It's no doubt that Downtown Sarasota has blossomed in the last few years, with new developments popping up on nearly every street corner, adding a new sense of vibrancy and vitality to the town. And on the face of many townhomes, residential buildings, cultural projects and restorations, the name Hoyt Architects appears, from the Bayfront Master Plan to the Selby Library, the Hollywood 20 to Pineapple Square. "These were several important planning and building projects which guided the evolution of Sarasota’s downtown," says the architecture and design firm's Principal Gary Hoyt. "These early and transformative projects were done at a time when the future of Sarasota’s downtown was in doubt and disrepair, and they helped rekindle interest in downtown." And it is this comittment to the evolution of Sarasota's downtown that makes Gary Hoyt our architecture newsmaker of the year.

And in the last year, Hoyt has seen a multitude of new projects come to fruition in the area, including One Palm/Aloft, the Jewel, Sansara, the DeSota and the Mark, each examples of mixed-use developments that draw people toward Main Street. These developments not only bring people, but also entertainment and retail at the street level to the area. "Though we do work throughout Florida, I have always seen Sarasota as a unique urban design laboratory, providing us with an extraordinary opportunity to help shape our very special waterfront downtown," says Hoyt. "A major goal for our urban projects is to create strong connections to sidewalk life, in buildings that help shape and define the skyline. We are currently working on a number of planning and architectural projects, seeking to do our part in Sarasota’s evolving development as a vibrant, walkable, live/work community, with a wide range of activities for all ages."

Honorable mention: Jerry Sparkman and Todd Sweet of Sweet Sparkman Architects won accolades for their Siesta Key Beach pavilion improvements and have since been commissioned to design Ringling College's new library. Guy Peterson designed and unveiled the new Elling O. Eide Library this year.

Great accomplishments require great resolve.

When Sarasota Opera began the Verdi Cycle 28 years ago with a production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, few could have guessed it would spiral into near three decades exploring the Italian composer and dramatist’s musical catalogue from top to bottom, unearthing rare and underperformed works along the way and attracting the attention from top scholars around the world. And when four years later the company formally announced its intention to perform every note Verdi ever wrote, doubtless more than a few wondered if it would be possible. But for 28 years, through the Great Recession and more, Sarasota Opera held the course and at the close of the 2015–16 season completed the Verdi Cycle in grand style with productions of Aida and The Battle of Legnano alongside a pair of Verdi-themed concerts and an international conference.

Through the Verdi Cycle, the company performed not only the standard versions of Verdi’s 27 operas, but treated the audience to alternative versions rarely heard. All of Verdi’s non-operatic work made the stage as well and Sarasota Opera made history as the only opera company in the world to perform Verdi’s available catalogue in such completeness.

Holding the baton through every performance was Sarasota Opera Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Maestro Victor DeRenzi, earning his own place in history as the first—and currently only—person to conduct every note that Verdi wrote. Drawing international acclaim alongside the company itself, DeRenzi was knighted by the Italian government in June of this year and awarded the title Cavaliere dell’ordine della Stella d’Italia, or Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy.

For his artistry and resolve, and for his part in bringing international recognition to the hard work of Sarasota Opera and the local artistic community in general, SRQ recognizes Maestro Victor DeRenzi as the Arts and Culture Newsmaker of the Year.

“My love for Verdi is a lifelong obsession that has helped shape me into the person I am today,” says DeRenzi. “Over the course of the 28-year Verdi Cycle, I have had the opportunity to premiere some of his newly uncovered works and also to discover more beauty in the operas I already knew. I have been able to study Verdi’s growth as a musician and learn almost a hundred years of history that surrounded his life. In addition to his music I have come to know Verdi the man. His life as a friend, a farmer and a philanthropist can show us almost as much as his music about ourselves.”

“This Cycle could not have been done without the support of the people of Sarasota. The completion of the Verdi Cycle is not only the accomplishment of Sarasota Opera but an accomplishment shared by our whole community. I am happy to accept the title of Arts and Culture Newsmaker of the Year and I share it with all the artists and employees of Sarasota Opera, the Sarasota Opera Board of Trustees, and Sarasota and Manatee Counties.”

Honorable Mentions: Dr. Larry Thompson, president of Ringling College of Art and Design, has been instrumental in bringing several projects to fruition, including the upcoming Ringling College soundstage, Basch Visual Arts Center and the Sarasota Museum of Art, which look to greatly change the artistic landscape. Artist Richie Brasil has spearheaded the growth of mural-making and street art in Bradenton and Sarasota with a particularly prolific year including exhibitions exploring race in America and public art commissions highlighting Sarasota’s early black populations. 

