December 2019 by SARASOTA SCENE Magazine

THE POWER

OF GIVING Local Philanthropists Leading the Way

ONE-ON-ONE WITH Patterson Foundation CEO Debra Jacobs

SUPPORTING A GREAT COLLEGE State College of Florida Foundation

JEWISH FEDERATION SARASOTA-MANATEE Looks in the Mirror

MOTEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MISSION

to Save Our Coral Reefs scenesarasota.com

DECEMBER 2019 $3.95 U.S.

NON-PROFIT WISH LIST ADVENTURES FOR A CAUSE

Meet Dr. Jill Morris

Meet Â Dr. Burr Bakke

Kurt Lucas’s Smile Makeover

Robert’s Testimonial All-On-4 Dental Implants

Learn About Same-Day All-On-4 Dental Implants

CONCEALED AND REVEALED ON VIEW DEC 15 – APR 26 Syd Solomon: Concealed and Revealed offers a unique selection of paintings by the artist, along with numerous objects from the Solomon Archive on view for the first time. Syd Solomon (American, 1917–2004) described himself as an “Abstract Impressionist” alluding to the fact that his work infused impressionism into the processes, scale and concepts of Abstract Expressionism.

Syd Solomon: Concealed and Revealed is presented in partnership with the Estate of Syd Solomon. A public symposium informed by the exhibition and organized by The Ringling’s Education Department is planned for February 14, 2020.

Support for this exhibition has been provided, in part, by the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation Ringling Museum Endowment. Paid for in part by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues. Sponsor support is provided by:

Syd Solomon (American, 1917–2004), Silent World (detail), 1961. Liquitex on gesso panel, 58 3/16 × 48 5/16 × 1 15/16 in. Museum purchase, 1962. SN742

INFORMATION + TICKETS

ringling.org

ROSA knows knees and we know ROSA ROSA® knows that all knees are not created equal. As our new Orthopedic robot, ROSA’s innovative technology provides virtual and real-time intelligence about the unique anatomy of every knee. Sarasota Memorial Orthopedic surgeons use ROSA’s innovative technology to provide patients with more precise and longer lasting knee replacement procedures.

Better outcomes and a faster, safer return to your active life – does your Orthopedic surgeon know ROSA? We do! For more information, visit smh.com/rosa.

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INVESTING IN FUTURE GENERATIONS Susan Lacey • Achieva Credit Union Giving back to the community takes more than writing a check. Great things happen when we’re physically out in the community, alongside our members and friends, making a difference in the lives of those who need it most. And it’s what we – Achieva Credit Union – have proudly been doing as your Sarasota neighbor for 10 years.

achievacu.com • 941.907.4000

Since 2009, we’ve grown a sizeable presence with many dedicated team members serving approximately 19,000 members at two branches on Bee Ridge Road and Fruitville Road. So what makes us different than other financial institutions?

The best part of our partnership with the Sarasota Education Foundation is being a part of the classroom grant program. Working together, we’ve given 120 classroom grants – a total of $200,000 overall – to deserving Sarasota teachers since our partnership began in 2011.

For starters, everything we do is with our members in mind. This means delivering outstanding personalized service and helping the communities where our members live, work and play. And that starts with making an impact in our Sarasota schools.

And Achieva team members have proudly volunteered countless hours to ensure that we have a successful annual “Run for GOOD” event since all proceeds go directly to the Education Foundation of Sarasota County to fund the classroom grant program.

Investing our giving-back efforts in local schools truly is the perfect match for Achieva. Our credit union was founded by a group of teachers in 1937 who were originally denied a bank loan. So they started a financial institution of their own by depositing $99.25 collectively. With this in mind, it only makes sense to be a champion for our local schools.

Now you can be part of the action, too: Help us help local schools by joining our 2020 annual Achieva “Run for GOOD” event taking place on Saturday, January 25 at Payne Park. The event features a 5K run/walk, kids run and dog walk – all to benefit local Sarasota schools.

One of our strongest longstanding partnerships is with the Education Foundation of Sarasota County. Here are just a few meaningful things we’ve done to support Sarasota schools, teachers and students: • We sponsored the “Back 2 School Bash” at Sarasota Square Mall and University Town Center, which awarded students with free backpacks and school supplies • We hosted several financial literacy sessions for students and their parents at Wilkinson, Alta Vista, and Ashton Elementary schools. We taught things like budgeting and saving, because it’s never too early to start learning about finances. • We used funds we raised from our annual Achieva “Run for GOOD” to award teachers with classroom grants. A few years ago, we had the privilege of seeing a grant in action while visiting Heron Creek Middle School. The grant money was used for a unique hands-on activity where they learned about bees and beehives.

Though we’ve talked about our partnership with local schools, we’re here to help everyone. In fact, some people think they have to be a teacher or service worker to join a credit union, or that it’s simply too hard to become a member. It’s actually easier than you think: To join Achieva, you just have to live or work in our 15-county area of membership, which includes Sarasota. Visit www.achievacu.com to learn more, and follow us on Facebook for updates on local community events and ways to get involved. Susan Lacey is a Market Vice President for Achieva serving Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties. A passionate leader, she and her dedicated team proudly give back to support the communities they serve through a variety of initiatives throughout the year.

Contact Susan by calling 941.907.4033 or by emailing slacey@achievacu.com.

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CONTENTS features

49 FROM THE STAGE TO THE STAGING

The Sarasota Ballet Honors Groundbreaker Margaret Barbieri By Sylvia Whitman

54 NURTURING THE INNATE DRIVE TO GIVE BACK David Green and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation By Sylvia Whitman

59 HEARING IS BELIEVING AND YOU’RE INVITED TO HEAR AT SCF By Sue Cullen

64 MOTE’S MISSION TO SAVE CORAL REEFS By Ryan G. Van Cleave

70 A COMMUNITY GROWING BIGGER… AND YOUNGER The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Looks in the Mirror By Sylvia Whitman

74 ACCELERATING POSITIVE CHANGE Debra M. Jacobs By Julie Milton

81 ADVENTURES FOR A CAUSE By Jacqueline Miller

88 TAKE THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME AT ASOLO REP By Ryan G. Van Cleave

91 THIS SEASON MANATEE COUNTY IS THE PLACE TO ROCK, ROLL, TAP AND SWOON By Jacqueline Miller

ON THE COVER

Illustration representing the power of philanthropy by Darcy Kelly-Laviolette.

74 10

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

Click to View Featured Models

CONTENTS departments

SOCIAL SCENE 20 THE LIST

December Events Calendar PARTY PICS

26 Men on the Scene Party 28 Sarasota Orchestraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aspire Brunch 30 Asolo Rep Starry Night 1: The Sound of Music

32 33 34 35

USFSM Brunch on the Bay Corsa 7 Celebration Wit and Wisdom of Aging Luncheon Wine, Women and Shoes Winemakers Dinner

INSIDER 36 THE FIND

Fashionable Finds for New Years Eve

PHILANTHROPY

ART & CULTURE

40 Fran Blum: Investing

in New College of Florida By Sylvia Whitman

44 The Stalwart Conservation of Stephen Cetrulo

126

By Ryan G. Van Cleave

ON THE TOWN

94 SCENES FROM AN INTERVIEW For the Good of All: Non-Profit Wish List By Gus Mollasis

102 EDUCATION MATTERS

Jim Shirley and the Arts and Culture Alliance of Sarasota County By Ryan G. Van Cleave

104 BEST SEATS

Performing Arts Calendar

108 GET INSPIRED

Cultural happenings brought to you by the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County

110 LITERARY SCENE

Three New YA Stories By Ryan G. Van Cleave

Be Informed Be Entertained Be SCENE scenesarasota.com

113 LAUGHING MATTERS

The One About Florida Man By Ryan G. Van Cleave

112 INHEALTH

Social Media: Good for Plastic Surgeons Bad for Parents By Alissa Shulman, M.D, F.A.C.S

94 12

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

TRUST. KNOWLEDGE. SERVICE. For over 30 years The Plumbing Place has worked hard to earn the trust of our customers and contractors. And with over 150 years of combined experience, our friendly and knowledgeable staff delivers exceptional customer care.

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- DAVID B.

from the executive editor

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” —Maya Angelou

PHILANTHROPY. IT’S DEFINITELY A FEEL-GOOD WORD BECAUSE WE KNOW PHILANTHROPY HELPS OTHERS AND OUR COMMUNITY. We equate the word with people who give lots of money for humanitarian purposes. People whose names are on buildings. And while that’s true, over time the word philanthropy has become more broadly used, and rightfully so. Since the word literally means “love of mankind”, many of us can be considered philanthropists as well, albeit on a smaller scale than our big name philanthropists. Any of us who have an altruistic concern for others and act upon it, who contribute whatever sum they can to support a cause or help someone, is also a philanthropist. So, given its root meaning, I think our use of the word philanthropy needs to be more encompassing and inclusive when it is used in our everyday lives. This season let your philanthropy soar like no other time before. Our growing community has needs— many of them. Explore the mission statements of local nonprofits. Get behind something. Get involved. Donate something—whatever you can afford. Volunteer—even for a few hours. Spend time with someone who is lonely. Every bit counts. I promise you’ll feel better. With this our Philanthropy issue, please be sure to read our stories of several local philanthropists who are helping to make a difference in our lives through support of education, conservation and more. Hopefully they will inspire your involvement. Scene contributing writer Ryan Van Cleave talks to scientists at Mote Marine about the importance of coral restoration. In some areas of Florida, coral cover has significantly declined over the past three decades. Coral supports 25% of marine life. This is yet another important cause to support.

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

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from the executive editor

Stress-Less

Holiday Season

Morton’s Market can create a stressless holiday season with a superb array of delicacies perfect for any festive occasion. From expertly catered parties to elegant holiday menus, our chefs bring their best to each meal so you can have less to do and more time to enjoy. Fine wines, floral centerpieces and holiday gift baskets are always a good idea. Receive a FREE $10 gift card for every $100 worth of gift cards purchased. Offer good Dec. 1st - 31st.

Full Christmas menus available! Call for details!

State College of Florida Foundation needs help to complete the funding of its Studio for the Performing Arts, enhance academics and provide more student scholarships enabling them to meet the growing needs of our future. The Patterson Foundation president, Debra Jacobs, shares results of local initiatives and discusses future needs. Jewish Federation SarasotaManatee plans for the future based on results from a recent Brandeis University study, and several local nonprofits tell us what they need the most this holiday season. In closing, this is sadly the last time I will write to you in this magazine. Scene’s new publisher, John Knowles, will share his monthly message with you starting off the new year. As the magazine’s former owner and publisher since May 2007, it has been my honor getting to know and sharing stories about many local philanthropists and non-profit leaders who give so much to make our community better for everyone. For my husband Ron and I, it has been our pleasure throughout these years to give to many local nonprofits whether it be donation space in this magazine to promote their causes or monetary donations we have made in support of their efforts. For Sarasota Scene, giving is something this publication has done since 1957, the year it was founded. I have no doubt it will continue to be the magazine that promotes the important causes of this community more than any other local publication for many more years to come. I look forward to kicking back and reading more about it! Gratefully,

Want to submit some comments or questions? We’d love to hear from you at julie@scenesarasota.com.

Serving the Sarasota Area for over 50 years

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SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

AI WEIWEI ZODIAC (2018) LEGO Acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei will return to The Ringling with his new Zodiac (2018) LEGO series. The 12 impressive portraits in the series are made entirely of LEGO pieces and demonstrate the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continued focus on the zodiac animal concept.

ON VIEW NOV 17 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FEB 2 Ai Weiwei, Zodiac (Tiger) (detail), 2018. LEGO bricks on aluminum di-bond backing, 230 x 230 cm, Private Collection. Image courtesy of the artist, photography by Adam Reich. Paid for in part by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues. Sponsor support is provided by

INFORMATION + TICKETS

ringling.org

Locally Owned and Operated Since 1957 Vol. 62 No. 12

Publisher H John Knowles Executive Editor Julie A. Milton Account Executive Alysia De Maio Art Director Darcy Kelly-Laviolette Marketing & Digital Content Director Jordan Kelly-Laviolette

May your heart be as full as a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plate.

