Two of the films I saw during the Sarasota Film Festival, ‘Dancing on a Volcano’ and ‘Trash Dance,’ each conveyed the importance of the arts in restoring our humanity.  Both films were personally recommended to me by Tom Hall, SFF Director of Programming; because I like to see documentaries with a theme of social justice. ‘Dancing on a Volcano’ tells the compelling story of Nadja Merino, a Jewish woman living in Austria who watched her privileged life slip away as the Nazi Party grew in prominence.  The title of the film refers to a foreboding night [...]

According to the weird looks and Facebook comments I’ve been receiving, it’s not normal to fill your Spotify playlists with Yanni songs, nor devote evenings to his show. Forgive me for my ignorance. Or, as my friend Lauren would say, sorry not sorry. Forget street cred; I’m glad I didn’t know that Yanni wasn’t the coolest cat in the 20-25 year old age range. Last Tuesday, I met Richard Allenson, the tour manager for Yanni’s show, and took him up on his offer for tickets to Wednesday’s show at the Van [...]

It is no surprise that for the stylish crowd, any color comes in a variety of hues.  Red or green are not just colors, but instead they come in names such as candy apple red, or sea foam green.  It seems like we always have to complicate things.  As my friend Zara Barrie (local fashion icon and Assistant Director for The SOURCE Theatre) and I were getting ready to go out for dinner,  the conversation started over what to wear this season.  We are known not to only theme out [...]

- Something catch your fancy? Here are links to Kirsten’s mentionables: Sarasota High School Drama Guild- ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ Rusty Hook- Completely from Mountains/The Send Offs/Y Los Dos Pistoles Ivory Lounge- JOE BOND | ODI DIAZ | LYNDON | DJ KIKO Gulf Coast Cheese Fest 2012 (*and on Facebook!) The Cheese Ball  Polo Grill  Cock n Bull (*and on Facebook!) The Blue Owl  Sarasota Garment District The Backroom School of Film and Art Live w/Rochelle Herman WTMY 1280  Sarasota High School Drama Program      

Save the date for SFF 2013: April 5-14! Thank you so much to THIS WEEK IN SARASOTA for having us here. Looking forward to coming back next year. TWIS, YOU ROCK! In the film Moulin Rouge the extraordinary stage show meant to top all that had come before was called the SPECTACULAR SPECTACULAR! For me, that was this year at the festival. A dazzling high wire act complete with pyrotechnics as the Flying Wallenda Family performed at our Cinema Tropicale celebration at the glorious Sarasota Yacht Club (followed by an encore at our President’s Dinner inside [...]

He says, ” I just got back from a visit to my eye doctor’s office, we were chatting and he told me that not only is he a Master swimmer but practices early every morning before office hours at Arlington Park. You are a triathlete what do you know about Arlington Park?” She says, “Donald, I’m surprised you don’t know about Arlington. It’s a treasure right in the middle of Sarasota’s South Gate neighborhood and has been going strong since 1979. Not only is there an incredible Aquatic Center with [...]