The past few days of Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix events have been successful at raising money for Suncoast Charities for Children and bringing our community together. On Thursday night the Hyatt Regency’s “Pre-Race” Party and Fashion Show brought out Sarasota for casino games, fashion and local music. The Sarasota crowd does “cocktail casual” better than anywhere south of Charleston, with the crowd decked in summery dresses and a few nautical-themed outfits. Beautiful Sarasota ladies strutted the runway styled by JFLO Salon, Spa, and Boutique, wearing outfits from Swim City and [...]

I would drink (the) Umbrella Cult’s kool-aid — by the gallon. This genre-defying outfit became a steadfast darling of the music scene seemingly overnight (which, in music scene years, equals about four months). Their secret? My best guess is: Make a band, lock yourself in a house, drink firewater, write songs and don’t come out until you’re damn well good and ready. I’ve had the stompin’ opening hook to their song “Blue and Green” stuck in my head all morning, but that does y’all no good if you can’t hear [...]

s/ART/q Contemporary Art will soon bid farewell to two of its members, Brian Haverlock and Sabrina Small, who are currently perched on the cusp of new adventures as they prepare for a move away from Sarasota in pursuit of professional opportunities in Montclair, N.J. and Philadelphia, respectively. Haverlock and Small are hardly sitting back and biding their time as the calendar creeps closer to their impending departure. Instead, the artists have dug deep into their portfolios to present “Moving Through Time,“ a joint exhibition at Clothesline Gallery that will kick off [...]

For the last three people who didn’t see this photo pass through their Facebook feed, ABC or The Weather Channel during Tropical Storm Debby, here it is.     It was taken by local photographer Mark Palmer and it’s pretty stunning. He snapped this shot and it spread like wildfire across the Internet, getting shared thousands of times across the globe. We reached out to Mark and asked if he would sell the photos to any of our readers who are interested, and he said, “Of course.” Email Mark at mark@marsvisionproductions.com. [...]

Tropical Storm Debby-Downer’s showers may be putting a damper on the sunny Sarasota lifestyle this week, but there is a silver lining: Debby brought the rain just in time to water fresh flowers for a month-long series of flower arranging classes starting Tuesday at the Victoria Blooms downtown flower shop. After launching the popular series when the shop opened in January, floral arranger and shop owner Victoria Warren is offering a summer edition consisting of five classes that cover the ins-and-outs of the art of floral arrangement. The classes, Warren said, will cater [...]

With summer upon us, may I suggest taking a gander at what I believe to be the best menus offered in Sarasota right now. Some are for eating, some are for drinking … and one is for mitigating all the sunshiny indulgence. 1) The Table beer pairing — Sure, you know The Table Creekside from those piping hot (and surely crack-filled) Yuca Mozzarella Rolls, but did you know The Table has a summer-only beer pairing menu? Well, now you do.  Here’s how it works: Walk in, sit down (request outside seating so you can watch [...]