SRQ DAILY Jan 7, 2021
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"At the end of the day, we know we can't make every single individual happy, but we have definitely won a lot of people over with the changes we made."
The long process of winning approval for a master plan for Marie Selby Botanical Gardens reached its goal on Tuesday evening. The Sarasota City Commission voted 4-1 in favor of a compromise proposal. Now, Selby Gardens Executive Director Jennifer Rominiecki turns her attention toward fundraising and a hopeful groundbreaking in spring this year.
A goal has been set to raise $42.5 million for the first phase of the plan, and Selby Gardens has already raised $35 million toward that goal, Rominiecki tells SRQ MEDIA. “We haven’t worked out all the details of construction phasing, but the idea behing all of the planning is the experience in the Gardens themselves will not be disrupted,” she said.
While much of the public conversation about the plan has naturally turned to new construction like a new parking structure, restaurant and learning center, the plan has always called for the original property owner by city matriarch Marie Selby to be left undeveloped. Rominiecki suggested one underappreciated part of the plan is that the zoning changes mean the property can only be used for a botanical garden for the future.
The first phase will ultimately include the parking structure, restaurant, welcome center and research facilities. A year after an initial plan was rejected by the Sarasota City Commission, Rominecki said Selby Gardens leaders reduced the height of the parking garage and moved a new restaurant from a rooftop structure to a ground level build. The organization also committed to limiting the hours the restaurant would be open to Selby Gardens operating hours.
Notably, the first construction that will happen will be to improve traffic infrastructure around the Gardens. “The first work is actually the offsite roadway improvements,” Rominiecki said, referencing intersection improvements at Mount and Orange. While there has not been an exact timeline developed, Rominiecki envisions construction of the entire phase to take 18 to 24 months. The zonings secured in the city process will be in place as the plan enters future phases, though
Selby Gardens leaders will need approvals on site plans for coming phases on construction. Rominiecki feels the community has largely embraced the plan. The project became a major debate point in this year’s City Commission elections, which ultimately led to a Commission being installed that was much warmer to the proposal. Rominiecki hopes as the project comes to life, the community will further embrace it.
“At the end of the day, we know we can’t make every single individual happy,: she said, “but we have definitely won a lot of people over with the changes we made.” 
Representatives of the Sarasota-Manatee Originals today announced details for a new community culinary collaborative: “Original Eats.” The inaugural Original Eats will take place Friday, January 15 to Sunday, January 31, 2021 to support the local restaurant industry. For this limited time, participating Sarasota-Manatee Originals’ Member Restaurants, located from the northern tip of Anna Maria Island to the southern beaches of Venice, will each offer their guests a special signature dish. Original Eats was designed to not only showcase the global gastronomy of Florida’s Suncoast, but also to remind the community why “Eating Like A Local” is critical as we enter the new year. “As an organization, the Originals continue to look for inventive and engaging ways for people to enjoy the spirit and talents of our local, independent restaurants while prioritizing health and safety,” said Veronica Clinton, SMO’s Event and Community Outreach Director. “Local is so much more than a place. It’s the people, businesses, cultures and flavors. It’s a collective of voices and ideas. That’s what makes supporting local so special.”
On January 16, 2021 (and every 3rd Saturday) the spotlight will be on The Limelight Market. From 10am-3pm special guest vendors will be outside in the courtyard of The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime. Enjoy food from Hamlet’s Eatery, stock up on local honey, jewelry, art, and enjoy live music from 12pm-3pm. Support locals and check out the 25+ vendors inside The Bazaar. Rescue dogs from Tenderheart Charities will also be there looking for fur-ever homes. Free parking, masks required and plenty of room to social distance.
Join Friends of Osprey Junction Trailhead (FOJT) for their “TreeJuvenation Florida” webinar, a 1-hour workshop on January 13, 2021. A grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation is underwriting this webinar. They're celebrating Florida Arbor Day by offering a workshop on the importance of trees. By attending this session you’ll learn about and discover the many benefits you and your community derive from trees. These benefits include improved physical and mental wellness, reducing carbon dioxide, lowering temperatures, mitigating heat-island effects, and how trees contribute to cleaner water and cleaner air. This presentation will answer the many questions you might have about why adding trees to your landscape is important and how they add more life to your yard.
