SRQ DAILY Apr 13, 2022
Wednesday Philanthropy Edition
"Our work is so important. After all, we are growing our future doctors, teachers and lawyers. Our little people will become big people soon."
Last week, child care centers across the country celebrated The Week of the Young Child™. This annual celebration is meant to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.
Like many businesses during the pandemic, child care centers have struggled. Some closed, others just got by, barely able to afford to pay employees even minimum wage. To support a transformational shift in the system of early learning, Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation has launched the Barancik Early Learning Initiative (BELI). According to Kelly Romanoff, Innovation and Impact Officer for Barancik Foundation, “The initiative’s priorities focus on workforce recruitment and retention, and the celebration of high-quality child care centers.” Baby Fox Academy, a Sarasota preschool owned and operated by Laurie McCracken, is an excellent example of high-quality child care.
Specializing in play-based learning, Baby Fox Academy offers a safe nurturing environment for children to learn and grow. “You won’t find worksheets or workbooks here, but there is a lot of structure involved in our daily routine,” states McCracken. “Kids need to attach meaning to their learning. Using worksheets may be easier but children don’t learn how to regulate themselves and self-select. Sensory play builds synapses in the brain. Children who participate in this early on are more able to focus and function as they grow.”
Barancik’s initiative is working with the Early Coalition of Sarasota County in the coming months to provide retention incentives for childcare teachers who have stuck through these difficult years. The initiative will also kick off a region-wide teacher recruitment campaign to attract more individuals to the sector.
In honor of last week's celebration, Baby Fox Academy hosted a Work Together Wednesday event to spotlight why support is needed to help build back high-quality early childhood programs better and stronger. McCracken hopes to open more centers in the future. "Our work is so important," she says. "After all, we are growing our future doctors, teachers and lawyers. Our little people will become big people soon." 
Pictured: Lorrie Young, with the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota enjoys playing with the children of Baby Fox Academy during NAEYCs Week of the Young Child. Photo by Wyatt Kostygan.
In an effort to celebrate and promote local nonprofits, Venice Pier Group (restaurant group including Sharky’s on the Pier, Fins, Snook Haven and Siesta Beach Eats) announces their Second Giving Challenge Fair. The Giving Challenge is an exciting 24-hour giving event sponsored by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County supporting local nonprofits. From April 26th at noon to April 27th at noon, donors can go online to www.GivingChallenge.org to make a secure donation, helping their favorite organization receive special matching dollars and grant incentives. The Patterson Foundation will provide a 1:1 match for all donations, up to $100 per donor, per organization. To help maximize donations during this exciting 24 hour giving event, Venice Pier Group is inviting local nonprofits to set up a booth at Sharky’s on the Pier & Fins, promote their organization, and educate Venice Fishing Pier and beachgoers, restaurant patrons, and community members about their cause. Nonprofits will be onsite at Sharky’s and Fins on Tuesday, April 26th from 12 noon – 7:00p.m. This is the 2 nd Giving Challenge Fair that Venice Pier Group will host. The 2018 event raised over $18,300 – making the total amount with the match over $36,600 donated to local non-profits.
On March 10th SRQ Media recognized five local nonprofits who have leaned into change, particularly after an extremely challenging year, at the SB2 Transformation in Philanthropy luncheon and panel discussion. The event took place at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota where all parties were thrilled to be gathered together in person. The Change Agents in Philanthropy Awards focus on the capacity of the independent sector to be innovative in the face of change in fundraising, donor cultivation and development, mission, programming, branding and visibility and operations. We are pleased to highlight each of the nonprofit groups recognized at the luncheon as part of our Wednesday Philanthropy edition.
