calling

wealthiest men in America.

“My grandfather knew this coast all the way to the Bahamas. He ran a fishing boat business out of Marina Jack for 45 years.” Reid said wistfully.

A generation before that, in the early 1900s, Reid’s great-great grandfather served as Bertha Palmer’s head rancher and managed the 37,000 acres belonging to the Chicago millionaire businesswoman and Continued on page 30

In keeping with our Morton’s tradition, we also carry a delicious array of prepared foods, perfect for take-out, picnics, parties and more.

Siesta Key Oyster Bar, or “SKOB” as the locals call it, is the hangout with the laid-back, beachy atmosphere that will get you right into the Island Spirit. One of the things that set

Siesta Key has new code enforcement officer Bern Pisaturo is the new Sarasota County code officer serving Siesta Key. His history includes 26 years in law enforcement in Fort Myers and Johnston, Rhode Island.

The former U.S. Marine has also worked in real estate and security.

Pisaturo’s cell number is (941) 236-2390, his office number is (941) 861-6403, and his email address is bpisaturo@scgov.net.

VB beach tourney is June 3, 4

The Sunshine State Outdoor Volleyball Associations annual

“Summer Smash” event is set for June 3 and 4 on Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Rd.

Approximately 300 athletes will participate in a variety of divisions, with action beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day.

Visit ssova.bracketpal.com for more information.

Siesta Key beach runs for kids go June through July

The annual Kids’ Summer Beach Runs, presented by #SRQCountyParks, New Balance of Sarasota, and Sarasota Crew, are returning to Siesta Beach every Tuesday in June and July (excluding July 4).

The one-mile fun runs for kids and families begin Tuesday, June 6. They are free.

Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. near the playground at Siesta

Beach. Participants will receive a finisher ribbon and kids who complete four runs receive a free T-shirt, a free kid’s meal coupon for Gecko’s Grill & Pub and a 50% savings coupon for kids’ New Balance shoes. Additional sponsors include the Florida Department of HealthSarasota, Friends of Sarasota County Parks, Gecko’s Grill & Pub, Manasota Track Club, Sharky’s on the Pier, Siesta Beach Eats, and Siesta Key Kiwanis.

ACCOMMODATIONS Beach Palms B-#74

Siesta Key Beach Resort & Spa Map-A #38A

/ BANKS PNC ATM Map-C #61 Sun Trust Bank & ATM Map-E #4

BARS & NIGHTCLUBS

Blase Café Map-A #38

Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar Map-B #42-43

Gilligan’s Map-B #33

My Village Pub Map-C #53/54

Siesta Key Oyster Bar Map-B #45

The Beach Club Map-D #22

The Cottage Map-C #58

The Hub-Baja Grill Map-D #59

COFFEE SHOPS

Bean Coffeehouse Map-D #62

Mojo Risin’ Coffee Company Map-B #31

DRUGSTORE Davidson Drugs Map-D #65

FASHION & ACCESSORIES

Beach Bazaar’s & Swin Shack Map-C #28

Blvd. Beachwear Map-B #30

Casa Smeralda Fashion’Style D #12-11

Comfort Shoes-Birki & More Map-D #64

Foxy Lady Fashions Map-A #40

Gidget’s Coastal Provisions Map-B #44

Island Boutique Map-B #50

Island Style Map-C #53

Lilly Pulitzer Map-D #66

Sea Shanty Map-C #24

Siesta T’s Map-B #30

The Sandal Factory Map-B #46

GAS STATION Circle K Store Map-E #6

GIFTS & SOUVENIRS

Beach Bazaar Map-C #28

Gilligan’s Gift Store Map-B #32

Island Trader Map-C #51

Sea Pleasures & Treasures Map-C #29

Siesta Key Outfitters Map-D #13

HEALTH & FITNESS

Indep. Lifestyle Solutions Map-D #10

Siesta Healing Map-D #9

Siesta Key Fitness Map-B #73

Studio Yooga ................................... Map-B #51

ICE CREAM/SWEETS Big Olaf Creamery Map-C #52

Curly Cream Ice Cream Map-D #9

Local Chill Ice Cream Map-D #60

Made in Rome Organic Gelato Map-C #53

Meany’s Mini Donuts Map-C #24

Stefano Versace Gelato Map-C #50

SubZero Ice Cream/Yogurt Map-D #16

The Fudge Factory Map-A #36

INTERNET / WiFi SERVICES

Davidson Drugs Map-D #65

Mojo Risin’ Coffee Company Map-B #31

JEWELRY

Created Gems Map-C #51

Mount -N-

Fireworks sponsorships now available for July 4 event

Sponsorship opportunities for the annual Siesta Key Community Fourth of July Fireworks are now available.