Distribution Mike Straffin Contributing Writers Sue Cullen Jacqueline Miller Gus Mollasis Ryan G. Van Cleave Sylvia Whitman Contributing & Social Photographer Nancy Guth Contributing Photographers Jordan Kelly-Laviolette Kelly Kearns

Fill an empty plate by giving today at allfaithsfoodbank.org 18

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

443 John Ringling Blvd. Ste. #F, Sarasota, FL 34236 941.365.1119 | Fax: 941.954.5067 | scenesarasota.com H John Knowles LLC, dba SCENE Magazine publishes 12 issues a year. Address editorial, advertising and circulation correspondence to the above address. Sufficient return postage and self-addressed, stamped envelope must accompany all manuscripts, artwork and photographs submitted if they are to be returned or acknowledged. Publisher assumes no responsibility for care of return of unsolicited materials. Subscription price: $12.95 per year, $19.95 for two years. All contents copyrighted. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

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social SCENE

THE LIST PARTY PICS

scenesarasota.com

December 3 » Sarasota Opera Guild 35th Annual Poinsettia Luncheon

The LIST

DECEMBER 2019 EVENTS CALENDAR Winter galas. Holiday parades. Honoring leaders. Inspirational talks. New year celebrations. December is chock full of motivational, glamorous and exciting things to do. Be a part of it.

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

Michael’s On East 11:00 a.m. $110 | sarasotaopera.org/sarasotaopera-guild

4 » Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s Cause 4 Fashion Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall 11:30 a.m. $95 | parkinsonsneurochallenge.org

4 » Sarasota Orchestra Masterworks 2 Dinner Michael’s on East 6:00 p.m. $200 | sarasotaorchestra.org

february

21 2020

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall 5:30 Cocktails, Dinner & Program 8:30 Live Performance

Get inspired at the newly named Inspiration Gala in support of arts education initiatives for over 30,000 students in our community each year.

J O I N US A N D IN VEST IN T HE POW E R O F T HE HU MA N S PIRIT. Join the Van Wezel Foundation for cocktails and dinner by the bay with an unforgettable performance by legendary rock icon, John Fogerty.

sponsorship & tickets now available at vwfoundation.org

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sponsored events

» JFCS Gala 5:00 p.m. The Ritz-Carlton jfcs-cares.org/gala $500

» Jewish Federation Women's Day Luncheon Michael’s On East 10:30 a.m. jfedsrq.org $90

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JAN 5 | The Sarasota Ballet Gala Sarasota Opera House 6:00 p.m.

JAN 11 | Sarasota Memorial Hospital Foundation Hospital Gala Ritz Carlton 6:00p.m.

JAN 31 | Circus Arts Conservatory Circus Gala Ulla Searing Big Top at Nathan Benderson Park 6:00 p.m. $250 circusarts.org

MAKING A DIFFERENCE. Every Day. For almost 30 years, the team at FirstService Residential has worked tirelessly to enhance the value of every property we manage and the lifestyle of every resident in our care. As the North American property management leader, we know what it takes to create great communities that residents are proud to call home. We start by putting the right teams in place â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sarasota property experts who deliver genuinely helpful service. Then we back them up with the tools and resources that only the leading property management company can provide. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how we make a difference, every day, for great communities like yours. To make a difference in your community, contact Jake Howse at 941.203.7889 or visit bit.ly/SarasotaScene.

V ISI T SCE NESAR AS OTA .COM for the latest social scene party pics. To submit your event for consideration, please send information to scenemagazine@scenesarasota.com

Making a Difference. Every Day. F1915 Sarasota Scene Ad_v1.indd 1

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE 25 9/16/19 10:25 AM

Anna Heckman, Brandon Stone, Austin Helmuth & Jillian Tyson Philip Tavill, Sally Schule & Andrew Guenther

social SCENE

PARTY pics Jonathan & Charlotte Abrams

Stan Writesel & Alan Gravely

MEN ON THE SCENE LAUNCH PARTY

Guests gathered at The Sarasota Modern for a fun and interactive party celebrating the launch of Men on the Scene, a special feature on local men of impact and influence in Sarasota Sceneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s October issue. Photos by Matt Roback.

Laura & Colton Castro

Leslie Cruguet & Timothy Del Vescovo

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

Aurelia & Mark Van Den Broek

Melody & Jurgen Otto

Emilio Torres & Stephen Durst

The bloom of the rare ghost orchid may take your breath away. But it can’t give it back. Fortunately, the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation helped Sarasota Memorial Hospital acquire six Drager V500 ventilators. This equipment supports breathing in critically ill patients. It’s another way we help SMH improve patient comfort so you can continue breathing in all this beauty. Enjoy the life you love. Give today.

Together we strengthen healthcare. 941.917.1286 | smhf.org A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE OR BY VISITING www.freshfromflorida.com/divisions-offices /consumer-services. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. (REGISTRATION #CH103) THE HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION WILL USE THE FUNDS FOR THE STATED PURPOSE BUT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO USE THE GIFT IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH ITS CHARITABLE PURPOSE IF THE STATED PURPOSE IS IMPOSSIBLE OR IMPRACTICAL TO ACHIEVE.

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John & Ruth Fernstrom & Gary Heard

Deborah Ann Trimble, Joseph McKenna, Erin Christy & Lydia Landa

SARASOTA ORCHESTRA’S ASPIRE BRUNCH Sarasota Orchestra’s Aspire Brunch welcomed over 270 attendees in celebration of Youth Orchestra’s 60th anniversary. Musical entertainment featured performances from several of the Youth Orchestra students and ensembles. All proceeds from the event support the Youth Orchestra. Erin Hope Christy, Audrey Robbins, Charlie Huisking, Lydia Landa, Flora Major, and Jeff Sebeika co-chaired the event.

Cris & Kevin Tierney

Ernie Kretzmer & Dorothea Sandland

Greg & Tammie Badger with daughter Alexandra

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ASOLO REP STARRY NIGHT 1: THE SOUND OF MUSIC Asolo Repertory Theatre’s first Starry Night Dinner of the season, celebrating the production of The Sound of Music, was held at the home of Stanley Kane. The evening featured a themed dinner catered by Michael’s on East, a performance from The Sound of Music actors Maddie Shea Baldwin and Tally Sessions, and a ceremony honoring Board President Ann Charters.

Contact Cassandra Holmes 941-752-5390 or HolmesC@SCF.edu

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USFSM BRUNCH ON THE BAY More than 600 guests attending Bank of America Brunch on the Bay at USF Sarasota-Manatee on Sunday were serenaded by a string quartet from Booker High School and greeted by USF cheerleaders. Special guests included USF System President Steve Currall and Mike McCoy, market president, Sarasota-Manatee, for Bank of America, Brunch on the Bay’s title sponsor. Since 1994, Brunch on the Bay has awarded more than 1,800 scholarships totaling in excess of $1 million to students from Sarasota and Manatee counties.

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CORSA 7 GRAND OPENING Sarasota-based Renn Haus and Corsa 7 held their first annual “Celebration for Automotive Enthusiasts” cocktail party to cap-off a weekend of motorsports activities including the Carlisle-Sarasota Classic Car Auction. The event was held at the Corsa 7 collector car storage facility and featured several notable cars from around the world on display. The 250+ attendees were treated to club music and food from Mattison’s inside, and an outdoor lounge area featuring hand-made pizza and more exotic cars outside.

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DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

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Sydney Goldstein, Peggy Abt & Marlene Liberman

WIT AND WISDOM OF AGING LUNCHEON Pines of Sarasota Foundation’s 10th annual Wit and Wisdom of Aging Luncheon, co-chaired by Kraig and Gloria Koach, was attended by 320 guests. Foundation President Janet Ginn reminded everyone that Pines of Sarasota is its residents’ home and that Pines cares for those residents, even when they outlive their financial resources. More than $250,000 was raised to support that mission.

John LaCavita, Pauline Wambler & John Patterson

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WINE, WOMEN & SHOES Rita Thibault, Gary Kirschner and BDG Architects hosted an intimate winemaker dinner at Café Amici with visiting vintners and extraordinary wines. The dinner was held as part of Wine, Women & Shoes and benefited Forty Carrots Family Center in support of the nonprofit’s parenting education, mental health, and early childhood education programs. Tami & Chris Kirschner

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SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

philanthropy

fran blum INVESTING IN NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA By Sylvia Whitman | Photo by Nancy Guth Fran Blum knows a thing or two about where to put her resources. A retired Wall Street executive who had a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and the Pacific Exchange, Blum is now leveraging her financial acumen on behalf of the New College Foundation and serves on the foundation board. She’s leading the committee rejuvenating the Four Winds Legacy Society, donors who have placed New College in their estate plans. She also teaches financial literacy classes for students. What makes it “so compelling to be involved” at New College, Blum says, is the invitation for board members “to bring their intellectual capital to the table, not just their money.” Blum describes her young self as “an entrepreneur in my own way.” She earned a master’s degree in counseling from Kean University. At the same time, Great Gorge in northern New Jersey was developing as a ski area. Recharging in a lodge after her morning runs, she noticed there was nothing to read except a two-week-old issue of the New York Times and a few magazines. Other places she’d skied had local tourist newspapers—so Blum, in her 20s, started one. The first issue, published in a Quonset hut “when they weren’t doing the Grand Union circulars,” sold out. Blum featured “no ugly news of the world, only fun and ski news.” Local resorts loved this freebie funded by ads—and demanded 50,000 copies of the second issue for a ski show at the New York Coliseum. “All of a sudden I had a good business,” Blum said. She sold that venture and launched a similar real estate publication in New York City, soon branching into investing

in commercial and residential real estate. “At a certain point, I decided that I just wanted to get to Wall Street,” she says. She became an expert in exchanges around the world and was invited to join the firm of Caldwell Financial, which had strategic partnerships with stock and option exchanges in 27 countries. Although Blum wasn’t the first woman to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, she recalls with a laugh getting lost on the way to the ladies’ room on her first day—only to be told that she had to walk through the “phone booth” to enter it. When Blum retired about a decade ago, she weighed how best to use her assets. She co-authored a book, Think Rich! Get Rich! Stay Rich!, to empower women financially. “That’s one of my causes,” Blum says. “I see so many bright, professional women who are making money and have good careers, and yet they haven’t started to invest. Either that or they’re outsourcing it, which I’m very much against. They give it to their significant other, their uncle, or their father. “I really want to see women become as independent as I have been,” Blum continues. “I’ve had my own success, and I haven’t been dependent on anyone else.” A longtime sojourner on Longboat Key, Blum is also committed to local and national nonprofits. You’ll find her name on rooms at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, for instance, and on donor rosters for Planned Parenthood, other women’s health initiatives, and arts and cultural

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

Fran Blum’s Balance Sheet Blum shows up to an interview with talking points on a handout. A sampling: • “Sarasota is extremely fortunate to have a rich tapestry of arts and cultural organizations. But it’s also a college town! And New College, the honors college of Florida is at the very top of the list.” • “New College of Florida is a community of fearless learners who have the freedom to chart their own course.” • “I’d love the public to know that our campus is open for them to visit. We have stellar community programs, including New Topics (lectures) and New Music/New College. You can come audit a course here. How great is that!” She also keeps scrupulous accounting of New College accolades: • #1 top public college for percentage of graduates who earned PhDs in science (2012-17) • #6 top public schools in the nation (U.S. News & World Report) • 80% of New College graduates pursue more education • Prestigious and competitive national student scholarships include 88 Fulbrights (language teaching or research abroad), 32 Gilmans (study abroad) and 8 Udalls (environmental science)

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

philanthropy

organizations. While on the regional board of the American Jewish Committee (after two terms on the National Board of Governors), she crossed paths with Sue Jacobson, who “kind of lassoed” her over to New College Foundation. “Which I’m very happy about,” says Blum. “I love working with Sue. She opened the doors here.” The admiration is mutual. Jacobson now chairs the New College Foundation board, on which Blum serves. “Fran has so much energy and enthusiasm,” says Jacobson. “She is ‘all in’—donates generously, attends meetings religiously, contributes to meetings and committees.” Jacobson ticks off Blum’s intangible contributions, from the financial literacy classes to dinner parties introducing locals to the college next door. “Whatever Fran makes a commitment to, she’s fully present,” says Jacobson. “She thinks I lassoed her? I’ll take responsibility for it,” adds Jacobson. “I’m proud of it.” New College’s undergraduates have also drawn in Blum. She credits the foundation’s staff with fostering personal connections. “You’re going to a luncheon, and there’s always a student telling their compelling story. Some students really struggle to stay here.” She points out that 96% of undergrads receive financial aid. “If I can make it easier for them, I’m there,” she says. She started with an anonymous donation to a young woman juggling part-time jobs just to stay in school. “Education levels the playing field,” says Blum. “That’s the reason why my philanthropy is going more in that direction. I’m giving more and more to scholarships.” She’s also thinking bigger with the New College Four Winds Legacy Society, encouraging donors to include New

College in their estate plans as “an investment in leaders of tomorrow.” Blum lobbied for the new name, to emphasize the long-range vision of donors, large and small, alums or not. “New College is like the uncola cola. We’re different! We want to appeal to a wide range of people. …People think you have to be a major donor, give buildings or a dorm. No.” She’s organizing a January appreciation luncheon as a first step toward fostering more of a Legacy Society community. She’s also working with foundation staff to emphasize easy ways to give—directly from an IRA, for instance, with no detours in tax land. And Blum continues to promote financial literacy on campus. Her first talk covered such basics as credit cards, debt management, “and an introduction to investing.” She recalls, “The first time I did this, students came up to me—they happened to be seniors—and they said to me, ‘We should have had this four years ago.’” Currently, in addition to her financial literacy programs, she’s organizing “real-life” experiences, such as a field trip to an investment office and an introduction to a financial services Bloomberg terminal (a dozen of which are available to students through the local Cross College Alliance). In Sarasota and elsewhere, too many organizations “really just want you for your check,” Blum says. “Yes, I do write checks. But what I particularly like about the New College Foundation is you’re invited to participate. I just feel so much a part of everything here.”

