SRQ DAILY Nov 30, 2021
Freshly Squeezed Content Every Morning
"It's as though the restaurant exists in a time warp where it's always noon on a weekday and has been stuck there since opening in 1958."
There’s a sense at Main Bar Sandwich Shop that you could walk in at any point during the day and it would be abustle with servers and patrons. It’s as though the restaurant exists in a time warp where it’s always noon on a weekday and has been stuck there since opening in 1958. The wood paneling, the dim off-white lighting that diffuses through stained glass light fixtures, the faux leather upholstery, a staff of longtime servers—all of these things contribute to the feeling that Main Bar is a living museum.
Even the food feels like an exhibit piece. The “famous Italian” sandwich uses the same recipe of its creator, Thea Borza. A former bareback horse rider and circus performer, Borza concocted the restaurant’s signature sandwich as an homage to her Florentine roots. Stacked with salami, ham, provolone cheese, tomatoes and onions, it’s the chopped peppers and a blend of oil, garlic and spices that makes this sandwich such a longtime favorite of downtown office workers. There’s a bit of kick from the peppers and a whole lot of savoriness from the garlic and spices to perfectly compliment what is, quite simply, the perfect hoagie roll.
As Sarasota continues to grow into its modern threads, Main Bar Sandwich Shop continues to serve up a comforting bit of sandwich nostalgia from its sepia-tinted alternate universe. 
Photo taken by Andrew Fabian
The Main Bar Sandwich Shop, 1944 Main Street, Sarasota, themainbar.com
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Who would actually classify these as a few of their favorite things? Now, peppermint and a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee on a cool morning on the other hand... is something worth singing about.
Beginning Wednesday, December 1, Breaking Wave Coffee in downtown Sarasota will be gifting us with the perfect start to the holiday season—and just in time for National Peppermint Latte Day. This refreshing, seasonal drink starts off with a double shot of espresso. (That should wake you up in the morning.) Mix that with 10oz of milk, organic peppermint syrup and organic crushed candy cane and you have the most ideal morning time holiday drink imaginable. This beverage, along with Breaking Wave Coffee’s other seasonal coffee, the Orange Mocha Latte—a rich blend of espresso, milk, organic dark chocolate sauce and organic orange syrup—can be served hot or cold and are crafted with sauces and syrups exclusively from Holy Kakow.
Spending time with friends and visiting family. Putting up decorations and jamming out to holiday music. Steaming hot beverages with minty goodness. These are a few of our favorite things—especially at this time of year.
Breaking Wave Coffee, 1310 Main Street, Sarasota, 941-416-4343, breakingwavecoffee.com, @breakingwavecoffee
Photo of Breaking Wave's peppermint latte taken by Perspective Photography
Now in its 30th year in the fight against HIV, CAN Community Health will observe World AIDS Day by collaborating with two of the region’s leading cultural institutions on the evenings of December 1 and 2 to co-present powerful, thought-provoking and memorable experiences. The events will take place at Sarasota Art Museum and Urbanite Theatre.
On Wednesday, December 1, Day With(out) Art Evening Program will be happen in partnership with Sarasota Art Museum, while CAN Community Health will co-present the evening program. This evening of contemplation, community and care will feature an installation of visual art by Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996) and a tribute to the National AIDS Quilt display that was originally created on the National Mall lawn. Quilts will be displayed within the Museum’s McGuire Hall. The evening’s program will also feature Guest Speaker Jon Arterton, an AIDS activist and person living with AIDS, a live performance by Diversity: The Voices of Sarasota, “Faces of HIV” panels & CAN Community Health timeline, and CAN Patient Video Tribute. This event is free of charge and open to the public.
On Thursday, December 2, CAN Community Health will partner with Urbanite Theatre to co-present the evening’s performance of Terry Guest’s At The Wake Of A Dead Drag Queen, directed by Damian Lockhart in his Urbanite Theatre debut. During the December 2 performance, all performance donation will be donated to the CAN Community Health Patient Assistance Fund.