Sponsor packages include reserved parking as well as food, beverages and seating in the VIP viewing area on Siesta Beach. VIP packages are available on a limited first-come, first-serve basis.

To register online, visit: siestakeychamber.chambermaster. com/eventregistration/ register/1717.

To download a registration form, visit: chambermaster.blob.core. windows.net/userfiles/UserFiles/ chambers/2312/File/2023Fireworks SponsorshipForm.pdf.

For more information, contact Ann Frescura at ann@ siestakeychamber.com or (941) 349-3800.

The deadline to reserve a sponsorship is June 15.

Crystal Classic vendor spots now open for booking

Vendor registration for the 2023 Siesta Key Crystal Classic International Sand Sculpting Festival is now open. Each November the festival attracts more than 30,000 people to Siesta Key’s award-winning Siesta Beach. Here’s a chance to market your product or service at this year’s event.

A limited number of vendor spots are available along the west perimeter of the festival, facing the Gulf of Mexico. It’s $700 per 10’x10′ of retail space. Vendor applications are subject to approval and on a first-come, first-served basis.

To register online, visit: form. jotform.com/230785238468164.

Need more info? Contact Marisa Merlino at events@ siestakeychamber.com.

Siesta Key Association meets

June 1 at St. Boniface Church

The next meeting of the Siesta Key Association civic group is 4:30 to 6 p.m. June 1 in the community room at St. Boniface Church, 5615 Midnight Pass Rd.

Guest speaker is David Tomasko, executive director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. Visit siestakeyassociation.com.

MAILING - SHIPPING

US Post Office Map-D #65

MARKETS/FOOD STORES

Circle K Store Map-E #6

Morton’s Siesta Market Map-C #25

MASSAGE

Hands of Light Massage Map-B #35

The Spa at Calle Minorga Map-E #74

Sassy ... the Little Day Spa.............Map-D #62

MEDICAL - DENTAL

Siesta Village Dentistry Map-D #63

Siesta Dental Map-B #49

Siesta Key Physical Therapy Map-D #20

MISCELLANEOUS Chamber of Commerce Map-D #67

Prime Audio Video Map-E #1

Roberti Enterprises Map-A #39

Village Arcade Map-C #53

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Attorney Fleming Map-E #1

Edward Jones Investments Map-D #68

Smith Architects Map-E 74

REAL ESTATE / RENTAL SERVICES

Amy Robinson RE Map-E #1 Beach Palms B-74

Coldwell Banker Realty Map-D #20

EXP Realty Map-E #4

Judith Guzzi & Assoc Map-E #74

Keller Williams Real Estate Map-D #11

Michael Saunders Realty Map-E #72

ReMax Alliance Group Map-C #29

RentSiestaKey.com Map-D #9

Robasota Rentals & Real Estate Map-A #39

Siesta Key Rental Prop Map-D #10

The Ringling Beach House Rentals Map-D #9

Tropical Sands Accommodations Map-D #67

RESTAURANTS / CAFÉS

Another Broken Egg Map-C #54 & 55

Blase Café Map-A #38

Bonjour French Cafe Map-C #47 Café Gabbiano Map-D #71

Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar Map-B #42-43

Flavio’s Brick Oven & Bar Map-B #29

Flavio’s Italiano Ristorante Map-B #30

Gilligan’s Island Bar & Grill Map-B #33

Island House Bar & Grill Map-D #69

Lobster Pot Map-C #23

Mojo Risin’ Coffee Company Map-B #31

Old Salty Dog Rest. & Pub Map-E #2

PI Pizza & Craft Beer Map-A #3

Ripfire Pizza Map-B #47

Siesta Key Oyster Bar Map-B #45

IL PANCIFICO Map-D #15

Summer House Map-C #57

Sun Garden Café Map-D #19

The Cottage Map-C #58

The Hub - Baja Grill Map-C #59

The Seafood Joint Map-D #15

The Star

Arts on the Horizon By

Is June the shortest month of the year?