F O R M O R E IN F O R M AT IO N

about New College Foundation visit www.ncf.edu.

Sarasota Opera Invites You To

Colors of Love The 2020 Opera Gala Saturday, February 1, 2020, 6:30 pm The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota $350 per person Black Tie – With a Colorful Twist

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For reservations, please call the Box Office at (941) 328-1300 Online tickets available at sarasotaopera.org/special-events Sponsored in part by:

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

philanthropy

The Stalwart Conservation OF STEPHEN CETRULO By Ryan G. Van Cleave | Photo by Nancy Guth

Stephen Cetrulo has always been a nature lover—most weekends, you’ll find him out on the water, fishing, paddleboarding, or simply enjoying the beauty of the outdoors. Even as a child in New Jersey, he spent a lot of time at the neighborhood parks where he could “play baseball, football and lacrosse, and in winter playing pond hockey. I was out there all the time.” There were several parks in town which meant regardless of where you lived you were able to walk there and not be depended on a ride. His wife, Gigi, two daughters and son-in-law’s, too are equally passionate about being active outdoors. They all enjoy paddleboarding, surfing , fishing, and camping. At a dinner function almost four years ago, Stephen—a financial consultant at Charles Schwab & Co.—had a chance to chat with one of his clients, Jim Westman, who was a board member at the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. It didn’t take long for Stephen’s interest in nature to emerge, and Jim asked if he could introduce Stephen to Foundation President Christine Johnson. He did exactly that, and

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they were kindred spirits from the start. Soon after, Stephen joined the Foundation’s Board because his values were so in alignment with those of the organization. “Christine Johnson is a phenomenal leader,” he says. “Much of the organization’s success is due to her passion around conservation. She’s extremely active and she’ll talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime about it.” So, too, will Jim, Steve, and the others on the board because they’re not just there in an honorary capacity—they joined to actually be involved and do the work. They are committed to making a difference today. “We just got back from an all-day retreat to work on our strategic vision,” Stephen says, because it’s not enough that they’ve saved 12,000+ acres so far and have strong educational programming. Yet there are more partners to make, land to save, and cultural identity to protect. “I moved here 29 years ago,” Stephen says, “and Sarasota today looks far different than it did then. I

philanthropy

“ ‘What can we do to make sure land we’ve identified as areas of importance will be around for my girls and their own kids?’ If you lose sight of that, you can’t get it back. We have a serious responsibility here, not just for ourselves but for future generations, too. —Stephen Cetrulo

have to keep asking myself: What can we do to make sure land we’ve identified as areas of importance will be around for my girls and their own kids? If you lose sight of that, you can’t get it back. We have a serious responsibility here, not just for ourselves but for future generations, too.” That’s what the Foundation is all about. He’s exactly right. It’s easy to take our land for granted. One of the activities they did at that retreat was to imagine a parcel of land they drive past every day. Then they thought about driving past it tomorrow, and it’s now a parking lot. Thankfully, land such as 1,100 acres of Triangle Ranch got permanently protected in 2016 thanks to the efforts of the Foundation, and they have a top priority to protect Orange Hammock Ranch, too. “It’s a misconception that it has to be all or none,” Stephen explains. “I think that conservation is more about smart growth. We can’t prevent all growth from happening, but we can take a careful look at our surroundings and make strategic choices about conserving habitats, protecting shorelines and water

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

philanthropy

access, and maintaining recreational areas.” One of the things Stephen is most proud of is how the money donated to the Foundation gets amplified. “With some organizations,” he notes, “you give $1, and it’s only 60 or 70 cents that ends up going to the project you donated to. With the Conservation Foundation, based on how they acquire land, a $1 gift can turn into a $3 gift by the time they’re done. That’s a massive impact going to the cause you intended.”

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Stephen and his wife, Gigi, live in a subdivision east of I-75, and they have deer families that come through their backyard nearly every day. “We also hear coyotes at night, and we’ve got eagles and bobcats, too. I really enjoy that,” Stephen says. “I don’t want to lose it.” When asked what Christine Johnson probably thinks about his work with the Foundation, he sheepishly says, “I hope she says that Stephen always has a smile on his face, that he’s passionate about the work we’re doing, he’s energetic and has a voice, and he’s always willing to roll up his sleeves to help in any way needed.” That pretty much sums up the entire Board and all the fine people associated with the Foundation, too. If YOU have that same “can do” attitude and are equally interested in helping the Foundation’s quest to save more natural land, reach out to them today. Through money, time, or expertise, there are ample opportunities to be part of protecting and conserving the natural beauty that defines the Gulf Coast.

F O R M O R E IN F O R M AT IO N

about Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, please visit conservationfoundation.com or call 941.918.2100

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

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The Sarasota Ballet Box Office – 941.359.0099 | SarasotaBallet.org 48

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

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From the Stage to the Staging The Sarasota Ballet Honors Groundbreaker Margaret Barbieri By Sylvia Whitman

s usual, much of the program for The Sarasota Ballet’s 29th Gala remains under tulle wraps. But the committee has made one big reveal: The January evening of fine food, drink, and dance will include a salute to assistant director Margaret Barbieri, who in 2020 will be marking the 50th anniversary of her promotion to principal with The Royal Ballet in London.

Margaret Barbieri in Rudolf Nureyev’s Raymonda

“I didn’t start off on a great footing,” Barbieri recalls with a laugh. On the eve of her induction into The Royal Ballet Touring Company in 1965, she dislocated her knee onstage during a Royal Ballet School graduation performance of Two Pigeons. A quick-thinking fellow dancer yanked her leg straight and carried Barbieri offstage.

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Margaret Barbieri in Giselle Dame Alicia Markova coaching Margaret in the Dying Swan Solo

Sir Frederick Ashton and Margaret after a performance of his ballet The Two Pigeons

“Of course, I was devastated,” she says. But founding director Dame Ninette de Valois, visiting Barbieri in the hospital, assured the 18-year-old dancer that her contract was safe. Although healed by her summer start date, Barbieri nonetheless “felt quite depressed in my first year, because everyone else was getting the roles, and I wasn’t.” She learned later that the doctor had cautioned the company to ease her into the schedule. Every few months, The Royal Ballet sent out a small group of performers to local schools—to spread the gospel of dance, give neophytes a chance to perform leading roles, and allow directors to assess talent. In one such mini performance of

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Giselle, a tragic, romantic ballet in which a peasant girl dies of heartbreak after falling for a cad, Barbieri poured herself into the namesake role. Afterward, the director said, “‘You will dance Giselle,’” Barbieri remembers. “And I thought, ‘Oh yes, one day in the distant future.’” But Giselle came into the rep the next year. The casting sheet featured three principals—and Barbieri’s name, in brackets. She figured director John Field simply wanted her to learn the role. Finding rehearsals with the greats “quite intimidating,” she sat on the floor, studying the steps, trying to stay out of the way—until Field ordered her to her feet.

As an entry-level corps de ballet artist, she had a chorus role: peasant. At the final stage calls, Field barked, “’Barbieri, out of your costume. Come out front with me.’” “He had that very abrupt-sounding voice,” says Barbieri, “and I nearly burst into tears, because my first thought was, ‘Wow, I’m not even good enough to be a peasant.’” Instead of firing her, he announced that she would dance the lead in the Saturday matinee. After that, Barbieri was cast on the fast track. In the corps backing Dame Margot Fonteyn, she traveled to Grenada, Spain, and Cairo, Egypt, dancing in front of the Sphinx and the Giza pyramids. Back in London, she took on more challenging roles, including Sleeping Beauty. Within a year, she jetéed over the next step on the career ladder (coryphée) to become a fullfledged soloist and then, in 1970, a principal at age 23.

“

At its gala, The Sarasota Ballet will celebrate not only the rocket launch of Barbieri’s career but its amazing trajectory.

At its gala, The Sarasota Ballet will celebrate not only the rocket launch of Barbieri’s career but its amazing trajectory. Overlapping roles as a dancer, educator, and stager/director, she has worked with the greats on both sides of the pond. Along the way she also created a family, marrying Sarasota Ballet Director Iain Webb in 1982 and 5 years later giving birth to their son (which she calls her “best performance”). She credits Iain not only with his love and support throughout the years, but also for bringing her to Sarasota, where her third career really began. In an era where the arts, like other fields, struggle to promote women into top positions, Barbieri belongs to the great ballet tradition of strong female leads. “Now I find it very, very rewarding working with the company and finding a way to develop the dancers, to see them grow in their roles,” Barbieri says. “I think I’ve been really lucky, because I’ve had the best of all three worlds.” The Sarasota Ballet will celebrate its 29th Gala with a performance by the company and special guests at the Sarasota Opera House on Sunday, January 5, 2020. More information is available at www.sarasotaballet.org/events/gala.

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

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David Green at the Hermitage Artist Retreat

avid Green’s friends tease him that he’s gone a bit “over-board.” He serves on six nonprofit boards and volunteers with several other social service entities. Now 74, Green retired a decade and a half ago as the senior global marketing officer for McDonald’s and instantly realized that “sitting at home was not an option.” As he says, “If you are a type A personality all your life, it is impossible to turn a switch and stop working and stop doing!” Among his many projects, he’s the development chair for his beloved Sarasota Orchestra and helping to bring on a new executive director at the Hermitage artist retreat. Nearing the end of his second year on the Gulf Coast Community Foundation board, Green has signed on to three subcommittees—community investment, governance, and 54

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finance. “If I get involved,” he says, “I sort of jump in with both feet.” Youngest son of a rabbi and a social worker, Green grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Supporters of the nascent civil rights movement, his parents steered dinner-table conversations toward social justice issues—as well as the family’s next trip to a national park. Green headed to Northwestern University intending to become a lawyer, but he “was soon drawn into the world of communications and marketing, spending long hours at the campus radio station.” After some starter jobs, he landed at McDonald’s, where he “introduced many iconic marketing campaigns, worked with some of the brightest agencies and minds in the business, developing Ronald McDonald House

Nurturing The Innate Drive to Give Back David Green and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation By Sylvia Whitman | Photo by Nancy Guth

as a national and then international charity and making Happy Meals a cultural phenomenon.” McDonald’s, he says, “helped transform my life and ultimately gave me the resources to live a great life.” Now he’s plowing some of those rewards back into his two home communities: Bigfork, Montana, where he and his wife, Linda, spend five summer months near Glacier National Park, and Manasota Key in Englewood. (Given how often he drives up to Sarasota for board meetings, friends have quipped that he needs a pied-a-terre there as well.) A CHAMPION OF GULF COAST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Green has embraced Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s mantras of “better together” and “bold and proactive philanthropy.” While most nonprofits go deep on a single issue, he loves the foundation’s “wide palette and vista of transformative programs.” At any one time, Gulf Coast is

working on five or six broad initiatives “as a catalyst behind the scenes, without a lot of fanfare,” says Green. Gulf Coast identifies a need and then brings the community together to address it, partnering with both local government and other nonprofits. Recently Gulf Coast has focused attention and funding on homeless teens, hundreds of whom live in the Sarasota area. The foundation aims to understand their needs and coordinate existing resources available from agencies and the county to better serve them. Trouble is, homeless teens are a hard group to pin down. So Gulf Coast is facilitating communication with a place for them to meet and mentors, young and formerly homeless themselves, to act as interlocutors. “Then the kids feel, ‘Hey, they understand my problems,’” explains Green. DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