Pictured: Faces of HIV Display
The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, your source for arts and culture throughout Sarasota County, announced today the appointment of Kelley Lavin as the new President and Sheila Mckoy, the new Secretary of its Board of Directors. Lavin succeeds Dr. Larry Thompson, President of Ringling College, who served as President of the board for the last twelve years and McKoy succeeds Pedro Reis, founder of the Circus Arts Conservatory. Lavin currently heads her own strategic planning and marketing consulting company, The Lavin Group. For the previous 11 years, she was Group Publisher of Sarasota Magazine and its ancillary print and digital publications. Prior to joining the magazine, she also led The Lavin Group with Wal-Mart as a major client and created marketing and branding programs for such companies as Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft and Colgate. Sheila McKoy, formally with the New Jersey Transit Art Program, heads SDM Art Solution Services, LLC, a cutting-edge boutique firm, assisting developers, private and public partnerships to select artists to create and incorporate artwork into the architectural design of buildings and/or institutions. Lavin and McKoy join Linda DiGabriele, Managing Director of Asolo Repertory Theatre, who will continue to serve as Vice President of the board for another year, along with Frank Maggio with First Home Bank, who serves as the board’s Treasurer.
Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman is pleased to announce the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is hosting its fifth annual holiday toy drive benefitting the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida’s Guardian ad Litem program. There are currently more than 1,300 children from throughout Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect and as such, appointed a Guardian ad Litem. Because the children range in age from newborn to 18 years old with varying personal needs, the sheriff’s office has chosen to focus the holiday initiative solely on toys and gift cards. Citizens are asked to refrain from donating clothing or stuffed animals and to make sure all donations are new and unwrapped. The initiative begins Wednesday, December 1 and continues until Sunday, December 12. Citizens can deliver donations to the agency’s headquarters located at 6010 Cattleridge Boulevard, Sarasota, every day between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Thanks to a partnership with the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Public Safety Department, public safety personnel are once again generously donating a holiday tree which will serve as the collection site for the toy drive. The holiday toy drive coincides with the agency’s annual open house scheduled for Saturday, December 11, 2021. The first 500 attendees to deliver a new and unwrapped toy or gift card will receive a free sheriff’s office t-shirt. T-shirts are limited to one per person per gift.
The event will take place from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. For more information, contact the agency’s Community Affairs Office at 941.861.4005.
This month, through a partnership with Sarasota County Schools, the School District of Manatee County and the Early Learning Coalitions of Sarasota County and Manatee County with generous support from the Manatee Education Foundation, Embracing Our Differences coordinated virtual read-alongs of “Bucket Fillers” books with 8,200 students in 455 pre-kindergartens through third grade classes. This year, the initiative was offered via interactive, pre-recorded webisodes featuring read-alongs with the Asolo Rep, CreArte Latino Cultural Center, Venice Theatre, and Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and activities with author Carol McCloud. Each participating student and teacher received their own copy of one of McCloud’s books. Since her first book, “Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids,” was published in 2006, Carol McCloud, a nationally acclaimed author and Venice, FL., resident, has inspired millions of people of all ages to become daily “bucket fillers” through her books, seminars, and other publications. Her nine children’s books have sold three million copies worldwide and are used in schools around the world as their primary character development program. As an author, speaker, and early childhood specialist, McCloud says her goal is to help all ages and occupations grow in kindness, self-control, resilience, and forgiveness.
GATES Construction announced the addition of Darlene Colombo as Project Coordinator. Ms. Colombo is responsible for permitting, submittals, drawings, contracts, purchase order processing and direct material purchase management. She works closely with Superintendents and Project Managers, assisting them in jobsite set-up, subcontractor meeting management, safety meetings and project close-out. Ms. Colombo has 27 years of administrative experience and is based out of GATES Construction’s Sarasota office.
For more information on GATES Construction, please call 239-593-3777 or visit the website at GATESinc.com.