Yes, if you’re only interested in great classical music performed by top notch artists – then there are only 13 days in the month. And if you live for that kind of music, the only places to live in Sarasota are at Holley Hall and the Sarasota Opera House. What this all means is that the Sarasota Orchestra’s Sarasota Music Festival is back in town.

500 ≥ 60 + X = 100. In other words, 500 top music students from all over the world applied to be part of this festival. Sixty were selected and, along with 40 top-rank international musicians acting as faculty, become the 100 that pluck the strings, toot the flutes, honk the horns, and tilt the licorice sticks, to provide such great pleasure during these early days of summer.

A good way to start off any festival is to be involved in a romance, even if lasts for only a few moments. And a romance with, or more specifically by, Amy Beach gets one off to just such a start. On June 8, her composition, Romance, dreamily lets us live in a fairy tale(s), which is the name of the Schumann piece that follows. This early evening concert finishes with compositions by Valerie Coleman and Johannes Brahms. The violin part of Beach’s Romance is played by Melissa White, a quarter of the Harlem String Quartet (which will be performing in Sarasota next January)

Twenty-five musicians take part in performing four compositions (Vivaldi –Summer, Janáček – Mladi, Gabriela Lena Frank

– Four Folk Songs for Piano Trio, and Dvořák

- String Quintet in E-flat Major) at the Opera House on the 9th. Not just a few stars, more like a meteor shower to light up the night.

Even more musicians (30) perform on the afternoon of the 11th, but that is only because they will be presenting, for your listening pleasure, nine different pieces – from

Rodger Skidmore

Previn to Beethoven, and from Prokofiev to Mendelssohn (not in alphabetical order).

Interesting that the word “Pohádka” means “a walk” in Serbian, “fairytale” in Czech, and “take a nap” in Hungarian. It helps, for the concert on the 22nd, to know that Leoš Janáček was born in the part of the AustroHungarian empire that is now the Czech Republic.

And, of course, there really are more than 13 days in June. How else to fit in all the Master Classes, Coached Ensembles, and Artist and Orchestra Rehearsals that will take place at Holley Hall during the festival.

The empresario overseeing all of this is Music Director Jeffery Kahane, who will be performing and conducting a number of works during the festival. And, of course, Robert Levin will be providing insights into the very heart of music with his Levin Lecture on the 21st. Dates, times, performers, and venues for these, and many additional concerts, at Sarasotaorchestra.org/festival.

Coming out of seclusion

By definition, a hermit is someone who lives a secluded life. And, while hermits might live, singularly, in caves, up in trees, or in their parents’ basement, there is a subset that together, but separately, stay at The Hermitage Artist Retreat down on Manasota Key. These are artists of various types (writers, composers, playwrights, painters, sculptors, etc.) who have been awarded a stay at this secluded place, where they can create without distraction, while being housed and catered to, as unobtrusively as possible.

What is the quid pro quo is this arrangement? The quid is their glorious seclusion and the quo is that they are required to share, with the outside world, what they have created. On June 23, a number of these “hermits” will gather (together) at Waterside Pavilion in Lakewood Ranch, to present Songs from the Sand: A Hermitage Cabaret. These new songs which have been created by, among others, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson, Five Tony Award nominee Jeanine Tesori, and four other award-winning composers, will be played and sung by local artists.

Given the talents of these well received writers and composers, one knows that what they have produced at the Hermitage Artist Retreat will be appearing on various stages across the country in coming years. The question is, will you have seen and heard version 1.0 of these new tunes?

Admission to hear these songs, and the stories about how they were created, is free, but reservations (with a very nominal fee) are required. Information and reservations at Hermitageartistretreat.org.