“The foundation is looking at what’s available, best practices across the U.S., what the community can provide—more counselors in schools, for instance, or more places to reach out if they have problems.” Green says he enjoys the board’s wide-ranging discussions and attention to how to maximize the foundation’s impact. “I have always been motivated by helping kids, helping schools, helping kids who are a bit lost to find themselves,” he says. Gulf Coast backs many education initiatives, from Reading Recovery (coaching first-graders who struggle with literacy) to STEMsmart (rejuvenating science education in middle and high schools, in part by upgrading classrooms). The foundation also underwrote a regional civility initiative that helped seed civility projects at schools and workplaces. “We’re trying to teach how to listen,” says Green, “which is so important in today’s political climate.” Green sees mental health as another wide issue of consequence. With the Barancik Foundation, Gulf Coast commissioned a yearlong study of child and youth mental health. In economic terms, untreated mental illness in youth costs Sarasota County more than $86 million per year, the research found. Based on the report’s recommendations, the foundations convened agencies across the community to build a better system of care, and Gulf Coast has set up a fund for community donations to support that work. “The foundation is looking at what’s available, best practices across the U.S., what the community can provide—more counselors in schools, for instance, or more places to reach out if they have problems,” says Green. “PHILANTHROPY IS MOST REWARDING WHEN IT’S A CONTACT SPORT” Gulf Coast’s cultivation of a culture of giving also excites Green. “Like a small consulting agency,” he says, the foundation works with nonprofits to increase their effectiveness, offering advice about how to create a strong board and a strong brand. Gulf Coast also makes it easy for individuals to listen to their better angels. The foundation invites community members to join at whatever level they can in major projects. Legacy arrangements and donor-advised funds allow people to direct funds to nonprofits working on issues dear to their heart. Green is proud that both his sons, now in their 40s, give back in some way. One works for a nonprofit, Khan Academy; another, a filmmaker, participates in a program to recognize college screenplay writers. Green has also set up donor-advised funds for both “so they understand about getting involved and making a difference.” 56

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His work on behalf of the Hermitage and Sarasota Orchestra echoes those themes. The Orchestra’s summer music camps, young person’s concerts and youth orchestra are all part of “trying to find ways to make sure that the next generation is prepared to make their contribution to society,” Green says. He also thrives on the challenge of building a much-needed new community music hall for the Orchestra and its youth activities. The Hermitage, he adds, “is a good example of finding a hidden gem in the community that catches your imagination.” Green lives a few doors down from the rustic retreat but didn’t discover it until attending a weekend presentation by one of the visiting artists. “Because of the Hermitage,” Green says, “there is a piece of Sarasota artistic DNA in Pulitzer-Prize-winning works and hundreds of other works of art conceived there.” Green credits nurture and nature for his own philanthropic drive. His parents instilled in him a love of the arts and the environment and a stake in civil rights, but he also had an inherent inclination, “getting immense joy and satisfaction from helping others.” Green believes all human beings, no matter how rough they might seem on the outside, share this altruism at the core. He points to stories of a stranger entering a burning house or a patron picking up a wounded veteran’s restaurant tab. “I believe that there is a deep part of us that wants to help, give back, and make our communities a better place to live,” he says. As Gulf Coast Community Foundation celebrates its silver anniversary, Green is looking forward to more stimulating discussions and meaningful change. Personally, he’d like to see the organization home in on the criminal justice system, including how people released from prison integrate back into society. As he says, “How can you not feel a real sense of accomplishment, challenge, and reward when you are part of an organization that along with its donors has granted over $352 million in its short 25-year history?” For more information about the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, visit www.gulfcoastcf.org or call 941.486.4600.

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g n i v e i l e B s i g n i r a e H d e t i v n I e F r C ’ S u t o a Y r d n a o Hea t ullen C e u By S

tate College of Florida’s planned Studio for the Performing Arts is expected to be a major boon not only to students but also to the entire Cultural Coast. To bring the project to fruition, the State College of Florida Foundation is leveraging the power of collective philanthropy. As preparations are being made for groundbreaking early next year, the SCF Foundation is counting on grassroots community support for $2 million to complete the funding.

“We want everyone to know that every dollar counts. A donation of $50, for example, results in an investment of 10 times that amount,” said Cassandra Holmes, Executive Director of the SCF Foundation. “The Studio for the Performing Arts is truly a community building. It is the first building in which funding comes primarily through philanthropy versus state funding.” Gaining broad community support to complete a capital project is not new for the SCF Foundation, which raised DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

“Research shows that music education builds entrepreneurial and workforce skills in motivation, persistence, teamwork, risk-taking, creative problem-solving and much more.”

New Studio for Performing Arts Rendering

On February 22, Maverick’s Rhythm and Rave will bring a high-energy vibe with live music from the area’s number one band, Kettle of Fish, performing from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at the SCF Bradenton Campus. The opening act will feature SCF’s Jazz Band at 7:30 p.m. Free tickets for the two events are available by contacting Erica DiMinno at 941.752.5654 or DiMinnE@SCF.edu.

$1 million for its new SCF Library and Learning Center through local donations. To help the community and musicians learn more about the project and SCF’s awardwinning music programs, the SCF Foundation is planning two live music events—free of charge.

At a time when STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education is emphasized at SCF and elsewhere, the college also has championed the value of art education as the region’s only open-access institution of higher learning with a postsecondary arts program.

On December 5, the SCF Board of Directors is hosting a wine soiree followed by a holiday concert, The Most Wonderful Night of the Year, beginning at 7:30 p.m., which will showcase students’ talents. It will include performances by SCF choirs, guitar ensemble and the Bradenton Symphony Orchestra. The reception begins at 6 p.m. in the Gallery at SCF with SCF President, Dr. Carol F. Probstfeld, unveiling details about the Studio for the Performing Arts and the programs and facilities it will provide both for the community and for students.

SCF supports 10 student ensembles including the Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, Musical Theatre Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Big Band Jazz Combo, Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Music Ensembles along with the SCF Presidential String Quartet and Presidential Jazz Combo. SCF students have won many awards in statewide competitions, and they make up a large percentage of musicians on statewide college performing groups, including the string orchestra, symphonic band and jazz band.

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

Presidential String Double Quartet

SCF Choir

SCF Choir with Bradenton Symphony Orchestra

In addition, the college’s connections have helped aspiring opera and other performing arts students obtain coveted opportunities with arts organizations locally and nationally. Thirteen SCF alumni work with local music students as teachers and band, choir or orchestra directors. Other students have stepped onto a larger stage. These include Bobby Brader, who teaches at the AMDA College and Conservancy of the Performing Arts and also scores music for the Hollywood film industry, and alternative R and B artist Reggie Williams, now known as R.Lum.R. “Research shows that music education builds entrepreneurial and workforce skills in motivation, persistence, teamwork, risktaking, creative problem-solving and much more.” Holmes said. “We also have students in our music program who are studying to be accountants, attorneys and architects.”

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

The Studio for the Performing Arts will provide a venue for SCF music students and faculty who entertain on campus as well as throughout the community. Community members can schedule lessons and classes with faculty, and practice studios are used by singers and musicians from around the world who have residences in the area. Studio facilities also will be available for rental. “Our music faculty and students have tremendous talent, and we like to say that hearing is believing,” Holmes said. “We’re inviting the community to these complimentary events to experience it for themselves. It’s important to RSVP for your free ticket to The Most Wonderful Night of the Year or Maverick’s Rhythm and Rave because seats are limited. Anyone interested in scheduling a private tour should give me a call at 941.752.5654.”

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Mote’s Mission to Save Coral Reefs By Ryan G. Van Cleave

While many know Mote as the place to find 100 species of marine animals such as manatees, sea turtles, and sea jellies—not to mention the 135,000-gallon shark habitat—it’s also a working laboratory where cuttingedge scientific research happens on a daily basis. One of the most urgent issues they’re seeking to address is the deterioration of Florida’s coral reefs, which are being ravaged by disease, ocean warming, and the increased acidification of the water. Much of this work is being done at Mote’s IC2R3 (Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration) campus in Summerland Key. The IC2R3’s Science Director, Dr. Erinn Muller, says that coral reefs are the most biologically diverse ecosystem in the ocean and help to support over 25% of all marine life. In essence, they’re the backbone of life in the oceans. “In addition,” she adds, “coral reefs provide an immense amount of ecosystem services including shoreline protection

and they offer novel sources for medicine, food, and jobs to over 1 billion people around the world.” Perhaps most important in terms of a local focus, she explains that coral reefs are an economic driver. The Florida Reef Tract alone provides 70,000+ jobs and is estimated to be worth $6 billion annually to Florida’s economy. Considering that since the 1970s, the Florida Reef Tract has lost more than 95% of its once-flourishing hard coral cover, this is a pressing issue. Without urgent change, all coral reefs may be gone by the end of the century. That’s a future marine scientists like those at Mote are committed to changing, however. Dr. Hanna R. Koch, a Postdoctoral Fellow with The German Research Foundation and Visiting Research Scientist at Mote, says that the IC2R3 has taken a big step forward this year in “completing the entire loop of resilience-based coral reef restoration involving both asexual and sexual propagation.” She further explains that “Asexual DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

propagation, via coral gardening, produces large numbers of resilient corals that are used for increasing coral cover more quickly on degraded reefs. Sexually propagated coral offspring represent the next generation of genetically distinct individuals that may have certain traits, like increased temperature tolerance or disease resistance, that make them better adapted to stressful environmental conditions.” In short, the corals being produced today are better able to withstand the increasingly challenging environmental conditions that have proven disastrous to previous generations of coral. That’s the only way to help revive critically endangered coral like staghorn and elkhorn. Dr. Koch says that sexual reproduction is crucial for the survival and long-term persistence of coral reefs, and this year, she’s carried out the first complete round of sexual propagation, including spawning, fertilization, and settlement, using Mote’s own broodstock of staghorn corals. Thanks to the work 66

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

being done at IC2R3, they now have 200 new coral babies that will be used to add fresh genetics to their Coral Reef Restoration Program in the Florida Keys. “Given that for some species and regions, sexual cycles are failing in the wild as a result of increased environmental degradation,” notes Dr. Koch, “this achievement marks an important first step in the development of a managed breeding program as part of Mote’s resilience-based coral reef restoration strategy.” What many simply don’t understand is that coral reefs are deeply affected by the ongoing rapid change of the Earth’s climate. “Corals are indeed animals,” explains Dr. Koch, “but they have evolved a symbiotic relationship with microscopic plants that they host inside their tissues, called algae. These special algae convert the sun’s energy into food for the coral host through the process of photosynthesis and provide more than 90% of the coral’s nutritional requirements.” As a result of global warming, the sea surface temperatures of the ocean can become too high, which means the coral DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

“It’s heartening to see that the corals we care for every day routinely have a 90% survival rate after placing them back onto the reef.” host gets stressed out and expels these vital energy-producing symbionts in a process called “coral bleaching.” This act leaves the now-colorless animal appearing as bright white, which means it’s starving. As a result of global stressors (like increased temperatures) and local stressors (like increased disease outbreaks and pollution), in the last forty years alone, we’ve lost more than 50% of the Earth’s coral reefs, and a devastating 80% of those in the Caribbean. Given that coral reefs are some of the longest living ecosystems on this planet, having been around for more than 250 million years, this rapid and widespread loss is an issue that more people should be aware of.

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But thanks to the amazing staff at Mote that has dedicated much of their lives’ work to coral restoration, positive results are coming in. Dr. Muller says that “it’s heartening to see that the corals we care for every day routinely have a 90% survival rate after placing them back onto the reef. Because of the techniques that Mote staff has developed, and our care and dedication to reef conservation, coral restoration is a viable method that can bring our coral reefs back to life within There’s our lifetime.” no limit to the BARGAI For more information on Mote Marine Laboratory, please visit www.mote.org or call 941.388.4441.

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A Community Growing Bigger . . .and Younger The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Looks in the Mirror By Sylvia Whitman Good data yields better programs. This year, the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee (JFSM) contracted Brandeis University in Massachusetts to survey the local Jewish population, and results from the yearlong study are in. “The biggest happy surprise is that our community is growing by leaps and bounds,” says Kim Mullins, JFSM’s COO. Since the last study in 2001, the Jewish population in the two Gulf Coast counties has doubled, to about 35,300, including 3,400 Jewish children. Jews, about 2.2% of U.S. residents, now make up 3.6% of the Sarasota-Manatee population. “Certainly, the Gulf Coast population as a whole has grown,” Mullins says. “But the rate of growth for the Jewish community is almost two times that.”

