“The food at EVOQ is kind of American, but it’s also kind of Florida. It takes pieces from all over,” says Ryan Ward. “I believe a lot of people who travel and visit Florida or have moved here from somewhere else want to experience Florida cuisine, but also enjoy food that feels more familiar. And that’s the style I’ve tried to represent with our menu.”

Ward is the new executive chef at EVOQ Sarasota, a restaurant at The Westin hotel that is also open to the public. Along with a new chef, EVOQ has unveiled a fresh and modern new dinner menu designed by Ward that marries classic American cuisine with the vibrant flavors of the Gulf Coast. For example, his gulf coast seafood chowder is inspired by a creamy, hearty, traditional New England clam chowder but he uses chorizo instead of bacon which gives the dish a smokier, more complex flavor with a hint of spice.

The menu at EVOQ will change at least twice a year, with lighter flavors in the spring and summer and heartier flavors in the winter and fall. With the winter menu currently in effect, Ward was able to showcase his signature dish, pecan-crusted salmon.

“I’ve run many restaurants and I’ve done a variation of the pecan-crusted salmon at each one of them,” Ward says. “It’s always the top seller.”

At EVOQ, the dish is accompanied by butternut squash risotto and wilted rainbow chard and topped with spiced maple butter. Florida doesn’t experience much visible change during the seasons, but a few bites into this you’ll swear the leaves are turning into fall colors outside.

EVOQ Sarasota, 100 Marina View Drive, Sarasota, 941-260-8255, www.evoqsarasota.com. 

Pictured: The pecan-crusted salmon at EVOQ is the signature dish of new executive chef Ryan Ward. Photo courtesy of EVOQ.

Get ready to kick back and soak up the sun as we celebrate the vibrant music and laid-back lifestyle of the one and only Jimmy Buffett! Join The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime on Saturday, February 1, from 11 AM to 3 PM for a lively day filled with fun, music, and community spirit. So, grab your flip-flops and Hawaiian shirts, and join us for an unforgettable day of music, fun, and community spirit. It’s time to embrace the Margaritaville lifestyle!

Saturday, February 1, 11am–3pm, The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Avenue in Sarasota, Admission: Free (Raffle tickets available for $20) 

To learn more, visit.

Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) unveiled a special addition to its fleet: a custom marine life-themed livery that celebrates Allegiant’s longstanding partnerships with Visit Sarasota County and the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. The new design, wrapped on the fuselage of an Airbus A320, showcases the area’s beauty and unique marine life. It is one of only seven Allegiant aircraft featuring a special livery. Flight days, times and the lowest fares can be found only at Allegiant.com. 

2025 marks the 54th anniversary of Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning’s (SILL) “Global Issues” series. This hard-hitting series, which runs January 7-March 27, features internationally renowned experts discussing a wide range of domestic and global issues. This month’s lectures feature front-page issues examined by leading speakers, including Bob Bunting, a scientist and CEO of the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Center, who will describe how our health will be impacted by climate change;  Dr. Wendy Whitman Cobb, professor of strategy and security studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, who will discuss the ways in which space is increasingly congested, competitive, and contested; and Dr. Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, who warns that the West faces an acute internal threat from political polarization and ideological extremism. 

As Sarasota Opera’s winter season approaches, the company has expanded its marketing staff. Director of Marketing Lael A. Mohib joined Sarasota Opera in August 2024. She is a communications and international development specialist with nearly two decades of experience working internationally in the communications and non-profit sectors. Mohib has served as a strategic communications consultant for the World Bank and the former government of Afghanistan.  In London, she created educational and media development programs for BBC Media Action. She has been public relations advisor at the Afghan Embassy in Washington, DC.  Most recently Mohib was executive director of the Enabled Children Initiative, a nonprofit she co-founded in 2013, which supports children with disabilities. 

To learn more, visit

In celebration of the 2025 Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition, George Harrison: A Gardener's Life, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is pleased to announce The Richard and Ellen Sandor Annual Lecture on Art and Nature featuring a luncheon and conversation with film producer, and the widow of musician George Harrison of The Beatles, Olivia Harrison, and Robin Lane Fox, renowned gardener, author, and historian, on Tuesday, February 11, from 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus. Space is limited. The event includes a plated lunch. Tickets $125. Olivia Harrison will be signing copies of her book, Came the Lightening, which will be available for sale at the luncheon. 

For ticket information click here.

Due to illness, Frankie Avalon regretfully cancels his Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall performance scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, 2025. Ticket buyers will be contacted by the Van Wezel Box Office regarding refund and credit options. Patrons with questions can contact the Box Office during normal business hours: Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.