New Season Kickoff

By Jennifer Creel

No matter where you are in the Northern Hemisphere, spring is such an exciting season, with the promise of warmer weather, trees and tulips in bloom, people feeling the buzz and finally being able to be outside more and enjoy some sunshine. Allergies be damned!

Springtime in Palm Beach is no exception. The new season carries even more weight on the island, where it “opens” for the spring and summer months and everything from golf to contemporary art shows and boat shows happens all at once. Anyone and everyone is here, and it’s a whole vibe.

Spring break folds into peak social season, which means fun-packed schedules and overlapping worlds-school, families, collectors, friends from all over, and the New York crowd who swore they were staying for “just a few days.

Mornings are strategic. If you want the Lake Trail to yourself, go before 7:30 a.m. After that, it’s high traffic with tennis whites, strollers, and visitors on rented bikes. The weather, but also the social calendar, dictates what you pull out of your closet each morning. If you’re joining the late-breakfast crowd at Café Boulud or Sant Ambroeus, think crisp shirting and a blazer that can survive both air-conditioned interiors and the sun on Worth Avenue; pressed linen shirt dresses for a gallery visit and lunch at Le Bilboquet; flats during the day because you’ll inevitably be walking more than you planned.

Palm Beach in the spring is classic simplicity over loud prints- cashmere sweaters or lightweight jackets for deceptively cool evenings at the Brazilian Court Hotel courtyard or the Colony. For hair, styling that looks effortless but not casual is the goal.

Worth Avenue is at full volume this time of year, as is the Royal Poinciana Plaza, and it’s good to shop early (before lunch) to avoid crowds. I love to showcase my jewelry at trunk shows at shops like Kirna Zabête and often see many familiar faces.

The Palm Beach International Boat Show (March 25-29) changes the tone of the island for a few days. There’s more movement, more energy along Flagler Drive. Palm Beach Pride at Lake Worth Beach (March 28-29) is a two-day festival that brings out a broad cross section of the community and many visiting friends.

Later in April, the crowds lessen, so it’s an ideal time to take a nice market stroll. The West Palm Beach GreenMarket on Clematis Street is open every weekend.

Spring isn’t just the most social season in Palm Beach, it’s the one where you feel how interconnected everything is-art, boats, culture, fashion, and friends—and it’s easy to feel the excitement of the new openings.