Throughout the pandemic and 2021, Children First has been there to push for the betterment of children across Sarasota and empower future generations. In 2021, celebrating 60 years of commitment to their mission, “Strengthening children and families by improving the quality of their lives through a comprehensive approach to development, education, health, and well-being,” Children First partnered with Key Supporters to launch a public challenge match campaign, The Challenge for Changing Lives. The campaign raised more than $2.3MM towards Children First programs, which include early educational services like Head Start - for which Children First Sarasota is ranked in the top 1% of all Head Start programs nationwide - as well as family education programs. Over the course of the past year and a half, Children First continued to hire Vocational Family Advocates, which allowed them to design a Parent Training Program to help the families they serve overcome economic effects of the pandemic. Additionally, Children First was able to garner support from the community to continuously employ their staff of more than 200 employees. Children First also secured the funding to employ and pay the salaries of their 45 teachers and caseworkers throughout July and August of 2020. In turn, this allowed Children First to maintain services for all families enrolled in their care over the course of the pandemic. Philip Tavill, President and CEO credits his colleagues for stepping up during an enormously challenging time. “Our leadership team communicated five days a week with our staff, updating them on important information. This open communication was critical in terms of our staff feeling supported.”
Pictured: Members of Children First. Photo by Noah Magnifico.
CenterPlace Health is excited to announce it will be hosting a “Spring Into Wellness” Health Fair. This event will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Payne Park. The event is free and open to everyone. “Our community outreach team has been working diligently to prepare for this event,” said Melissa Parker, CEO of CenterPlace Health. “Our goal is to increase health equity, and we are excited to gather with our community partners to provide health and wellness education to everyone.“ Sponsors for the event include Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and Gulf Coast Community Foundation. More than 25 booths focused on health and wellness will be on-site to provide information about their organization, products or services. All Faiths Foodbank will be doing a free food distribution and OneBlood will be onsite with their blood mobile. DJ Truth will be providing music and Orange Theory will be doing onsite workouts. There will also be face-painting and interactive activities for the kids.
From noon to noon on April 26 and 27, collaborate, click, and come together for our community! The Community Foundation of Sarasota County presents its 8th Giving Challenge , where everyone has a chance to show off their giving spirit by donating to their favorite causes making a difference in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. All unique donations between $25 and $100 will be matched by The Patterson Foundation, with no limit on the number of individual matches a nonprofit can receive. Set a reminder now to take part in the 2022 Giving Challenge and make a difference in our community!
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County | Office: 941-556-7103 | Fax: 941-952-1951 | 2635 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota, FL 34237 | www.CFSarasota.org
Saturday, April 16 from 10-3 the spotlight is on Limelight Market. This fun, outdoor, pop up market is happening outside The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime with different guest vendors, dog rescue, food, and live music by Tyler Vaden. Check out the 40+ local creators and curators inside and Support Local! Free, until you buy something amazing. April 16th guests include Tender Heart Charities Dog Rescue, Dragon Fire Pottery, Myakka’s Gold Apiary, The Wonderful Earth, Vice & Virtues, Tater & Tot Barkuterie, Cuh Custom, Trendi Babe Fashions, and Sherry Bays. For more information visit www.BazaaronApricotandlime.com Located at 821 Apricot Ave, Sarasota.
Pictured: One of the dogs at Limelight Market looking for their fur-ever home.
UBS Wealth Management USA announced that Michael Carr Jr., a Financial Advisor in the firm’s Gainesville, Florida, office, has earned the Athletes and Entertainers Consultant (“AEC”) designation at UBS. Michael has over 25 years of experience in the wealth management industry, strategically navigating the complex financial needs of Major League Baseball and National Football League players, as well as college football coaches throughout their careers. Since 2021, Michael has been part of the Zelniker Dorfman Carr & Heritage Group, a team that manages $1.75 billion in client assets and works with ultra-high and high-net-worth individuals, businesses, and families across New York and Florida. He has been named to the Forbes/SHOOK Research Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list every year since 2019. UBS launched its Athletes and Entertainers Strategic Client Segment in 2019, to provide holistic financial advice and guidance to clients across the sports and entertainment industries. The segment is led by former professional football player, Adewale “Wale” Ogunleye, who works to deliver the best advice and guidance the firm has to offer to athletes and entertainers, through a select group of Financial Advisors dedicated to serving their complex and unique needs. Michael is one of 32 advisors at UBS in the U.S. to receive the AEC designation.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) announced that Ernie Garcia, a Managing Director in the Firm’s Wealth Management office, has been named to Forbes Magazine’s 2022 list of Best-in-State Wealth Advisors. Forbes’ Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list comprises a select group of individuals who have a minimum of seven years of industry experience. The ranking, developed by Forbes’ partner SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisors and weighing factors like revenue trends, AUM, compliance records, industry experience and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews.