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

GROWTH OVER TIME IN JEWISH COMMUNITY SIZE (Source: 2019 Jewish Community Study by Brandeis University)

Why the influx? “We attribute it to same reasons everybody wants to live here—arts, culture, education, lifestyle, sports, pickleball!” explains Mullins. “The Jewish community in particular is drawn to this region’s strong cultural and educational resources.” Although Jews from colder climates have traditionally seen Sarasota-Manatee as a retirement destination, the percentage of Jewish residents under age 64 has increased since 2001. “More young professionals are coming to provide services to people who are retiring,” says Mullins. These still-working newcomers, many of them doctors and lawyers, are often raising families, and the doubling of the under-18 cohort has contributed to lowering the community’s mean age. As a corollary, more than 80% of Sarasota-Manatee Jews spend more than nine months of the year here. “We had thought we had a larger subset of snowbirds,” says Mullins. Another unexpected finding, says JFSM CEO Howard Tevlowitz, lies in the distribution of the Jewish population. “We suspected that our numbers had grown in Lakewood Ranch, and yes, about 11% of the two counties’ Jewish population lives there. The surprise is that more than 24% have settled in University Park north into Manatee.” Anyone interested in a fuller portrait of the Jewish presence in Sarasota-Manatee can find the Brandeis report on the JFSM website (jfedsrq.org/communitystudy).

FROM INFORMATION TO ACTION To use this data, JFSM is assembling a strategic planning committee, Tevlowitz says. The findings largely support the current direction of the organization. The study confirms, for instance, that JFSM’s Larry & Mary Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life is in the right place—580 McIntosh Road—central to three large demographic growth areas. About a decade ago, JFSM switched from a general membership to a fee-for-service model that facilitates programming responsive to demand. According to Tevlowitz, two words sum up JFSM’s operating philosophy: engagement and connectivity. The federation aims to offer programs across the lifespan, bridging age groups. This seems particularly appropriate now that the local Jewish community, as the Brandeis study underscores, is becoming more multigenerational. As part of the “reimagining” of the campus currently under way, the Hershorin Schiff Community Day School (K-8), about 300 kids strong, will relocate onto the JFSM grounds in June 2021. JFSM also participates in the PJ Library, an international program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that sends free Jewish-themed books and music to children on a monthly basis. Already, the study shows, JFSM’s PJ Library has given the Federation “about 70% in-reach to families with kids from 0 – 11, one of the highest saturation rates in the country,” says Mullins. To engage adults, “we’ve made concerted efforts over last two years to bring in hundreds of volunteers,” says Tevlowitz. DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

Like other local organizations, adds Mullins, JFSM is working to have the younger demographic represented in decision making, and eventually in top leadership. “We may not have everybody,” says Tevlowitz, “but work gets done in committees that bubbles up to the board.”

DOT DENSITY MAP OF JEWISH HOUSEHOLDS IN SARASOTA-MANATEE (Source: 2019 Jewish Community Study by Brandeis University)

The study recommends that JFSM could be doing even more outreach—to Jews and non-Jews alike. About 8% of respondents labeled themselves “immersed” in all aspects of Jewish life; the remainder split almost evenly between minimally and moderately engaged. Tevlowitz says that JFSM plans to build on its successful mothers-only and fathers-only trips to Israel. “It reignites their Judaism,” he says. “Moms come home fired up.” Other Brandeis study findings emphasize the weaving of the Jewish community into the fabric of the region as a whole. While almost 70% of Sarasota-Manatee Jews report that at least half of their closest friends are Jewish, 48% of marriages involve a spouse of another faith. Although lower than the national intermarriage rate, the local one has almost tripled since 2001. JFSM wants to share Jewish values widely, overcoming divides. “We’ve always welcomed others,” Mullins says. “Our programs are open to those of all backgrounds and faiths.” She adds that as the campus expansion continues, JFSM will likely add more high-quality cultural programs. A performing arts center, with about 2500 square feet exhibition space, will host rotating exhibits from around country, as well film and book festivals. Space will give JFSM more opportunity to work with established partners such as the Perlman Music Program/Suncoast. Tevlowitz adds that JFSM has cultivated ties with other groups, from the NAACP to Unidos Now. It works with the nonprofit Embracing Our Differences. “We’re a small minority,” explains Tevlowitz, “and we understand what that feels like.” JFSM has also brought over 90 leaders from the community—from religion, business, education, philanthropy, government, and more—to Israel. “You build community not through big events but by building relationships,” Tevlowitz says. He points with pride to programs like Classrooms Without Borders. Through this nationwide initiative,

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

this year JFSM sent five teachers from Gulf Coast public and diocese schools to Poland; with other participants from across the country, they learned not just the lessons of the Holocaust but about diversity education. Each year JFSM also organizes a mission to Israel, the focus (security, for instance, or economic development) determined by participant interest and expertise. “The best outcome is that we travel together. We learn from each other. It’s very hard to dislike someone you get to know very well. There’s zero stereotyping when you come back from trips like this,” says Tevlowitz. The Brandeis checkup confirms the good health of the local Jewish community. In preparing for this close inspection, JFSM “set up to proactively react to this information,” Tevlowitz says. “We should be proud. But as our demographer said to us yesterday, ‘Now the hard work begins.’”

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ACCELERATING

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

POSITIVE CHANGE Debra M. Jacobs By Julie Milton President and CEO of The Patterson Foundation (TPF) Debra Jacobs is a firm believer that creative collaboration produces results and knowledge that can be applied more broadly to transcend any single act of philanthropy. With the many important initiatives The Patterson Foundation’s involvement has strengthened, she has proven that shared resources do indeed make for a better community where everyone can live well. Prior to joining The Patterson Foundation, Ms. Jacobs was President of the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, and was responsible for the administration of eight other independent foundations. For the past ten years, her work with community partners to accelerate positive change has made an immeasurable difference. We asked Ms. Jacobs about the impact that some of The Patterson Foundation initiatives have had in our community and what she thinks our biggest needs will be in the near future.

As a leader in the local nonprofit community for the past twenty plus years, you have a breadth of knowledge not held by many. How have you seen the philanthropic landscape of our community evolve in the past twenty years? For many years, this community has been defined by an uncommon sense of generosity. That goes for everyone from the high-school student who is passionate about making a difference in their world to the most prolific donors whose names grace some of our community’s major assets and institutions. In the past two decades, we have seen the development and evolution of systems and platforms to harness this generosity and focus it toward achieving heightened levels of good. Now in its 20th iteration, our region’s annual Season of Sharing campaign gives citizen philanthropists and major donors an effective way to create better futures for people in our communities living on the verge of homelessness. Through the stalwart leadership of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and the Herald-Tribune media group,

Season of Sharing affords the opportunity to help cover emergency expenses like medical bills, transportation, childcare, and rent that can help keep an individual or family secure in their home — addressing a significant challenge before it becomes an even greater one. This type of unified approach of caring across Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties amplifies the impact of the thousands of individuals who contribute to Season of Sharing each year and trigger matching gifts from The Patterson Foundation. Another example of this evolution toward systems that help the community get the most out of its inherent generosity is The Giving Partner and the 24-hour Giving Challenge it powers. By accessing this free online platform, donors can access important information and learn about the aspirations and needs as well as fundraising efforts of more than 630 nonprofits across our region, allowing them to make informed decisions on causes and organizations to support. The relationships between these organizations and their donors are harnessed further during the Giving Challenge, in which

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

“The Patterson Foundation works to strengthen people, organizations and communities. It’s about more than writing a check and moving on to the next opportunity — we seek networks actively engaged in successfully creating change”

to strengthen. The Governing Board developed values that are embraced with each decision. Our work over the past decade has served to inform our approach and add clarity to the path that lies ahead. How do you choose which community, national or worldwide efforts The Patterson Foundation will assist? Early on, we realized we could not be all things to all people — and with many philanthropic foundations working in our region, we can engage in ways others aren’t. This results in a compounding and complementary effect of each foundation’s efforts. Furthermore, The Patterson Foundation understands that lasting change is more likely to occur when we take a deep dive into an effort. This starts by exercising diligence in working through the “process before the plunge,” choosing how to distribute our time, focus and resources most effectively prior to embarking on any initiative. All that we do relates back to our core values:

donors are inspired to contribute online to organizations with active profiles on The Giving Partner over a 24-hour period. In previous iterations of the Giving Challenge, The Patterson Foundation has provided matching donations to incentivize donors to contribute to both organizations they have long supported, along with ones they have been introduced to through the creative outreach effort that each organization developed during the months leading up to the Giving Challenge. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the work of The Patterson Foundation and your leadership. Tell us about Dorothy Patterson’s influence on The Patterson Foundation’s work. Yes, and while it is important to take this as an opportunity to reflect on The Patterson Foundation’s impact over our first decade of existence, it is equally important to capture the deep learnings we have acquired along the journey while applying them to further evolve our work in the region and beyond. We owe much of this impact to the foresight of our benefactor, Dorothy Patterson. To optimize the philanthropic potential of her wealth, Dorothy created The Patterson Foundation with an unfettered charter, affording tremendous flexibility, opportunity and responsibility to do good with the $200 million corpus bequeathed upon her passing in 2007. As liberating as that opportunity might sound great, it carries with it the responsibility to make wise decisions in our philanthropy and work in ways that produce the greatest level of impact. With a plethora of diverse opportunities to engage in, it can certainly feel daunting to navigate them wisely and make the right decision on which ones 76

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

We work with others to strengthen their impact by: • Understanding that resources and expertise beyond the gift provide value • Being accessible and engaged with others • Striving to learn as we collaborate and share successes and challenges We believe meaningful change requires commitment and persistence and encourage this by: • Embracing new ideas that address a constantly changing world • Undertaking philanthropic work in ways others are not doing, cannot do, or will not do • Demonstrating integrity blended with joyful stewardship We invest for lasting impact by: • Managing assets responsibly • Realizing real change requires depth of resources • Focusing on shared aspirations while leveraging resources

At The Patterson Foundation’s dawn, we took inspiration from issues that reflected how the wealth was created as well as factors that were part of the Patterson family’s realities. We created a set of nine legacy initiatives honoring them: Aging with Dignity and Independence, Arthritis Foundation – Florida Chapter, Bringing Science Home, Caregiver Connect, the Collaboratory at Ringling College of Art and Design, EdExploreSRQ, New Media Journalism, Patriot Plaza, and the Sister M. Lucia Haas Scholarship Endowment. Over the course of The Patterson Foundation’s work in these initiatives, we’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with businesses, governments, nonprofits, media and people who mirror our approach to philanthropy. Our experiences with some truly

exceptional organizations and leaders have informed the qualities to look for when seeking a partner in our efforts: open and committed leadership, willingness to collaborate, readiness to embrace all that the work entails, capacity to commit to the work and follow through on it, and a culture driven by passion and possibilities. These collaborations with likeminded people have given rise to new initiatives or evolutions of existing ones. There is a common thread to be found throughout each of them: Rather than choosing to focus on particular programs or organizations, The Patterson Foundation works to strengthen people, organizations and communities. It’s about more than writing a check and moving on to the next opportunity — we seek networks actively engaged in successfully creating change, along with approaches that foster connecting, learning and sharing toward the achievement of shared aspirations regionally, nationally and globally. The Patterson Foundation is currently involved with 15 important initiatives. Which of these initiatives have already had a significant impact on our community? Each year, we hear how Season of Sharing has made a tangible difference in the lives of our friends and neighbors living on the verge of homelessness. Over 19 years, Season of Sharing has harnessed the community’s generous spirit during the holiday season to raise more than $21 million

for those less fortunate, which includes $4.2 million in gifts from The Patterson Foundation. By giving these funds to people before they lose their home, Season of Sharing has the ability to alter the narrative and keep trying circumstances from becoming a chronic challenge. There is significant upside to this approach: For every dollar spent on helping a person stay in their home, it costs $8 to return them to one they have lost. Regionally, that investment has meant that more than 35,000 individuals and families have retained the dignity, comfort and security their home provides. And, with only 15 percent of those who receive Season of Sharing funding needing more assistance the following year, the impact Season of Sharing generates each year is sustainable. Which current initiatives do you expect to have the most long-term positive impact? Two in particular stand out as ones our future generations will look back on. The Patterson Foundation is a lead partner in the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a community-wide effort tied to the nationwide movement championed by the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading to help all children, especially those from assetlimited families, read on grade level by the end of third grade. Research shows that this is the point where “learning to read” really becomes “reading to learn,” and students with difficulty doing so find themselves at a significant DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

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disadvantage in the classroom — which can give rise to new obstacles to success and active citizenship later in life. In Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties, this work is illustrated in efforts focused on maximizing learning opportunities for children from birth before they even step foot into the classroom while helping them develop consistent attendance habits upon starting school and keeping them reading and engaged over the summer months. Beyond these solution areas, the Suncoast Campaign also strengthens parents to help them in their role as their children’s first teacher, along with connecting them to resources to help them raise healthy readers poised to learn and succeed. These efforts have the potential to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and strengthen futures for multiple generations of people in our community. Through The Bay, The Patterson Foundation is strengthening the community’s journey toward the creation of a public park along 53 pristine acres of Sarasota’s bayfront that is safe, open and accessible to all. It is a process spearheaded by visionary leaders in our community who continuously dedicate immense time and talent to make an iconic asset for the people of Sarasota. At every step along the way, The Bay has taken significant strides to engage individuals in our community to be the architects of their own future. By creating these opportunities for people from all walks of life to come together and imagine the possibilities for the park, The Bay continues to evolve and define its features and amenities — ensuring that the result reflects the aspirations of those who will take advantage of all it has to offer. The Patterson Foundation has strengthened and accelerated The Bay’s process by providing up to $5 million toward Phase 1 of its master plan, along with years of consulting and support to its leadership team prior to and during the master planning phase.