Sarasota Youth Opera will be holding an open audition for the youth chorus in Puccini’s Tosca, to be presented during the 2022 Winter Opera Festival. The auditions will take place at 5:30pm on Tuesday, November 30th. This is a great opportunity for young singers—aged 10 to 18 with unchanged voices—to experience the excitement of being on stage with Sarasota Opera. All chorus and cast members must show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 by January 11, 2022. For more information, contact Martha Collins, Director of Education, at mcollins@sarasotaopera.org, or call 941-328-1307. Sarasota Opera is located at 61 N. Pineapple Ave.
Emmy® nominee & PBS host MICHAEL LONDRA brings an evening of “Christmas from Ireland” to the Van Wezel, told in song, dance and the festive stories of his youth. The famed Irish tenor, best known as the voice of Riverdance on Broadway and host of Ireland With Michael on PBS, sings beloved carols such as “O Come Emmanuel” and “The First Noel,” in his signature Celtic traditional style. Rounding out the evening are the breathtaking Celtic Fire dancers, performing traditional and modern dances. This show will take place on Wednesday, December 1 at 8pm.
Sarasota Art Museum is proud to partner with Visual AIDS for Day With(out) Art 2021 by presenting ENDURING CARE, a video program highlighting strategies of community care within the ongoing HIV epidemic. The program features newly commissioned work by Katherine Cheairs, Cristóbal Guerra, Danny Kilbride, Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad and Uriah Bussey, Beto Pérez, Steed Taylor, and J Triangular and the Women’s Video Support Project. Please join us Wednesday, December 1 for this free, one-hour program featuring these seven commissioned video works. The films can be viewed in the Sarasota High School Alumni Auditorium at the following times: 11-12pm, 1-2pm, 2-3pm, and 5-8pm. Visual AIDS is a New York-based non-profit that utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over.
Cinderella (Broadway Version) Runs from Thursday December 2 2021 to Sunday December 19 2021 at Stone Hall, 502 Third Avenue West, Bradenton. Approximate running time: 2 hours. The smart and beautiful young Ella lives in the care of her wicked, self-absorbed stepmother Madame and Madame’s two daughters, Charlotte and Gabrielle. Ella’s only friends in the world are the animals in the woods. Expect the unexpected in this clever retelling of the beloved fairytale.
Downtown Sarasota's Christmas Tree is the perfect backdrop for your holiday snapshot. The annual tree lighting event will take place Thursday, December 2nd from 6pm to 8pm in Selby Five Points Park, located across the street from the Selby Public Library. Holiday Performance by Ring Sarasota. Enjoy refreshments, music, and photos with Santa! The Christmas Tree will be lit at 7pm where photos can be taken.
Holiday Splendor will take place on Dec 2, 9, 16 from 5pm to 8pm. Celebrate the holiday season and help support the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots, serving Sarasota and Manatee counties. Local schools will provide musical entertainment on the Bolger Campiello. Food and beverage will be available for purchase. All venues will be open for self-touring, including the Museum of Art, Ca' d'Zan, and the Circus Museum. Admission to this event is free with one unwrapped toy per person. Regular admission will apply without a toy donation. $15 Adult / $5 Child. Guests are encouraged to shop in the Museum Store, which has a large selection of toys under $20. Please enter through the Visitors Pavilion.
Realize Bradenton is thrilled to announce the all-star lineup for the 10th anniversary of the Bradenton Blues Festival. Friday, December 3, 2021 will feature Cece Teneal and Soul Kamotion, Johnny Rawls, and Doug MacLeod from 4pm to 7:45pm. Saturday, December 4, 2021 will feature Terrie Odabi, Jimmy Carpenter, James Armstrong, Dawn Tyler Watson, Bernard Allison and Bobby Rush from 11am to 7:30pm. Sunday, December 5, 2021 will feature Ariella from 11am to 2pm. The Bradenton Blues Festival Weekend will take place December 3 - 5, 2021. The Friday and Saturday concerts will be held at LECOM Park and the Sunday Blues Brunch at Mattison's Riverwalk Grille. Tickets go on sale May 1, 2021.