Jazz Thursdays at Sarasota Art Museum will runs through January 12, 2023 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. FREE for Members, $20 for Not-Yet Members. Sarasota Art Museum invites you to be our guest at our first Jazz Thursday at SAM, featuring Hot Club of SRQ. Sarasota Art Museum is partnering with the Jazz Club of Sarasota for Jazz Thursdays. Join us for our special late-night performances on the Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza. Jazz Thursdays will occur on the second Thursday of each month until January 12, 2023. Galleries + Bistro + Shop will be open.
Laughing Matters, FST’s hit musical sketch comedy show, is back for round six! And this time, nothing and no one is safe from a good-spirited roast. From never-ending Sarasota construction and the perpetual hunt for downtown parking to Mother Nature’s increasingly wild mood swings and our endless quest to stay young, Laughing Matters delivers fast-paced comedy inspired by the culture and politics of today. Laughing Matters, by head writer Rebecca Hopkins with contributing writers Kevin Allen, Sarah Durham, Stephan deGhelder, and Jim Prosser, will play beginning February 9, 2022 through June 19, 2022 in FST's Court Cabaret.
ROAR! is The Ringling's free storytime program that connects art with early literacy. Every week we read together, make art, and learn about an object in the museum. This program is designed for preschoolers and toddlers, but all ages are welcome. ROAR! will take place from February 10, 2022 to April 29, 2022 at 2:30pm and 10:30am in the Museum of Art.
Enjoy wildlife and a hands on experience around Sarasota Bay from 1pm to 3pm. Departing from Bayfront Park near the LeBarge. Cost: Adults $20, Members $15, Children 10 and under $10. For reservations for February 10, March 3, March 24 and April 7 call John 941-966-7308. For reservations for February 24, March 10, March 31 and April 14 call Linda 607-423-9027.
Immerse yourself in the world of Vincent Van Gogh like you've never experienced before from March 4, 2022 to April 24, 2022 at the Starry Night Pavilion at University Town Center, 195 University Town Center Drive. Beyond Van Gogh is a rich and unique multimedia experience, taking the viewer on a journey through over 300 iconic artworks including instantly-recognizable classics "The Starry Night", "Sunflowers", and "Cafe Terrace at Night", now freed from their frames. Set to a symphonic score and using the artist's own dreams, thoughts, and words to drive the experience as a narrative, Van Gogh's art comes to life by appearing and disappearing, flowing across multiple surfaces and heightening the senses with their immense detail. Guests will leave with a new appreciation of this prolific artist's stunning work. Hours of Operation are Sunday through Thursday: 10am to 9pm and Friday & Saturday: 10am to 10pm. The visit will take around one hour with final entry one hour before close.
Tony Reinemann, Saturday, March 26 – Saturday, April 16, 2022. Fine arts painter Tony Reinemann’s oil paintings have been described as a blend of social and magic realism that evoke a highly exaggerated Edward Hopper in a Hitchcock film. With multiple themes running throughout his works, his sharply defined visuals tell stories limited only by the viewer’s imagination. Reinemann earned a B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His paintings have been exhibited at the Museum of the National Academy of Design in New York and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His painting, “Long Island City,” won First Prize in Art Center Sarasota’s Staying Connected exhibition in 2021.
A Skeptic and a Bruja by Rosa Fernandez Directed by Patrice Amon is A WORLD PREMIERE produced in Collaboration with freeFall Theatre and will run from April 1 to May 1, 2022. Priscilla buys a home in the middle of nowhere with the hopes of turning it into a lucrative bed and breakfast. When she starts having paranormal experiences, she calls Sam and Jess from the hit ghost-hunting show "A Skeptic and a Bruja" to help her. None of the women are prepared for the haunting they encounter next.