Muninder “MJ” Singh has joined RE/MAX Platinum Realty as a Realtor in the Lakewood Ranch office. A Florida resident since 1996, she has extensive knowledge of the local market and brings strong technological and problem-solving skills.
Singh can be reached at (941) 807-1918 or MJSellsLWRSRQ@gmail.com.
Maia Morrison, a Broker-Associate in the RE/MAX Platinum Realty Venice office, has received the 2020 “Seven Star” Certificate of Excellence in Real Estate from Broker-Agent Advisor. She has been distinguished as one of the best in real estate based on achievement, potential, leadership, ethics, community value, experience, capability and trust.
Morrison can be reached at (941) 266-2049 or maiamorrison@comcast.net.
Sarasota Opera is pleased to announce additional presentations of “HD at the Opera House.” Puccini’s Tosca from Teatro alla Scala in Milan will be shown on Sunday, January 10th and Verdi’s Aida from the Teatro Real in Madrid will be shown on Sunday, January 24. Each presentation will begin at 1:30 pm. Tickets to “HD at the Opera House” are $20 for single ticket buyers and $18 for current Sarasota Opera subscribers. All seating will be reserved and distanced for safety. Ticket buyers are encouraged to purchase tickets before arriving at the theater.
The Florida Center for Early Childhood recently received a $10,000 grant from the Roberta Leventhal Sudakoff Foundation for outdoor learning and safety equipment that will help approximately 300 children with special needs reach their full potential. “We are so thrilled that the Roberta Leventhal Sudakoff Foundation and our other community partners share our passion for helping children through outdoor play,” said Dr. Kristie Skoglund, CEO of The Florida Center. “Being outside promotes mental health, enhances body awareness, improves motor skills and balance and helps students expand their social skills.”
All Faiths is pleased to announce its 2021 board of directors. The 2021 officers of the board are: Ben Hanan, chair; Terri Vitale, vice chair; Paul Cantor, treasurer; Patricia Courtois, secretary; and Nelle Miller, immediate past chair. Members are: Tom Bernstein, Tomas Dinverno, Dennis Doughty, Lisa Keverian-Press, Barton Lowther, Keith Monda, Hal Munter, Neal Vorchheimer and Elton White. "While the vaccine offers some light at the end of the tunnel as we continue to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic, we believe – and data from Feeding America indicates – that all of 2021 will be a recovery year," said Sandra Frank, CEO of All Faiths. "Having strong, compassionate leaders with backgrounds in diverse, relevant specialties will ensure we have the guidance we need to help us refine and execute our strategic priorities, support our culture, and help connect us with others in the community."
Join JFCS and the Suncoast for an inspiring, virtual event to celebrate the Heart and Soul of JFCS on Sunday, February 21 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Honoring the enduring legacy of Charles and Margery Barancik and Louis and Gloria Flanzer, the event includes a live stream, virtual auction and entertainment. Meals will be catered and delivered from Michael's On East.
This exhibition showcases the legendary Pop artist's screen prints based on Monet's world-famous paintings of waterlilies and haystacks from February 13 until June 27, 10am to 5pm. Lichtenstein's rarely seen Water Lilies and Haystacks provide an unexpected homage to a staple of the public imagination - Monet's paintings of his garden and home at Giverny that inspired them. The display of Lichtenstein's art in the midst of a horticultural evocation of Giverny creates a unique experience for more than 100,000 garden visitors. Selby Gardens, transformed into Monet's famed gardens at Giverny through the Pop Art lens of Roy Lichtenstein, includes iconic elements of Monet's garden such as the green Japanese bridge, trellises, and benches. This conjuring of Lichtenstein's world also serves as the dynamic backdrop to the lush plantings and mixed borders for which Monet's paintings were renowned. An avid gardener, Monet once said, "My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece." Marie Selby Botanical Gardens evokes this crowning achievement with a surprising Pop Art twist.
Gioachino Rossini's The Happy Deception will play at the Sarasota Opera House on February 12 at at 7:30pm, February 14 at 1:30pm, February 17 at 7:30pm, February 20 at 1:30pm, February 23 at 7:30pm, and February 25 at 7:30pm. A duchess disappears and then washes up on a beach in a small mining town. A kind miner takes her in and cares for her, until ten years later when her grieving husband and his entourage pay a visit. Abduction, menace, passion, and comedy all swirl towards a happy conclusion. Tickets starting at $25 and online streaming is available.