The Foundation has successfully completed several initiatives. Which have had the biggest impact? Patriot Plaza, the ceremonial amphitheater at Sarasota National Cemetery, stands as a true pride point. With “Military” being one of the nine legacy initiatives, we saw the opportunity to contribute an enhancement to our region’s then-new national cemetery for service members and their families. What began as an idea to fund the addition of “shade and seats” grew into the 2,800-seat venue that is there today, which is available to host free community events honoring our nation and military. To bring this vision to life, we engaged the Department of Veterans Affairs — National Cemetery Administration in a first-of-itskind public-private partnership to create an enhancement at one of our 139 national cemeteries. The Patterson Foundation fully funded the $12 million design and construction of Patriot Plaza, including its commissioned art installations. An integral element of Patriot Plaza, this collection of murals, sculptures and photography depicts and conveys stories of the service and sacrifice of our heroes and their loved ones spanning our history from the Civil War to the Middle East. Each installation makes these stories relatable to a broad audience — especially children, who have had numerous opportunities to experience Patriot Plaza through guided tours for the public as well as during field trips facilitated by The Patterson Foundation’s EdExploreSRQ initiative — each providing opportunities for those with stories of their own to reflect and know that this community is grateful for all that they have done to protect our freedom and way of life. That ability for people to come together and honor veterans, inspire patriotism and embrace freedom is something that continues to reverberate through this community and in the hearts of everyone who visits Patriot Plaza, long after its national dedication in 2014.

You are a big believer in collaboration to be “catalysts for good.” Please explain. W ithin the halls of The Patterson Foundation’s office, you will often hear talk of the “cookie jar.” We believe that the learnings we acquire through our work in philanthropy are like cookies — ones that are best shared with others who stand to benefit from them, rather than keep them stuffed in a closed jar (and who doesn’t like being offered a cookie every now and then?). Creating opportunities to open and share the jar with those who are working in the same space toward the same aspiration can help inform and catalyze their own efforts. We know that every person, organization and community has cookie jars, and we benefit when we all share nuggets of wisdom and experience. There are boundless opportunities to create more good in our world. They are also complex and necessitate a collaborative effort to seize in a way that is meaningful and sustainable. We know we cannot go it alone if we want our philanthropy to succeed. First, we must stop and ask, “Who else cares about this?” Rather than arriving with the answer or a suggested course of action upon engaging them, we listen intelligently to understand other perspectives. This creates the chance for The Patterson Foundation to learn from those already making a difference while highlighting ways we can contribute our own knowledge and experience to their effort.

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What advice would you give to others who want to make an impact philanthropically in our community? As Americans, we have an opportunity to be philanthropic. We have systems in place to help us be effective in doing so. And, most importantly, we are not alone. Across our community and the world beyond, there are people and organizations who share your passion and aspirations for the future. Take the time to define that passion — then seek out those working toward it and combine your efforts with theirs. By adopting this mindset of collective abundance, you will be positioned to work toward true, lasting impact. DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

An Evening of

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TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s19)

ADVENTURES FOR A

Cause By Jacqueline Miller

Have you wanted to do something really different on your next vacation but are just not sure what it is? What if you could help advance an important scientific project? Get involved with wildlife conservation initiatives? Cycle for kids in Cambodia? Would any of these get you excited enough to roll up your sleeves and get involved?

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

• Hidden Places •

For this travel company (hiddenplaces.net), it’s all about journeys, not vacations. Being a meaningful part of a community, pitching in for sustainably, and helping others in their struggles. You can join a trip that’s already gearing up, book a private and custom trip for your own group, or join one of the organization’s fundraising projects or fundraise for your own cause. 100 Miles for Elephants is one of Hidden Places pre-planned trips. Poaching has plummeted Tanzania’s elephants dramatically. There are now only 45,000 elephants there compared to 316,000 that roamed the plains in 1979. For a week, you and highly experienced guides, will walk 12 miles a day across an area where no safari vehicles are allowed, following rivers, camps, groves of acacia trees in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. There’s even a good chance that you will be walking amidst the Great Migration. The trek raises funds for community scouts who use dogs to track down poachers. Poachers fear the dogs so their presence is a big deterrent. The trek also supports the K-9 Tracker Dog Unit in Serengeti which has been highly successful in intercepting poachers. Another one of Hidden Places trips bring you to see one of the most spectacular of the big cats, snow leopards, which are also in serious decline with only about 6000 left in the world. This is due to the snow leopard being hunted for their coats and for body parts that are used in traditional medicine. The “Trekking for Snow Leopards” trip helps save these incredible endangered creatures. As a team member, you travel with local conservationists up to 12 miles a day reaching altitudes as high as 14,000, and help by raising $500 for a local initiative mitigate the human-snow leopard conflict in Nepal.

SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2019

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

• WORLD EXPEDITIONS •

According to its website (worldexpeditions.com), “Responsible travel practice is at the heart of every program we offer as a fundamental and long held philosophy. When you book one of our adventures you’re supporting true sustainability in the protection of local communities, natural environments and wildlife.” So just what do they offer? Through its special fundraising division, Huma Charity Challenge, you can take on a challenge of your choosing and fundraise for your favorite charity or you can join one of their adventures and fundraise with others. They have helped raise over $5 million for charities while you walk the Great Wall of China, climb Mount Everest or cycle through Vietnam. 2020 trips include Free the Bears in Laos, Walk Camino in Spain (charity of your choice), Climb Kilimanjaro, Peru Trek Inca Trail, and several others. For a complete list, visit humacharitychallenge.com.

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• GOOD Travel •

According to its website (good-travel.org), the company “promotes and facilitates travel that gives back to the local community, economy and environment”, claiming they “aim to educate, inform and share knowledge with travelers and businesses to encourage sustainable and responsible tourism.” The company hopes their vision for tourism will change the face and experience of travel, and ultimately create a better world. So what are some of their “good” travel experiences? For 2020, they have three planned trips. The first is “Possibilitarian Retreat Australia” in March. The goal of this experience is to get you inspired and reconnected with yourself and the world. Highlights include Vallori Thomas’s Possibilitarian workshops said to enable you to uncover the possibilities in your life and discover how to make them a reality. She is a practitioner of Context Mastery. You also get to enjoy the spectacular Bouddi Peninsula and leave a positive legacy by supporting a local Australian project. In the summer there are four trips to Peru for moms and daughters (the early July trip allows sons as well) to immerse themselves in Peruvian culture with the girls involved in Peruvian Hearts projects. Peruvian Hearts works to end poverty and gender inequality by educating young women and creating community leaders in Peru. Every aspect of the trip has been designed to ensure the local community economy and environment benefit from your visit. You also get to hike one of the 7 wonders of the world, trek with llamas, make chocolate, visit indigenous communities and shop at local markets.

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Take the Ride

By Ryan G. Van Cleave

In 2011, Director Peter Amster was living in Miami with longtime partner (Tony Award-winning director Frank Galati), when Asolo Rep’s Producing Artistic Director, Michael Donald Edwards, called to ask if he was interested in directing at the theatre. Amster agreed and immediately fell in love with Asolo Rep and Sarasota. Within a year, the couple sold their Miami home and moved to Sarasota for good and, since then, Amster, now an Associate Artist at the theatre, has continued to direct one play each season at Asolo Rep.

filled out with talented graduate actors? That’s the cherry on top, he notes.

“They’re such a good partner for any production,” Amster says about working with Edwards and his team, as well as the top-notch costume shop, scene shop, production team and world-class designers. “It doesn’t get much better than this. You’d really have to go to Broadway to match the resources that Asolo Rep has.” The fact that the theatre has a partnership with the FSU/Asolo Conservatory MFA program that allows large casts to be

“Agatha Christie started writing Murder in the Orient Express in the 1920s and continued until the 1930s,” he notes. “This was right after World War I, and Great Britain wasn’t the same place it was before. Everything was topsy turvy—they were all reaching for something, and Christie had her finger on the pulse of it.” What impresses him about the core story is how it was inspired by a massive worldwide event—the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby—

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This year, those resources—and Amster’s directing efforts— are focused on bringing a fresh version of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express to the stage. Of course, it started as a novel, and has since been made into two fine movies and a BBC show. He wants to build on what those brought to the table and yet find ways to make it feel new, too.

of a Lifetime at Asolo Rep

as well as her own first journey on the Orient Express in 1928, and a blizzard near Turkey that marooned an Orient Express train in 1929 for nearly a week. Christie’s authorized diary also recounts how a later train ride home from her husband’s archaeological dig provided elements of the plot and even certain characters. Amster believes the 1974 film—starring Albert Finney as Poirot, with Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, and Ingrid Bergman in supporting roles—was really about the adventure and romance of taking a cross-country train ride. “It had a cavalcade of stars,” he says. The 2015 Kenneth Brannagh movie, though, was far darker, being more about the serious issues and themes in play. Amster hopes to blend the best of those performances in Asolo Rep’s new production, which was adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig, a two-time Tony-nominated playwright who’s known for his ability to use farce. “It’ll

“This was right after World War I, and Great Britain wasn’t the same place it was before. Everything was topsy turvy— they were all reaching for something, and Christie had her finger on the pulse of it.” —Director Peter Amster

DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

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be a little sillier, have a little more twinkle, a few more winks, and more fun than the novel,” Amster adds. Plus, Ludwig brings both a deep seriousness and high sense of adventure to the story that comes together wonderfully on the stage. The production features an original score by Greg Coffin, so it’s not just going to look cinematic, but it’s going to sound cinematic, too. While a playwright might suggest to use, say, Mahler, original music can be perfectly timed to match scene changes so there’s a seamless quality that can’t be replicated. “Sometimes the music bleeds over, or you don’t get to the best parts of it, and the internal cuts just get in the way,” Amster explains.

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Amster’s Murder on the Orient Express will also incorporate video projections throughout the performance. “One of the things I see in all the adaptations and even in the original novel, is that the kidnapping of little Sandy Armstrong gets lost. It doesn’t get sustained,” he says. “Yet in this production, we’re going to have her presence all throughout, which should offer another level of emotional impact.” One might wonder how Amster keeps up his interest and energy after being in the theater business for nearly five decades. His answer: “It’s the joy of being in the sandbox with other nice children.” He adds that “there’s a great sense of play and joy the first time we finally sit around the table, talk about it, and do our first read-through. While I’ve read the play dozens of times before that happens, all the characters sound alike me. To hear new voices? It’s so refreshing. That’s when it really becomes a play.” Murder on the Orient Express plays in rotating repertory from January 8, 2020 through March 8, 2020. Come book your passage today for the train ride of a lifetime.

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For more information on Asolo Repertory Theatre or the 2019-2020 season, please visit www.asolorep.org or call the box office at 941.351.8000.