Ringling College Undergraduate and Surrealist artist, Jude Zawaideh will have an exhibition on display April 1-May 6. Celebrtae the opening at the public reception on Friday, April 1st from 6-8pm . Viewings are free and open to the public.
Downtown gallery PS340, 340 Central Ave, Sarasota
A longstanding community outreach program, Music Matinees feature accomplished area-based musicians who perform an array of musical styles. Concerts take place on Wednesdays from noon to 1pm in David Cohen Hall, Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center. The GS Duo will take place on April 13. The award-winning GS Duo formed in early 2010 during their undergraduate classical studies at Stetson University. Flutist Angela Galestro and guitarist Jonathan Smith offer a diverse repertoire of classical, jazz, Latin American and popular music. The group won second place in The American Prize Chamber Music Competition, making them the only two-person chamber music ensemble to earn a top prize in this category.
Concert IV, From Darkness into Light, will take place on April 13, 2022 at 7:30pm at Sarasota Opera House. Single concert tickets are $50. There will be a pre-concert talk with Robert Sherman at 6:45pm. Mozart’s dark and stormy piano quartet may have deterred its publisher, but it showed the way from the Classical to the Romantic – so Tchaikovsky owes Mozart (and Florence) for his inspiration. This souvenir is beyond festive – think 1812 without the cannons. Wolfgang Mozart, Quartet for Piano and Strings in G Minor, K. 478, Zoltan Kodály, Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 12, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, String Sextet in D Major, Op. 70, Souvenir de Florence. Benny Kim, violin; Ruth Lenz, violin; Daniel Avshalomov, viola; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Dmitri Atapine, cello; Christine J. Lee, cello; Wendy Chen, piano.
A concert by Strings Con Brio will be preformed with the complimentary backdrop of Robert Mapplethorpe's body of work. The performance will echo the symmetry, beauty and compositional form of the Mapplethorpe exhibit currently on display at The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Liony Garcia is a dancer and choreographer based in Miami, FL. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New World School of the Arts. As a performer, he has worked with BodyTraffic (LA) performing choreographic works by Guy Weizman and Roni Haver (NL) and Barack Marshall. Locally he's worked under the direction of Alexey Taran with Bistoury Physical Theater and is a founding member of Rosie Herrera Dance Theater. Liony is currently a dancer in Brigid Baker’s WholeProject. He’s worked director Celia Rowlson-Hall on her latest short film entitled Swamp Lake. He's recently worked with filmaker, Claudio Marco Tulli on his film installation, Blasting Pixels. As a solo performer, Liony has performed at Mana Contemporary , International Noise Music Conference and most recently at Bas Fisher Invitational, along with modular furniture designer Deon Rubi. This performance will show on April 14, 15 and 16 at 11am and 7:30pm.
Enjoy delicious food during this special event at Nathan Benderson Park celebrating restaurants of University Town Center (UTC) and benefiting Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA), your future neighbor in the UTC community on Thursday, April 14 from 6pm to 9:30pm, Finish Tower at Nathan Benderson Park (event takes place outside). Ticket price is $125.
The 1st Annual “Remember When” Vintage Car Show will be held Saturday, April 17, 2021 from 10am to 2pm at newly renovated Water’s Edge of Bradenton. This event is FREE to the public! Come join us for Classic Cars, Great Food, Cool Beverages, Door Prizes & Free Giveaways, Craft Vendors and Classic Music from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. We also welcome you to take a tour of the 37-acre campus and experience the over 19,000 square feet of amenities that Water’s Edge of Bradenton has to offer residents. If you have any general questions about the event, please contact Helena at 941-757-2311. To schedule a tour of the property in advance, please contact Theresa at 941-705-4584. Vehicle Registration: If you would like to pre-register your classic car for the event, please download the event flyer at the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dqe7wcrSJoPfnVwE_SMn-Hziusnhm1DF/view?usp=sharing. Complete and return the form on the second page of the flyer along with your $10 donation. You may also register your vehicle on the day of the event at the show with a $15 donation.