Known for it's killer grub and friendly faces, Sun Garden café serves up breakfast like nobody's business—especially when it comes to eggs. Up your benny game with their Myakka benedict; two soft and golden runny poached eggs sit on a buttery biscuit throne, sausage patties and a ripe sliced tomato get stacked and smothered in "wavy gravy." Half biscuits and gravy, half eggs Florentine, you'll never forget the bliss that follows this epic brekkie. (Perhaps in the form of a nice nap on Siesta Key's sands.)  

Sun Garden Cafe, 210 Avenida Madera, Siesta Key, 941-346-7170

Just because it's technically winter, you don't have to forget about all your summer favorites, especially when it comes to cocktails. Make State Street's version of the classic Paloma for your New Year's Eve party guests and watch the who-will-kiss-who tension melt away with the Stiegl Radler grapefruit shandy bubbles and smooth tequila. 

Ingredients:  ½ oz. grapefruit rose liquor; 2 oz. tequila (State Street uses Espolón); 1 oz. lemon juice; Stiegl Radler; spicy salt.

Directions: Pour liquor, tequila and lemon juice into a shaker and mix. Salt the rim of a tall glass and add ice. Pour mixture over ice and fill to the top with Stiegl Radler. Garnish with a lemon spiral.  

State Street, 1533 State St., 941-951-1533.

Manatee County Building and Development Services Department will open a new annex office at Ellenton next month to serve Manatee County’s fastest-growing areas. The North River Annex, located at 5030 U.S. Highway 301, was formerly a Manatee Sheriff’s Office sub-station. It was renovated in recent months to create permitting areas for local contractors and builders to do business. All permitting, planning, development and review services offered at the downtown Admin Building will be offered at the new annex. A brief ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on January 12 and the building will hold its official opening to the public on January 17. Operating hours at the new facility will be 8am–4pm. Manatee County Commissioners approved the renovation project in May in an effort to accommodate contractors near the areas they work the most. 

Manatee County

Recent grants from Goodwill Industries International (GII) will enable Goodwill Manasota—with the partnership of Manatee Technical College (MTC)—to expand its local impact. The partners will present Community College 101, a program designed to prepare participants and provide them with the support needed to successfully complete a technical college job training program. The curriculum for Community College 101 offers students the opportunity to explore various career opportunities, learn how to apply and get into college, apply for financial aid and obtain funding to help pay for college, learn how to be a successful college student, receive a guided tour of MTC and get individualized support from Goodwill’s college navigator. Those who successfully complete Community College 101 may be eligible to apply for funding from Goodwill for support services and ongoing support as well as case management to help them complete their post-secondary education. The GII grant is making it possible for Goodwill Manasota to integrate the Community College 101 curriculum into its current services by offering the program to clients of its Job Connection program and its internal GoodPartner Coach program. Individuals are screened for eligibility through an intake process. 

Goodwill Manasota

Manatee County is accepting applications for one position on the Manatee County Healthcare Advisory Board. This Advisory Board evaluates, monitors and discusses the healthcare system in Manatee County, including physical health, behavioral health and substance abuse, emerging state and federal legislation and policies, and makes recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners regarding the funding of healthcare services in Manatee County. This Board reviews evidence-based practices and programs, as well as related data to determine how available county and other assets may be maximized and new resources engaged to enhance the long-term stability and effectiveness of the programs available to citizens of Manatee County who have no other meaningful means of access to health care. Eligible applicants include Manatee County residents from the specific discipline of higher education. Each appointee shall be knowledgeable about healthcare and willing to meet a minimum of eight times per year on the fourth Wednesday of each month. 

Manatee County Healthcare Advisory Board

The 9th annual Best of SRQ Local Readers’ Competition is seeking your vote! It is time to sound the alarm, rally the troops, take to social media and VOTE for your favorite local establishments and causes to be recognized in one of our most popular editions of the year. Once the votes are in on local eats, shopping, arts, luminaries and hotspots, the SRQ Editors will publish the finalists and winners in the April 2017 edition of SRQ Magazine. We hope you’ll share your favorite local experiences—from stellar sushi, most memorable on-stage productions to best pothole (literally and figuratively). 

Complete Your Ballot!