Come share in the festivities of the 5th Annual Siesta Beach Seafood & Music Festival in Siesta Beach, FL. The event sets up on the Siesta Key Pavilion and runs December 3-5, 2021 and is graciously hosted by Sarasota County. The event begins Friday December 3 with hours noon-9pm and continues Saturday 11am-9pm and Sunday 11am-6pm. Bring family and friends to enjoy fresh seafood and outstanding live musical performances. This event will offer a variety of seafood, cooked fresh on site. Seafood dishes are prepared using fresh, local and sustainable ocean resources from the Florida Gulf Coast. Select from meat and vegetarian offerings and a diverse menu of side dishes and desserts. Alcoholic, non-alcoholic and fruit drinks are available. While savoring your meal, relax to some of Florida’s top musical groups from genres. Friday, December 3rd: 2:30 - 4:30pm Shaw Davis & The Black Ties, 4:30 - 6pm Frank Bank, 6:30 - 8:30pm Gas House Gorilla. Saturday, December 4th: 12:30-2pm Prodigal Sons, 2:30 - 4pm Shaw Davis & The Black Ties, 4:30 - 6pm Twinkle & Rock Soul Radio, 6:30 - 8pm Have Gun Will Travel, 8:30 - 10pm Damon Fowler Band. Sunday, December 5th: 12:30 - 2pm The Whole Band, 4:30-6pm Billy Rice Band, 4:30 - 6pm 22N. On the breaks between performances, enjoy shopping in a marketplace of fine arts, crafts, and select fine products and food items. So much to see and do. We will lay the table, all you need do is come and partake in the feast.
Start your countdown—the holiday season is upon us. That’s why Fresh Fridays wants to give you a reason to Shop, Stroll and Sing! in celebration of the holiday spirit. After visiting your favorite downtown store for some special holiday shopping, we hope you’ll join us again for the second Fresh Fridays event on Lemon Avenue and State Street from 8pm to 11pm. Join in with your friends for a special holiday karaoke on our main stage, enjoy a sampling of sweet treats from local restaurants and bakeshops, and even a possible forecast of snow. Whatever your holiday tradition, we hope to see you on Friday, December 3rd at the freshest event of the holiday season. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and information in the weeks ahead.
The DSA Presents First Friday Gallery Walk. Enjoy your walk or stroll in Downtown Sarasota with participating galleries, including State of the Arts Gallery on State Street, AlexArt International located at 25 North Pineapple Avenue, Dabbert Gallery on Historic Palm Avenue, Art Uptown Gallery on Sarasota’s Main Street, and 530 Burns Gallery in Historic Burns Court.
Fifth Third Bank is partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast for its annual Giving Tree Toy Drive campaign. The Giving Tree Toy Drive program will begin on November 8, 2021 and end on December 3, 2021. Each Fifth Third financial center will host a “Giving Tree” decorated with gift tags with specific information that pertains to the need of a child in the community. We encourage you to visit any local Fifth Third Bank financial center in South Florida during the month of November to pick up your gift tag. Your donation of a gift or gift card will help make a difference and ensure a brighter holiday season for the underserved youth in our community. All donations can be dropped off at any local Fifth Third Bank in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Broward and Palm Beach. To find the nearest location, visit 53.com.
Experience the true story of Buddy Holly’s meteoric rise to fame, from “That’ll Be the Day” hitting the airwaves in 1957 to “The Day The Music Died” two years later. With over a dozen of Holly’s greatest hits brought to life by performers playing their own instruments, Buddy celebrates the legend who changed the face of Rock & Roll forever. Featuring Holly’s “Peggy Sue,” “Everyday,” and “Oh Boy,” plus Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” and The Big Bopper’s “Chantilly Lace.” Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story by Alan Janes will play beginning November 3, 2021 through January 2, 2022 in FST's Gompertz Theatre.
