Today, Sarasotans celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks and barbecues, big-screen TVs and swimming pools, boatside bashes and Selby Gardens soirees, but 100 years ago the people—and the parties—looked little like they do today.

According to newspaper clippings preserved by Sarasota County Historical Resources, Sarasota celebrated its first Fourth of July celebration in 1887, with a festival at the village dock on the end of Main Street. “People came from as far away as Pine Level and Arcadia, on horseback or in oxen-drawn wagons,” says the retrospective. And they came to party—19-century style. In attendance would also be A.B. Edwards, who would eventually serve as mayor of Sarasota from 1919 to 1921 and then spearhead efforts to create Myakka State Park.

But Edwards was only 12 at the time of this first Fourth of July celebration (and Sarasota not even incorporated), so he likely missed out on the festivities, including a greased pole contest he would later recount. Extending 12 feet out over the water and with a large prize ham waiting at the end, folks tried their best to traverse the slippery post, with many taking a swim for their trouble. Other than that, Sarasotans amused themselves with foot and horse races, watermelon seed spitting contests and “townball”—baseball played with homemade balls made from buckshot and wool socks. And everyone ate well, as a boat laden with mangoes, bananas and red Spanish pineapples sold its entire stock to ye olde partying Sarasotans.

Perhaps they partied too hard. According to the Sarasota Times in 1911, revelers returned to find Sarasota completely deserted for the occasion, as everybody had gone away for the holiday.

No such problem exists today, and those looking to celebrate can find fireworks displays, good company and good drinks everywhere from Selby Gardens and Island Beach to the Bradenton Riverwalk and beyond. 

Pictured: The dock at the end of Main Street, circa 1890. Image courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources.

The Sarasota Young Professionals Group (YPG), a program of the The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, proudly hosts its third annual event at The Westin Sarasota on Friday, August 10 from 8AM-12PM. The half-day conference focuses entirely on learning new ways to grow personally, professionally and develop as a leader in the community we strive to thrive. Attendees will hear words from Keynote Speaker Trey Lauderdale, Founder and CEO of Voalte—who’ll be discussing how to “Create a Work/Life Balance”. Attendees will also hear from local community leaders in various fields—with presentations on how to find your voice, how to pitch ideas, tips on how to successfully manage your team and what you need to know about money management.

Know someone with that hungry drive for success that should be not only acknowledged, but rewarded for their insightful contributions and early-career achievements? The Community Foundation of Sarasota County wants to remind any nonprofit organizations with talented young professionals on staff, to nominate them for the 2018 Young Professional of the Year Award, which will be presented during the event. Eligible applicants must be a member in good standing of the YPG, be between the ages of 21-40 and work in a professional capacity in Sarasota County for at least 30 hours per week. Here’s a great opportunity to recognize that spritely individual in our community who has demonstrated outstanding leadership personally and professionally. The deadline to nominate is July 11 and self-nominations are also accepted.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is proud to partner with SRQ Media Group to highlight stories about community impact powered by philanthropy in our region, thanks to the support of donors and our local nonprofit partners. The Community Foundation is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community.  

Ignite YPG Summit 2018 Tickets

Urbanite Theatre has announced the final production in its upcoming 2018–19 season—Dike. Written by Hannah Benitez and directed by Tatiana Pandiani, Dike tells the story of two sisters from a religious family, reunited after years of separation, and how their coming together sends four millennial women down a rabbit hole full of questions about faith, family and love. Running from November 9 through December 16, tickets are currently on sale. Pandiani will be the third female guest director in Urbanite's upcoming season. 

Urbanite Theatre

The Florida Department of Health has named Manatee County's Community Paramedicine Chief recipient of its 2018 EMS Injury Prevention Award. Manatee County’s Community Paramedicine Team creates a continuum of care between the patient, the physician and other resources located in the community. The Community Paramedicine Team uses evidence-based fall prevention and balance programs to reduce a patient’s risk of falling. Since the program launched in 2016, Community Paramedics have diverted nearly 600 calls for ambulances and more than 450 trips to the hospital—a diversion of $808,783 in healthcare costs.  The award will be presented July 11 during the 28th Annual Excellence in EMS Awards in Orlando. According to the DOH, the Injury Prevention Award recognizes an individual who "has demonstrated outstanding initiative and promoted best practices to prevent injuries in at least one area of injury prevention, such as motor vehicle safety, drowning, falls or burn prevention, etc." 

Manatee County Community Paramedicine

Twenty-five emerging community leaders from across the region graduated last week from the 2018 Gulf Coast Leadership Institute. The group made up the 13th class to complete Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s long-running leadership initiative. The 2018 program comprised seven training sessions over a three-month period led by faculty of the Leadership Development Institute of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Gulf Coast Community Foundation commissioned the training and provided all other resources at no cost to participants in exchange for their commitment to use their new skills to benefit their communities. Participants were selected by Gulf Coast back in March through a competitive application process. Gulf Coast Leadership Institute is structured to help community-minded individuals develop leadership knowledge and capacity to more effectively serve their communities. At the same time, GCLI is designed to connect participants into a tight-knit group of skilled, action-oriented leaders. To date, about 325 community members have taken part in this leadership-development initiative. 

Gulf Coast Leadership Institute

Michael Rogers, associate professor of history and politics at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF), was selected to serve on the state’s Civic Literacy Competency bias and Sensitivity Review Committee as a subject matter expert. The committee, organized by the board of governors for the State University System of Florida and the Florida Department of Education, was tasked with reviewing, revising and confirming civic literacy questions to assist in setting standards for civics literacy competency for all students entering the Florida College System for the first time. The Florida Legislature called for the Civic Literacy requirement in House Bill 7069, its 2017 omnibus education act. Seventeen professors within the Florida College System and the State University System were chosen for the committee, which met at the University of Central Florida’s Lou Frey Institute this month. Rogers has served on SCF’s faculty since 2005. 

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota

Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy, Inc. (SMART) has received a $1,548 grant from the Manatee Community Foundation. The grant will be used to fund improvements to SMART's new website by increasing its secure donation capabilities. Since 1998, Manatee Community Foundation has awarded more than $23 million in scholarships and grants to area nonprofit organizations. Its mission is to partner with citizens to strengthen and enhance the community through philanthropy, education and service. 

SMART