Where to go in June or July?

Where? How about to a concert, out to dinner, or a walk in the park? Been there, and doing that? Then perhaps another really nice place to go would be to go to Heaven. Unfortunately, the normal way of getting there is to, like, die. And, like, you know, maybe not exactly what you want to do right now. Why bring up that particular location? Because, if you ask, in downtown Sarasota, about Heaven, they might reply That Must Be The Entrance To Heaven, and point you in the direction of the Urbanite Theatre – as that is the theatre in which this world premiere production of Franky D. Gonzalez’s new play is being presented from the 9th of June through the 9th of July.

And where might that entrance lead? A good question indeed. Some mystics say that Sarasota is itself a portal, what with all the spiritually white crystal sand. Others feel that the portal or entrance leads through that tunnel with the bright light at the other end. And beyond the light – family and friends –or restful peace alongside a bubbling brook. And, perhaps, for the characters in this play, heaven would just be a place where they are –accepted by others in the land they currently inhabit. But how can they get a fair shake when they are pushed down every time they turn around. By going a few rounds in the ring. By being boxers where their violence is confined to a small ring, while there is violence, in many forms, against them on a day-to-day basis. It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe Heaven in in the mind of the dreamer. More info at Urbanitetheatre.com.

Sarasota’s only old-fashioned Meat Market, Deli and Restaurant under one roof

Voted Sarasota’s best non-chain Steakhouse 4 years in a row!

Home of the Sarasota TurDucKen, as seen on The Food Network with Guy Fieri, host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Time to order:

• Beef Tenderloin

• Prime Rib

• TurDucKen

• Crown Roast (Pork or Lamb)

• Party Platters

• Stone Crab Claws

Prime Aged Steaks, Chops, Seafood, NY Deli Meats, Sausage and Salads

Voted Sarasota’s Best Philly

Cheesesteak and NY Reuben

Serving Sarasota Since 1975

We offer takeout and complete catering services.

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NOW: your orders now! Review our menu at ORDER

BEST HAPPY HOUR IN TOWN Daily 4pm

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias)

At 2 months of age, these gregarious heron chicks gain height and weight each day thanks to a buffet of protein-rich foods including fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and reptiles served up by their parents.

Between seven and nine weeks of age, young herons build the necessary strength and balance for simulated flight training. This training consists of testing their newly feathered wings from the comfort and safety of the nest and nearby tree branches as a stiff wind blows. They learn about flight dynamics while leaning into the wind with outstretched wings and

Open

New Hours 8AM-2:30PM, Tuesday-Sunday (Closed Mondays) NOW OPEN! Waitlist Option Available Online 4832 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota• The Landings • 941-706-4225 www.thebreakfastcompanyfl.com

Gardenias are generally found outdoors in southern regions and are admired for their glossy green foliage and fragrant blossoms. These beautiful plants are grown as ornamental shrubs in warm regions.

However, they are very particular about their growing conditions and require some consistent maintenance in order to keep beautiful. Once you understand what a gardenia needs to survive, growing them is very rewarding.

Well-drained, acidic soil is ideal for gardenias. Moderate humidity assures a healthy plant. Adding peat moss to the soil will benefit your plant by helping it retain pivoting in different directions. Their first flight, or fledge, marks the major developmental milestone of transitioning from nestling to fledgling. moisture without becoming too wet.

By the end of week nine, they can make short flights staying close to home. Great Blue chicks grow up to be the largest members of the heron family who stand an imposing 5 feet tall with a whopping 6-foot wingspan.

Once flying lessons are complete, next lessons include stalking, hunting, and fishing. It takes a lot of protein to keep this feathered carnivore flying high!

While the gardenia likes humidity, misting the leaves can cause problems. Water droplets can lead to fungus on leaves. You don’t want to place it under plants that drip onto its leaves. A lack of air flow also causes fungus.

Outdoor gardenias prefer full sun, with some shade in the hottest summer months.

Join us for our Music in the Gardens event at 4:30 p.m. on June 4 at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts. Visit sarasotagardenclub.org. .

CJ Dana, Sarasota Garden Club