The Ringling International Arts Festival each year grants area audiences the opportunity to explore performances from around the globe, embrace new modes of expression and perhaps even gain a greater appreciation for the underlying sameness of the human experience. One group of visiting performers this year has taken that commitment to the next step, venturing out into the artistic community for some pre-festival exchange. Phare: The Cambodian Circus, though only arrived at 2am on Tuesday morning, took time out of their afternoon the same day to visit with the Sailor Circus Academy, observe the performers and share the craft with their young artistic kin.

Phare arrived a group of eight to ten performers recognizable if not by the matching red T-shirts then by their performer’s physiques – wiry limbs roped in muscle, moving with sure-footed grace. Thirty or so students from Sailor Circus populated the mats and wires, even silks dangling from the ceiling, tumbling and twisting and balancing oh-so-precariously. A bicycle loaded down with at least four entangled bodies goes wobbling around the whole scene.

“I feel really happy to come here and I can see that this is the big school,” said Phare member Chhoun Chandann, speaking through fellow Phare performer and translator Phounam pin. Chandann, like all members of Phare, is familiar with the concept of youth circus, their school – Phare Ponleu Selpak – being founded in Cambodia after the fall of the Khmer Rouge as a haven and escape for children left on the streets or in troubled homes, at risk of trafficking. The students have more materials and facilities in Sarasota, but he sees the same love for the art. “The children don’t have much time,” said Chandann of the young Sarasotan performers, making time with volunteer coaches, “but they try their best to come and learn and they look really strong.”

“It’s very exciting for the Sailor Circus students to see circus from another part of the country,” said Beth Graves, marketing manager for The Circus Arts Conservatory. In addition to the afternoon’s exchange, the Sailor Circus performers have also been invited by The Ringling Museum to see Phare’s first performance this evening on opening night. “We’re bringing circus arts together because what they do is totally different,” Graves continued. “It might stir a little creativity, maybe give [the students] some ideas of things they want to try in their own performances.”

The Ringling International Arts Festival begins tonight with performances from Phare: The Cambodian Circus, Tom Lee’s Shank’s Mare and Ronnarong Khampha.

“I’m really excited and thankful to the Ringling for inviting us to come here,” said Chandann. “We use art to transform our lives and I promise to try my best and show all my talent to the audience.”

The festival runs until Sunday, with each performance running at least once per day, except for Khampha, whose final performance is on Saturday.  

Pictured: Chhoun Chandann guides a Sailor Circus student on a balance board. Photo by: Beth Graves.

Carolyn Colvin, acting commissioner for the Social Security Administrations, swings through Sarasota today for a town hall meeting. A guest of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, the meeting will likely be one that transcends partisanship in a district with more than 217,000 individuals receiving retirement and disability payments.

“I’m pleased that Commissioner Colvin has accepted my invitation to address the residents of Sarasota and Manatee counties,” said Buchanan. “I wanted seniors in our region to have a chance to meet the person who runs one of the most important federal programs in the nation.”

Buchanan, representing a district with the second-highest number of Social Security beneficiaries in the country, said the federal program remains one of his highest priorities. “Seniors have worked their entire lives with the promise of a safe retirementand. It is vital that we preserve the program for today’s beneficiaries and future generations.”

Colvin, appointed by President Barack Obama last year, will participate in a public forum at New College of Florida’s Sudakoff Conference Center today at 3:30pm.  

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be hosted for Envira Systems today.  The security company announced last year it was expanding in Sarasota County. The event will be hosted by the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County. 

Envira Systems

Big Mango Productions has closed on the purchase of 1,200-square-foot industrial space, located on Mango Avenue in Sarasota, for $255,000. The seller, Max V. Kaufman, was represented by Eric Shumway of Re/Max Alliance Group. The buyer was represented by Mike Migone, an advisor with the downtown Sarasota office of Sperry Van Ness Commercial Advisory Group. 

Sperry Van Ness Commercial Advisory Group

On Thursday, October 8th, SRQ Media hosted the first installment of the SRQ Women in Business Seaside Salon Series, a monthly gathering of the winners and finalists from the annual Women in Business Competition. Held in the beautiful Library at The Resort at Longboat Key Club, these monthly meetings are a premier networking opportunity for the women of the Leadership Circle and also serve as a strategic planning meeting to further develop the mentoring aspect of this program. Jeff Mayers, General Manager at The Resort at Longboat Key Club spoke to those in attendance commending them on their presence in the community and the ways they enrich the lives of so many. Of the Seaside Salon Series, Mayers said, "I truly believe that it is wonderful to recognize these leaders who have made such an impact on our community." Sandra Rios, Director of Marketing and Communications, The Resort at Longboat Key Club and member for the 2015 Leadership Circle, voiced her excitement for the upcoming programming with SRQ Women in Business. "This is a group of dynamic women that have such diverse backgrounds and talents. These meetings are going to be really productive, thought provoking and fun!" The team at SRQ wholeheartedly agrees and looks forward to cultivating lasting relationships at the Seaside Salon Series. To find out more about this program, visit SRQHEARMEROAR.COM.