At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen by Terry Guest Directed by Damian Lockhart will run from October 29 to December 5, 2021. In rural Georgia, drag star Courtney Berringers (given name: Anthony Knighton) would like to welcome you to her wake. She has recently died from complications due to AIDS, you see. But make no mistake, this isn’t your grandma’s funeral. There will be no black frocks, no perfumed flowers, and definitely no crying. Tonight is a celebration.
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast welcomes nature photographer and writer, Mary Lundeberg, and her exhibit, Share the Shore. Lundeberg’s exhibit highlights the variety of threatened coastal wildlife species that nest on our beaches, including least terns, black skimmers, snowy plovers, American oystercatchers, and sea turtles. The opening artist’s reception is November 17 from 5pm to 7pm in the foundation’s Burrows-Matson House headquarters at Bay Preserve, 400 Palmetto Avenue in Osprey. Limited edition photography printed on infused aluminum will highlight beach-nesting wildlife and their habitat. A portion of the proceeds from these limited-edition prints will benefit Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. In addition to the artist’s reception, Lundeberg will host a virtual presentation on Thursday, November 16 at 10am, entitled Beach-Nesting Wildlife and the Challenges They Face. The one-hour presentation will feature her images of threatened beach-nesting birds, as well as coastal sea turtles. Registration for both the artist’s reception and virtual program is required. To learn more and RSVP, please visit conservationfoundation.com/events or call 941-918-2100. The exhibit will be on display through December 2021 and may be viewed Monday-Friday from 9am to 4pm.
A brand-new rendition of everything that makes the holidays in Sarasota special. With all-new songs and sketches, audiences should get ready to celebrate the holidays – Florida style – palm trees with decorations, swimming in the sea, sand snowmen, and more. An annual Sarasota holiday tradition, Deck the Halls invites families to deck the palms and join in on the fun at this interactive family show. Deck the Halls, by Sarah Durham and Caroline Saldivar, will play Saturdays and select Sundays from November 27, 2021 - December 24, 2021 in FST's Bowne's Lab. Subscriptions and single tickets are on sale and can be purchased by clicking the button above or by calling the Box Office at 941-366-9000.
Marjorie Sayer, Saturday, November 20 – Saturday, December 11, 2021. Painter Marjorie Sayer experiments with the figure and landscape in different spatial relationships. Her finished pieces are a result of numerous layers of paint creating a sense of tension between areas of lightness and heaviness, having human forms that seem to emerge and then disappear. Sayer received her B.F.A. from Cornell University, with a semester abroad at the University of Florence, Italy. She studied for her master’s in history of art at NYU and the University of Munich, Germany.
Explore how you already have the power within to live a prosperous, healthy, peaceful, and happy life. The Royal Glow Meditation Retreat is a 4-day immersive deep-dive experience that teaches participants methods of self-transformation that are simple enough to start and practical enough to sustain from December 2-5. Hosted in tropical southwest Florida at The Westin, this retreat presents an extraordinary opportunity for you to detach from the ordinary pressures of daily responsibilities, routines, and environments that habitually create the reality you currently live in. Explore who you are beyond the identity that people in your life know you as, or the changing roles you play in the world, what you truly desire, and who you will become. Step into this unique space free from stimulating daily modern technologies and distractions so you can develop a deeper relationship with yourself. This space is intentionally cultivated for you to experience the infinite, Higher consciousness using your mind, your body, and your breath. In this safe container, you'll learn the tools and modalities to bring forth your deepest desires and Highest expression.
Join Big Cat Habitat for a wild night celebrating Clipper Magazine's "Best Of" winners on Friday, December 3, 2021 from 6pm to 10pm at Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary, 7101 Palmer Boulevard. This event will include Photos With Santa, Special Animal Guests, Variety Animal Demonstration, Food Trucks, LIVE Band, Raffles, Silent Auction, & More.
SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email |
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