THIS SEASON, MANATEE COUNTY IS THE PLACE TO

Rock, Roll, Tap & Swoon By Jacqueline Miller This month, The Manatee Players, Inc. presents a full and diverse line-up of live concerts throughout Manatee County starting with the famed rock and roll doo-wop group, Sha Na Na, on December 14. The series is sponsored by the Bradenton Area Tourist Development Council with concerts taking place at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, The Center of Anna Maria Island, and Sutton Park in Palmetto. The concert series includes a wide range of popular artists throughout the decades from various music genres including Rock, Contemporary Christian, Jazz, Folk and more. With a vision to present concerts within our community, The Manatee Players, Inc. has partnered with The Center of Anna Maria, which has 700 seats, great live acoustics, complimentary valet, and is in walking distance of fantastic restaurants. The concerts are sure to attract locals and vacationers alike. On February 8, Contemporary Christian artist Michael W. Smith headlines at Sutton Park. The concert is part of the weekend festivities for the 2020 Annual Bradenton Area River Regatta.

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HERE’S THE EXCITING CONCERT SERIES LINE-UP: SHA NA NA December 14 | 7:00 p.m. The Center of Anna Maria Island

Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas January 23 | 7:00 p.m. The Center of Anna Maria Island

Rock and roll doo-wop legends, Sha Na Na combined their love for the classics of rock and roll with a dynamic theatrical approach as fellow college students at Columbia University in New York. In 1969 they appeared just before Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. The band rose to stardom with four seasons of their own worldwide television series, The Sha Na Na Show, and their portrayal of Johnny Casino and the Gamblers in the movie Grease.

Mickey Thomas joined Jefferson Starship in 1979 and the group recorded their first hit, “Jane”, almost immediately after getting together. In 1985, Starship released the album that would come to define the 80s—Knee Deep in the Hoopla—which featured two #1 hits—”We Built This City” and “Sara”. The album reached #7 on Billboard and went platinum.

ABBA-Salutely 70s January 4 | 8:00 p.m. Manatee Performing Arts Center Two girls, two guys, and the number one hits of the 70s makes for a great night of fun. This Florida-based quartet brings a high energy show featuring the songs of The Eagles, The Bee Gees, and the Swedish sensation ABBA. There will be clapping, singing, and dancing in the aisles so get ready to shake your groove thing and don’t miss ABBA-Salutely 70s. Rat Pack: Together Again January 11 | 2:00 p.m. Manatee Performing Arts Center Enjoy a musical journey featuring the greatest hits from the legendary Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. This production will treat you to Sinatra classics including “Come Fly With Me”, and “New York, New York”, Dean Martin’s great songs like “Everybody Loves Somebody” and “That’s Amore!” And from the dynamic Sammy Davis Jr., “Mr. Bojangles” and “Candy Man”. 92

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Michael W. Smith February 8 | 2:00 p.m. Sutton Park, Palmetto During Michael’s storied career he’s been honored with three Grammy Awards, 45 Dove Awards, an American Music Award and he has sold more than 15 million albums. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when “Place in this World” hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. He continues to be one of the most influential artists in today’s very popular Contemporary Christian music scene. Danny Seraphine – Take Me Back to Chicago Tour February 13 | 7:00 p.m. The Center of Anna Maria Island Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and pioneering jazz-rock drummer Danny Seraphine is a founding member of the legendary band Chicago, which has become one of the world’s biggest and most beloved rock and roll bands, selling more than 130 million albums. For the past 12 years, he and his new jazz-rock powerhouse group, California Transit Authority (CTA), are often described as “Chicago on steroids”.

It Was A Very Good Year February 29 | 2:00 p.m. Manatee Performing Arts Center You’ll never get a chance to see Frank Sinatra, or even Frank Sinatra Jr. perform in concert, but some people say that Tony Sands is the next best thing! This show is a must-see for any Sinatra fan. Tony Sands has incorporated stunning graphics of Sinatra’s life from 17 to 70 that entice you the moment the stage lights dim, and the music begins. The show starts with Sinatra’s early days with Tommy Dorsey to Sinatra’s comeback. The Grass Roots March 19 | 7:00 p.m. The Center of Anna Maria Island This highly successful rock and roll group consistently produced quality music in their heyday from 1966 to 1975, with their hits like “Live for Today”, “Midnight Confessions”, and “Temptation Eyes” being a top pick of disc jockeys and frequent requests from listeners. From 1967 to 1972, The Grass Roots set a record for being on the Billboard charts 307 straight weeks. Atlantic City Boys April 25 | 8:00 p.m. Manatee Performing Arts Center The Atlantic City boys have wowed audiences from Las Vegas, New York, and of course Atlantic City. These four dynamic singers share their world-class vocals to the harmonies of the 60s singing the hits of The Drifters, The Beach Boys, and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Inspired by the hit musical, Jersey Boys, the Atlantic City boys combine smooth dance moves, fun audience participation, and show-stopping numbers.

Concert Locations: Manatee Performing Arts Center 401 7th Street West, Bradenton 941.748.5875 The Center of Anna Maria Island Complimentary valet 407 Magnolia Ave, Anna Maria 941.778.1908 Sutton Park 950 6th St W, Palmetto Bradenton Area River Regatta happening same day as Feb 8 Michael W. Smith concert. Green Bridge will be closed.

For Ticket Sales: Phone: 941-748-5875 Box Office Location: 502 Third Avenue West, Bradenton Hours of Operation: Tuesday-Friday, 10 AM-5 PM Saturday, 9 AM-2 PM ManateePerformingArtsCenter.com

| SARASOTA DECEMBER 2019 SCENE93 93 | SARASOTA DECEMBER 2019 SCENE

SCENES FROM AN INTERVIEW

FOR THE GO OD OF ALL BY GUS MOLLASIS

his month, instead of interviewing an individual as I usually do, I decided to reach out to local nonprofits to find out how you can help them this holiday season. So, in keeping with the giving spirit of the holidays, we hope the wishes of these nonprofits will make it easier for you to make a difference in someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. There are many ways to help, both big and small, and each contribution, whether it is time, talent or treasure, is priceless to the health and wellbeing of our community.

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HELP FIGHT HUNGER $25 = 125 meals, $50 = 250 meals, $100 = 500 meals Together with their partners, All Faiths Food Bank provides healthy solutions to end hunger in our community. In 2020 All Faiths will continue to build a healthy community by providing 10.8 million meals to children, families, seniors, and veterans in need. You can help them fulfill their mission by supporting their programs which include Backpacks for students, School Pantries, Mobile Pantries, Mobile Farm Markets, Partner Agencies and Nutrition Education. 941.379.6333 | allfaithsfoodbank.org

PROVIDE COMFORTING ESSENTIALS Dish soap, paper towels, garbage bags, cat litter, and dog shampoo. These are just a few of the most-needed items at Humane Society of Sarasota County (HSSC). They’re not glamorous, but they’re essential to keeping the animals cared for and its facility clean. On average, there are 150 animals at HSSC every day. That’s a lot of food, toys, and supplies. Every donated item helps HSSC reduce expenses and put more resource towards program services. Items may be dropped off at any time. If HSSC is closed, you may leave items outside the Adoption Center. 941.955.4131 | hssc.org DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

ENSURE SAFETY JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life for those living with epilepsy or other seizure disorders, their families and caregivers. $250 will purchase a FDA-approved Seizure Detection Watch for a child who has grand mal (tonic clonic) seizures. This device notifies parents when their child is experiencing a seizure so they can immediately respond to ensure their child’s safety. This lifesaving watch can help to prevent SUDEP sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. When 1 in 26 people will experience a seizure during their lifetime, this Seizure Detection Watch can save lives! They need 15 watches to fulfill the needs of families and ensure their child’s safety this holiday season. 800.706.2740 | joshprovides.org

RAISING UP Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. helps people in crisis to overcome their hardships and live a healthy life. A donation to the 18th Annual Catholic Charities Christmas Appeal will give those in distress the means to move beyond their struggles and enrich our communities. Benefiting the Christmas Appeal will support a survivor of human trafficking on their journey to realize a normal life. For those suffering from anxiety, stress, trauma or depression, Catholic Charities dispenses critical mental health counseling. Donations can offer a weary homeless family transitional housing and resources to become independent or give a lonely and isolated senior companionship and care. A contribution can also feed desperate individuals experiencing hunger and food insecurity as well as teach at-risk adolescents the skills to make good decisions. Catholic Charities is a nonprofit social service agency benefits all people regardless of race, nationality or creed with a wide range of assistance throughout Southwest Florida. 92 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to its clients. 941.488.5581 | catholiccharitiesdov.org

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ADOPT A FAMILY JFCS of the Suncoast is inviting you to adopt a family by providing gifts of new clothing, shoes and toys or donate items for children or seniors. The wish list for children includes: Play-Doh, Dolls/ Barbies, Cars/Trucks (Hot Wheels), Action Figures, Legos, Bubbles, Gift Cards to Target or Wal-Mart, Board Games, Sports Equipment, Books, Puzzles, Learning Toys, Arts and Crafts and Nerf Toys. The wish list for seniors includes: Hard Candy, Stamps, Notepad/Pen, Hand Lotion/Sanitizer, Chapstick, Gift Cards to Publix/Walgreens/Wal-Mart, No-Skid Socks, Tissues, Magnets. All gifts must be received by December 13. 941.366.2224, ext. 143 | jfcs-cares.org

HELP OVERCOME CHALLENGES Andrew, 3, refused hugs from his parents. He had almost no interest in interacting with others. He was very sensitive to touch, lacked communication skills and had trouble paying attention. It only took a few months of attendance at The Florida Center’s Starfish Academy, along with on-site wrap around services like speech/language and occupational therapy, for Andrew to begin improving. Therapists also helped Andrew’s parents make their home sensory-friendly. Thanks to this team approach, he is now sleeping better and can finally connect with his family and classmates. With one out of four children at risk for developmental delay or disability, early identification and treatment are essential, so children like Andrew can overcome

challenges and get on a path to success. However, not all families can afford the necessary therapies. By donating just a few dollars a month, you can become a Starfish Sustainer and help support a child’s needs and sustain services provided by The Florida Center that benefit children and families like Andrew’s. A one-time donation of $100 can provide important therapeutic toys, $500 can provide family counseling services, $1,000 covers the cost of two months of occupational therapy, and a sponsorship of $10,000 pays for a child to attend Starfish Academy preschool and receive therapy for one year. What a great way to help children reach their full potential! 941.371.8820 | thefloridacenter.org DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

BE A LIFE SAVER In spring of 2020, SunCoast Blood Bank moves into a new 25,000 SQ FT facility in Lakewood Ranch. This allows the iconic community blood bank to house its entire operation under one roof, in a hurricane hardened facility, with a state-of-the-art donor center. The flagship donor center remains on Mound Street in Sarasota with plans for a renovation the following year. SunCoast is a national leader in the field of healthcare, providing services beyond the traditional role of a blood center. SunCoast also participates in cancer treatment programs, research, and it manufactures exclusive blood products for a variety of illnesses. With a new Cancer Institute coming online, population in the area predicted to increase by as much as 50% in the next 25 years, and its residents aging, the need for blood products is expected to sky rocket. This 70-year-old nonprofit has financial needs ranging from $5,000 for blood screening technology to $250,000 for new bloodmobiles. The new facility and the Mound Street center offer numerous naming opportunities for those who want to invest in the health and well-being of our community. 941.954.1600 | scbb.org

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STRENGTHEN A CHILD AND FAMILY Children First strengthens children and families by improving the quality of their lives through a comprehensive approach to development, education, health, and well-being. For the sole provider of Head Start and Early Head Start services in Sarasota County, scholarships continue to be the highest priority. The necessary funding to support a child for a full year of educational programs, nutrition, healthcare assessments, and family strengthening services is $10,500. Scholarships are critical because they help to minimize the negative effects of poverty and create equal opportunities for learning. Each child receives over 50% of their weekly nutrition through breakfast, lunch, and a snack daily. This helps to ensure that they are healthy enough to learn, ready for success, and able to join Kindergarten on-pace with their more economically stable peers. RISE is a partnership with Children First and Take Stock in Children Sarasota County, Inc. RISE provides support to low-income families with students in Kindergarten through fifth grade.