"Bach Immersion III," A collaboration performance featuring Leymis Bolaños Wilmott and Anna Zwanzig (photographer). Natalie Helm explores J.S. Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello as they’ve never been experienced: through a multi-sensory interactive performance, which Helm titles Bach Immersion. Over the course of this three-part concert series, the audience will travel into each Suite’s unique world through a live musical performance alongside a myriad of other art disciplines, including dance, painting, photography, spoken word, fashion design, and food. With guest artists collaborating with Natalie and interpreting the music in conjunction with the audience, Bach Immersion will create a unique and one-of-a-kind experience. This performance will take place on Friday April 15th and Saturday April 16th 2022 at 7pm and its Virtual Stream will take place on Saturday, April 16th at 7pm.
For the first time since its founding in 1969, Arts Advocates has its own gallery to display works from its collection of Florida artists. Located in the Siesta Mall, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 119, in Sarasota, the opening exhibit features works by Sarasota Art Colony artists. Docent-guided tours of the exhibit are open to the public from 11am to 11:45pm on the first Wednesday of each month: November 3, December 1, January 5, February 2, March 2, April 6, May 4, and June 1. Tours are $10 per person, or $5 per person for Arts Advocates members, and can be booked below. Attendance is limited to 10. Group and special tours can be arranged by contacting Stephenie Frasher, docent team leader, at docent@artsadvocates.org.
Your favorite weeknight hangout has arrived at its new home, Waterside Place, the newest town center in Lakewood Ranch. Ranch Nite Wednesdays will take place from 6-9pm, every Wednesday, starting November 10, 2021 and through May, 2022. It will feature New food trucks + dessert truck each week, Weekly live music from local artists, Night market every 2nd Wednesday hosted by Main Street Market LWR, Outdoor bar hosted by Waterside Place tenant Good Liquid Brewing & Scratch Kitchen, and The 2nd largest recreational cornhole league in the nation hosted by MVP Sports & Social.
FAM (Family Art Making) is a free program that's fun for the whole family. Join us for creative art projects inspired by an object in our collections from February 12, 2022 to April 30, 2022 at 10am, 11am, and 12pm at the Education Center. Afterwards, visit the museum* to see that object in person. You will be able to visit the Museum of Art and the Circus Museum with your FAM wristband that is provided at check-in. An at-home version of FAM is available on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/TheRingling.
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is pleased to announce the opening of As long as there is sun, as long as there is light. Selections from the Bring Gift and The Ringling Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. The exhibition will run Nov. 21, 2021 – Aug. 13, 2023, in the museum’s Searing Wing. In 2020, The Ringling received a significant gift of art from Murray Bring and Kay Delaney Bring, in support of the modern and contemporary collection. Highlights from the gift include an important minimalist work by Anne Truitt and a monumental work on canvas by Gene Davis, both artists affiliated with the Washington Color School, an art movement during the 1950s to 1970s in Washington D.C., made up of abstract expressionist artists Additional works in the gift represent a generation of prominent artists who work, or have worked, in abstraction, including Clement Meadmore, Jules Olitski, Beverly Pepper, Rebecca Salter, Kenneth Snelson, and Yuriko Yamaguchi, among others. Also on view are sculptures and paintings by distinguished African American and Latin American artists from The Ringling collection, including William Edmondson, Eduardo Mac Entyre, Omar Rayo, Baruj Salinas, and Joyce de Guatemala.
The Ringling is pleased to present an exhibition that celebrates the life and artwork of Eleanor Merritt from February 18, 2022 to August 21, 2022. Eleanor was a dedicated volunteer at The Ringling for many years as a docent and Board member. She also served as president of the Venice Art Center and was active in other arts organizations as well. Eleanor passed away in 2019 leaving a legacy of art and public service. This exhibition is dedicated to her spirit and creativity and represents a small sample of a significant body of work the artist created over her long career. Beginning with an early work from the 1950s Untitled (Seated Figure) and concluding with her last painting Blue Embrace of 2018, the exhibition highlights her creative use of materials, movement between figuration and abstraction, and her commitment to women’s rights. The works in the exhibition come from the artist’s estate and from a few prestigious private collections. The artist’s daughter, Lisa, and artist Mike Solomon were critical guides in the development of this exhibition.
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