celebrated a close friend’s 65th birthday by hosting dinner at our house. I knew just what I wanted to serve: fresh-caught fish to grill on the Green Egg. I have this down to a science, so I felt confident it would turn out well. The most important ingredient is purchasing the best type of fresh fish suitable for grilling. That’s where Fairhope Fish House comes in. 

Impact 100, a women's organization with chapters throughout the United States, is currently halfway through its 2026 membership drive. There are several opportunities for those interested in joining this incredible group to meet its members and learn more about the impact they are having on our communities throughout the Scenic 98 Coastal area.

It’s always fun exploring all the entertaining events happening throughout the Scenic 98 Coastal communities. Now that spring is arriving this month, there are many great options to keep your social calendar full of fun! Check out more things to do each week in Tidbits and Best Bets. Thanks to Dharma Blue and Chuck’s Fish! Two of the best dining experiences along our Gulf Coast!

Allison Bebee and Camille Cornett have the perfect partnership of business and creativity, and together they will bring a new curated art show to Fairhope during Arts and Crafts weekend, March 20th through 22nd. Allison and her husband, Daniel, own Apiary on Bancroft Street, an event venue that is their newest endeavor, along with their businesses, Gulf Coast Events and Rentals, Belforest Pointe, and Venue 31. 

Now that Mardi Gras is over and the Lenten season is upon us, it’s time to do something constructive and entertaining with the kids. The perfect place to go is the History Museum of Mobile.

Occasionally, a dining experience exceeds your wildest expectations. It’s happened twice to me in Fairhope, and both times it was courtesy of Chef Orlando Amaro. He has a fantastic talent and never disappoints. It’s a testament to his passion for pleasing his guests, wherever he happens to be. His resume is a global Who’s Who of award-winning restaurants, several with Michelin stars next to their name. 

The terrain looked like I expected it would. There are gently rolling hills with a mix of tall, skinny pine trees and sturdy hardwoods, and there are cow pastures and a few farmhouses nearby. Though I've covered thousands of miles throughout Mississippi in my life, I had never been to the site of Lynyrd Skynyrd's horrific plane crash until last month. 

Road trips are a good thing. Whether they are planned well in advance or spur of the moment, I always enjoy hitting the road. First, a road trip shakes up your routine by doing something different and is especially good for a change of scenery. Around these parts, you don’t have to go far in any direction to find something interesting to do, but you will need a boat to head south.

After 48 years of marriage, Hubby Jim was not too concerned when I suggested he let me plan our anniversary weekend. It may have been because my birthday had just passed two days before, and he thought, “Whatever suits her, suits me.” But I stopped trying to read his mind years ago.‍

Fairhope is a wonderful place to live, but sometimes I just need some Culture, with a capital C. (theater, music, architecture, etc.) A trip to New Orleans satisfies this craving every time, and it is so easy and fun. Broadway in New Orleans has always been my motivation, and in January I was lucky enough to attend two shows on tour, Hell’s Kitchen and, more recently, Hadestown.

There aren't many Italian restaurants in Baldwin County, so when I saw a social media post about a new one, Fresco in Bon Secour, I recruited publisher, Zeb, for a mid-week lunch excursion. I say excursion because Bon Secour is about a 40-minute trip from Fairhope, and on a cold, sunny winter day, the back roads ride was beautiful. Having lived in Baldwin County for almost a half-century, I am always amazed when I realize that I haven't been down this road before. Located in the Old Tin Top building on Bon Secour Highway, we are pleasantly surprised to see a thriving lunch crowd, since they have only been open a month.

Although the rest of the country is in the deepest throes of winter, where Southern Bayou Grill sits on County Road 32 (just west of the intersection with County Road 33), it looks as welcoming as spring sunshine, with its Mardi Gras colored umbrellas and brightly trimmed picnic tables.

Niall Fraser, pronounced “Neil” to his American friends and associates, hails from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, but moved to Edmonton, Canada, when he was 6 years old. His older sister was born in Troon, Scotland, as were his mom and dad and many, many other family members. 

In addition to the Top 5 below, don’t miss our breakdown of the upcoming weekend events across the Scenic 98 Coastal Area in the newsletter’s Tidbits and Best Bets section every Wednesday morning. The Tidbits and Best Bets calendar is also hosted on the Scenic98Coastal.com homepage for easy access all weekend long!

In a renovated 100-year-old cottage behind the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs. Ms, a quaint new restaurant, The Traveler, stands ready for 4 hungry traveler friends who are visiting from Fairhope. The Traveler’s concept is inspired by Walter Anderson's adventurous spirit and his travels around the world. Almost everything at the restaurant, from furniture to native plantings to coffee cups, is artist-designed, curated, or made. 

I do have some regrets in life, and two of them are connected to an unforgettable evening in a hotel room in Vicksburg, Miss. What I mean is, I can't find the cassette tape of me playing music there with the blues legend Willie Dixon, or the handwritten lyrics he gave me as I was leaving.

Jeff DuBois is a guy who doesn't smile a lot, even when he's having a good time, and it's just the way he is. But if you catch him breaking into a grin, it might be because the dance floor is full of people having fun at his Lucky Horseshoe Saloon.

In addition to the Top 5 below, don’t miss our breakdown of the upcoming weekend events across the Scenic 98 Coastal Area in the newsletter’s Tidbits and Best Bets section every Wednesday morning. The Tidbits and Best Bets calendar is also hosted on the Scenic98Coastal.com homepage for easy access all weekend long!

The friendly little Loxley Farm Market stands along one of those curves on Highway 59 as it snakes through town, and it's kind of easy to miss if you don't know it's there. Enough people have found the place, many of them stopping in again and again, which has kept the family business running strong for 30 years.