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Maid to Mistress will play at the Sarasota Opera House on February 19 at 7:30pm, February 21 at 1:30pm, February 24 at 7:30pm, February 27 at 1:30pm, March 2 at 7:30pm, and March 4 at 7:30pm. A wealthy bachelor grows impatient with his saucy young maid and resolves to find a wife to care for him properly. The maid has other ideas and schemes to get the promotion she desires - bride and mistress of the home. Tickets start at $25 and online streaming is also available.
Gioacchino Rossini's Il signor Bruschino will play at the Sarasota Opera House on April 9 at 7:30pm, April 13 at 7:30pm, April 16 at 7:30pm, April 18 at 1:30pm, April 21 at 7:30pm, and April 24 at 1:30pm. This lighthearted operatic comedy opens with one of Rossini's most innovative and playful overtures. Anxious young lovers navigate their way through meddling parents, an arranged marriage, and a case of mistaken identity, with sparkling arias and ensembles soaring towards happily ever after. Tickets start at $25 and online streaming is also available.
Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas will play at the Sarasota Opera House on April 11 at 1:30pm, April 15 at 7:30pm, April 17 at 7:30pm, April 20 at 7:30pm, April 22 at 7:30pm, and April 25 at 1:30pm. In this Baroque treasure based on The Aeneid of Virgil, Dido the Queen of Carthage falls in love with the Trojan warrior Aeneas, yet scheming sorcery and fateful spells doom their great passion. Hear the abandoned and heartbroken queen conclude the epic tale with one of opera’s most memorable laments. Tickets start at $25 and online streaming is also available.
WSLR is making the film festival sensation WBCN and The American Revolution available for screening from January 16 through January 29, 2021. Interested parties can rent the film to stream online by visiting https://lcmedia.vhx.tv/products/wslr-presents-wbcn-and-the-american-revolution. Tickets are $10, and proceeds will be shared with WSLR as part of a nationwide campaign to support community radio, film and media arts organizations during the pandemic. All film rentals will include an invitation to join an online discussion on Tuesday, January 26 at 7pm, featuring film director Bill Lichtenstein and WSLR founders David Beaton and Arlene Sweeting, regarding the importance of community radio and how media can create social change. A portion of all proceeds from this non-profit production will benefit a scholarship in the name of Fred Taylor at the Berklee College of Music and a scholarship for documentary film students in the name of Danny Schechter at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
We are gathering branches to paint in pretty colors on Friday, January 8 from 11am to 11:30am. Use your creativity, maybe add some stripes or polka dots? This art project is perfect for all ages and it is included in your garden's admission & free for members.
We are making the cutest Nature Lanterns in the Garden this morning with cups, tissue paper, a leaf and some sticks on Saturday, January 9 from 10:30am to 11am. This is included in admission & free for members but please reserve your spot as our craft supplies are limited for this art project.
This is a fun morning learning about our feathered friends and what makes them so unique on Wednesday, January 13 from 11am to 11:30am. Do you know what our State Bird is? We are making little paper bag bird nests with nature finds & each child's nest gets an egg with seed and soil to plant at home. This is a perfect activity for all ages and best of all it is included in your admission & free for members.
Join Mote Marine and Dr. Cynthia Heil for an online "Red Tide Mitigation: Just How Close Are We?" on January 11 from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. Dr. Cynthia Heil is the Director of the Red Tide Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory and Manager of Mote's Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) Mitigation and Ecology Program. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members.
This month we're discussing Open Season by C.J. Box on January 12, 2021 at 2pm. A fee of $22 is required for participation. This includes a copy of Open Season and the Zoom book club meeting. The fee is $27.50 to have the book shipped. The first novel in the thrilling series featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett from #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box. Ticket purchase required for Zoom link.
In collaboration with the Sarasota Architectural Foundation, the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation and the AIA Gulf Coast Chapter, this exhibit will examine the unique history of architecture in Sarasota from the time of Native Americans to the present and will run from January 12 until April 17, 2021. Timed reservation information will be available soon.
Arts Advocates continues its Speaking of the Arts series with Francisco Serrano, a member of England's Royal Ballet. Serrano will share his star-studded journey from Sarasota to London via New York and Havana, as well as video clips of him performing and rehearsing. "Speaking of the Arts... Meet Francisco Serrano, Artist with England's Royal Ballet” is on January 12, at 1pm and is free via Zoom. Registration, which is limited, is required. Arts Advocates is pleased to offer this Speaking of the Arts program in collaboration with the award-winning Sarasota Cuban Ballet School (SCBS), led by Serrano's parents, Cuban-born Ariel Serrano, artistic director, and Wilmian Hernandez, managing director.
Welcome to the 30th Anniversary Season at the Sarasota Polo Club beginning Sunday December 13th, 2020 thru Sunday April 25th, 2021. Sunday Polo matches are open to the public every Sunday at 1pm beginning December 13th, 2020 through April 25th, 2021. Gates open at 10am. Fieldside general admission tailgating, reserved midfield premium seating or VIP midfield boxes are available for Sunday Polo. Children 12 and under are free, (general admission tailgating). Exciting polo action, opening parade, live national anthem, theme weeks, half-time entertainment, food, drinks, and divot-stomping. Dress comfortably and for the weather. Remember, you will be walking on the grass. Well socialized dogs are welcome on a leash.
Sarasota Polo Club
ARISE is inspired by the cycles of nature, the dawn of a new day, and the emergence of joy through the lens of visual art. Featured artists include Kathe Fraga and Laura Varich who explore symbolism in their paintings. The exhibition will run from Friday, December 11 through January 8 2020. Consider the smell of fresh flowers blooming in the garden and love birds chirping sweet songs. Kathe Fraga creates romantic paintings inspired by vintage chinoiserie. Emerging from her work are layers of pattern, botanicals, color and hidden motifs. Kathe says her work is “a resting place for the eye, a welcome peaceful voice as something reinvented emerges: gentle old meets dynamic new.” Laura Varich is an abstract oil painter based out of Mount Dora, Florida. She takes inspiration for her dynamic and colorful pieces from her early childhood, living among the natural and beautiful open spaces of the California landscape. Using energetic, bold brush strokes and striking color, Varich takes traditional subject matter of floral landscape and fuses it with the abstract, calling forth the symbols behind these elements of nature.
Friday, January 1 marks the opening day of the Jurassic Quest Drive-Thru Experience at Tropicana Field. The Jurassic Quest Drive-Thru Experience is the only place to encounter some of the largest dinosaurs to ever roam the earth, and eeriest marine creatures to lurk the ocean's depths, from the safety of your family vehicle. The show features more than 70 true-to-life size dinosaurs and prehistoric marine creatures. The tour will be at Tropicana Field from January 1-10 with shows running every hour. Audio tour is available in both English and Spanish. Show hours are Friday, January 1 from 11am to 8pm, Saturday, January 2 from 9am to 9pm, Sunday, January 3 from 9am to 9pm, Wednesday and Thursday, January 6 and 7 from 1pm to 8pm, Friday, January 8 from 9am to 8pm, Saturday, January 6 from 9am to 9pm, and Sunday, January 10 from 9am to 8pm.
An interactive presentation from President/CEO Marc A. Scorca on the origins and future of opera in the United States - and the role of Sarasota Opera in the landscape of American opera on Thursday, January 7 from 6pm to 7pm. RSVP by January 6 for this virtual experience.
Florida CraftArt will present The Artists of ArtLofts in its Exhibition Gallery from January 7 to January 23. The 16 award-winning and emerging artists will present recent artwork which includes drawings, encaustic, glass, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography and sculpture. Artists in the exhibition are Javier Dones, Julie Dye, Mavis Gibson, Susan Hess, Brian James, Gilbert Johnson, Beth Kauffman, Betsy Lester, Karen Porter, Rebecca Skelton, Brandy Stark, Kas Turner, Joe Walles, Lee West, Rick Whalen and Donna Winchester. ArtLofts is on the second floor of Florida CraftArt and has working artists’ studios. The studios are usually open to the public wearing masks for the Saturday ArtWalks or by appointment. Florida CraftArt is located at 501 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. For more information, visit www.FloridaCraftArt.org or call 727-821-7391. Admission is free. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 4pm.
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