Children receive one-on-one literacy support. Children First also provides Family Advocacy services to families that promote parent engagement and investment in their child’s education. RISE empowers each family with the encouragement, knowledge, and tools necessary to attend college and succeed in the future. The RISE program currently serves 39 families and their children. Funding would provide themed books that are given out once a month to every child within the program. The themes of these books are based on a particular social-emotional skill that empowers them with an equitable, supportive, and welcoming environment for learning. Each child receives an additional book to take home and read with their family, along with discussion-based questions and a related family engagement activity. Further funding would provide literacy-based games and “Treasure Box” prizes to reward the children who have successfully completed homework assignments. 941.953.3877 | childrenfirst.net

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HELP KIDS OF ALL AGES The Circus Arts Conservatory is asking the community to consider three items on its Holiday Wish List: Circus Arts in Healthcare professional clowns elicit smiles, laughter, song and even happy memories when visiting seniors in care facilities. Often, these seniors go long stretches without family visits or are isolated, with no one left to care. Underwriting a facility visit: $250. Sailor Circus Academy uses the circus arts to instill values of hard work, team work, discipline, risk-taking and self-confidence in its students. Students from minority communities need scholarships to participate. Underwriting half-year Academy costs for a student: $500. The Circus Science Machine Program combines teachers, education certified clowns and a unique circus arts science curriculum which so engages 5th grade students that they outperform most others in state required science tests. Underwriting this 9-week program per school: $1,000. 941.355.9335 | circusarts.org

NEXT-GEN LEADERS Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County believes every child is destined for greatness. For almost 50 years, the organization has provided children and teens with the knowledge and tools they need to become the next generation of community leaders. When young people have access to award-winning educational, developmental and recreational programs, they become equipped with the skills and confidence to successfully pursue their passions and contribute to the world around them. Inside its Clubs, thousands of youth are charting their path to greatness each day while building lasting friendships, connecting with mentors and participating in enriching programs that they may not otherwise have the chance to experience. Whether Club members are just starting their academic journeys as kindergartners or applying to college or vocational centers as high school seniors, they have access to a wide selection of programs at the Clubs designed to help them realize their greatness.

Photo by Daniel Perales

There are so many more local nonprofits who need our help. Identify things that are important to you, find out which nonprofits are aligned with your passions, and help make a wish come true for someone in need. There’s no better feeling!

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You can give the gift of a great future to Club members by: • Donating new, unwrapped toys or gift cards for the annual Holiday Party • Hosting teens at your workplace for a job shadow day • Tutoring students in math, biology or history; • Donating arts supplies to help children express their creativity 941.366.3911 | bgcsarasota.com

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Jim Shirley with Eva Slane, Cultural Champion. Photo by Cliff Roles.

Education MATTERS By Ryan G. Van Cleave

JIM SHIRLEY AND THE ARTS AND CULTURE ALLIANCE OF SARASOTA COUNTY If there’s a list of movers and shakers in the local arts community, Jim Shirley is at or near the top of it. How’s that possible for someone who admits he has “basically no artistic talent whatsoever?” Here’s how it came to be. It started when Jim and his wife—the eventual 2013-2014 Florida Principal of the Year, Barbara Shirley—moved to Sarasota nearly four decades ago. What drew them was what drew so many of us here, too: the natural beauty, the terrific school system, and the arts opportunities. Though Jim’s background and career resided in medical sales and later with a medical executive search firm, he had a deep passion for education as well as the arts. So, when the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County needed a leadership change in 2009, he was the perfect person for the job. He knew how to manage an organization, he knew the local scene as well as anyone, and he was committed to excellence. Since that point, he’s served as Executive Director with pride and distinction. What most don’t realize is that Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County is THE source, voice, and advocate for the arts and culture in our community. If any state or national government agency wants to send money to our area for the arts, they’re the official group that handles it—witness $24 million in grants to date, with $2.2 million last year alone from the ½-cent bed tax that’s earmarked to support the arts. Yet the Alliance does far more than just dole out dollars. Jim and his team work tirelessly—as did their predecessors—to ensure that arts and culture remain essential to the continuing development of a vibrant, creative community. How do they do that? Through arts advocacy, education, and community outreach. One example of this mission at work happened in the 80s, when an area superintendent had to deal with significant statewide budget cuts. Not unlike other superintendents 1 02

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around the country, that person thought the solution would be to simply cut the arts. The Alliance’s members and the organization got together and suggested there might be other ways to handle the financial issues, essentially saying, “We are here to help you NOT cut the arts!” And they did that by helping raise money and finding other ways to improve the bottom line without slashing the arts programs, which they felt were too important to lose. If cuts had to happen? They should happen equitably, they argued with great persuasion. What always impresses Jim is how people move here from all over—both nationally and abroad—and they frequently find ways to get involved. “Just look at the board of directors for any of the arts agencies and local nonprofits,” he says. “You’ll find people there from top businesses throughout the world. That’s why we’ve been so successful with the arts here. They’re being run by people with world-class experience and top-level thinking. That’s a unique aspect which makes us different than other gulf coast communities. People get involved here as volunteers and as philanthropists.” He adds

that it’s no surprise that we have two of the biggest community foundations in the state. One of the newest challenges the Alliance is working to address is the trend of younger generations not being as exposed to the arts. Part of this is because with more one-parent families than ever before, a family’s time and money might not be there for arts exposure or education. The Alliance wants to change that by working hand in hand with the school system and arts organizations to create programs that attract younger audiences to art and culture venues. “It’s important that we grow the audiences and the performers of tomorrow,” Jim says. “It all starts with education.” Another challenge they face is that like with most small nonprofit agencies, they might want to do it all, but they simply can’t. Jim plus two full-timers and three part-timers strive to do what they can with limited staff, time, and budgets. “I think we do a pretty good job,” he says with his trademark smile. But if

anyone is interested in volunteering, he notes that there are ample avenues to do so through the various partners they have, and they’re more than eager to help make those introductions. The #1 thing Jim wants is to connect with people who have an interest in arts advocacy. He’s willing to go out and call on elected officials to support the arts, but his voice carries far more weight if he can say, “I and our 2,000 members think this is a good idea.” Now more than ever, it’s vital that the arts have a strong, clear voice in our community, and thanks to Jim and the Alliance, that voice continues to be heard.

F O R M O R E IN F O R M AT IO N

about the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, please visit www.sarasotaarts.org or call 941.365.5118.

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Best SEATS PERFORMING ARTS CALENDAR BROUGHT TO YOU IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ARTS AND CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF SARASOTA COUNTY

941.306.1200 / artistseriesconerts.org Piano Grand IV: The Holiday Edition! December 8 Harmony for the Holidays with Duchess December 21 – 22

ASOLO REPERTORY THEATRE 941.351.8000 / asolorep.org The Sound of Music Through December 28

THE CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY 941.355.9805/ circusarts.org Sailor Circus: The 12 Days After Christmas December 27 – 30

FLORIDA STUDIO THEATRE 941.366.9000 / floridastudiotheatre.org Mainstage Bright Star Through January 3 Handle With Care December 11 – March 8 Cabaret Outlaws and Angels Through March 29 That’s Amore Through February 2 1 04

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Children’s Theatre Deck the Halls: A Holly Jolly Holiday Through December 28

JAZZ CLUB SARASOTA 941.366.1552 / jazzclubsarasota.com Jazz at Two Synia Carroll Jazz December 6 Dick Hamilton Westcoast Sextet December 13 Mark Moultrup Quintet December 20 Jazz Club 2019 Scholarship Recipients December 27

KEY CHORALE 941.921.4845 / keychorale.org A Very Merry Holiday Pops with The Venice Symphony December 20 – 21

LEMON BAY PLAYHOUSE 941.475.6756 / lemonbayplayhouse.com It’s A Wonderful Life, Dramedy by Joe Landry Through December 15

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MANATEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 941.748.5875 manateeperformingartscenter.com It’s a Wonderful Life December 5 – 22 Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some)

Super Strings December 28

THE PLAYERS CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS 941.365.2494 / theplayers.org Broadway Series Hello, Dolly! December 4 – 22 SNAP Series A Calyp-Soul Christmas with John Patti December 13

December 5 – 22 The 12 Dolls of Christmas

POPS ORCHESTRA

December 9 – 10

thepopsorchestra.org A Christmas Carol – The Concert December 15 – 16

Radio Show Christmas Carol

December 12 – 21 A Classic Crosley Christmas

December 12 – 22

THE RINGLING

Disney’s Frozen Jr

941.359.5700 / ringling.org Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol: Tijuana December 6 – 7 Son Luna y Jóvenes Zapateadores: ¡Vívelo! December 12 – 14

December 14 PERLMAN MUSIC PROGRAM/ SUNCOAST 941.955.4942 perlmanmusicprogramsuncoast.org Juilliard String Quartet December 2 Perlman Music Program Sarasota Winter Residency December 19 – January 4

THE SARASOTA BALLET

SARASOTA OPERA 941.328.1300 / sarasotaopera.org Ditchfield Family Singers Christmas Memories December 14

SARASOTA ORCHESTRA 941.953.4252 / sarasotaorchestra.org Masterworks Roman Festivals December 6 – 8 Great Escapes Sounds of the Season December 11 – 15

STATE COLLEGE OF FLORIDA 941.752.5252 / scf.edu Sundays at Neel John Denver Tribute December 8

URBANITE THEATRE 941.321.1397 urbanitetheatre.com The Thanksgiving Play Through December 15

941.359.0099 / sarasotaballet.org John Ringling’s Circus Nutcracker (Program 3) December 20 – 21 DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL DEC 13 - 21

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VAN WEZEL PERFORMING ARTS HALL 941.955.7676 / vanwezel.org Celtic Angels Christmas December 1 Escape To Margaritaville December 2 Dance to the Holidays! December 4 Under the Streetlamp: Hip to the Holidays December 12 Beautiful – The Carole King Musical December 13 – 15 The Ten Tenors – Home for the Holidays December 22 A Christmas Carol December 23

THE VENICE INSTITUTE FOR PERFORMING ARTS 941.218.3779 veniceperformingartscenter.com Holiday Pops with Brass December 8 The Nutcracker Co-presented with the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School December 14 Decades Rewind December 31

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THE VENICE SYMPHONY thevenicesymphony.org A Very Merry Holiday Pops December 20 – 21

VENICE THEATRE 941.488.1115 venicestage.com A Christmas Carol December 13 – 21 Assisted Living the Musical®: THE HOME for the Holidays Through December 22 Mamma Mia! Through December 1

WESTCOAST BLACK THEATRE TROUPE 941.366.1505 / westcoastblacktheatre.org A Motown Christmas December 4 – 6, 18 – 20

For a full list of this season’s performing arts events, view our Arts &

Culture Guide. SCENESARASOTA.COM

arts&culture

Meet Artist

ANDREA DASHA REICH Born in Prague to Holocaust survivors, Andrea Dasha Reich’s early life was subjected to a continuum of Communism and all of its restrictions. Her dissident father’s fight against the regime would eventually result in the entire family being evicted from their homeland and finding refuge in Jerusalem, Israel. Leaving behind the dark world of Czechoslovakia and finding herself in Jerusalem—a place saturated in sunlight and vibrant bursts of colors that spanned further than the eye could see, had a profound effect on the young Andrea Dasha Reich—suddenly and almost magically she was free, free to explore the brightly colored, be-jeweled landscape that her new world provided. She then attended the world renown Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, and her passion for art was born. At the age of nineteen, Andrea Dasha Reich left Jerusalem, and migrated to a land far away; Tribeca in New York City. Tribeca soon became her home and the place where she went on to develop a wonderful career in fashion and design. Dasha very much enjoyed her career, but her passion for creating art was beckoning in a strong and loud voice that she could no longer contain. The ideas that were developing in he mind’s eye told her that it was time to create. She opened her first studio, dedicated her time and energy into pioneering, crafting and developing the resin and latex artwork she is known for today. Inspired by the organic shapes and planes in nature, Reich’s artworks are a woven interplay of rich color spectrums that explore the depth and intimacy of the abstract world we live in. Her works are an indication of how this prolific multimedia artist sees the world—astonishing beauty, magnificent power and the intense awe-inspiring complexion in nature of which the life and creation of color is born. Through the use of pure pigments and layers of epoxy resins, her works seem to let her visions breathe with motion and fluidity. The crystalline paintings pull you into a mysterious realm of curiosity and surprise. andreadashareich.com

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ART CENTER SARASOTA artsarasota.org / 941.365.2032 Open Season: National Juried Exhibition December 12 – January 18, 2020

ARTCENTER MANATEE

GET Inspired CULTURAL HAPPENINGS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE ARTS AND CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF SARASOTA COUNTY

artcentermanatee.org / 941.746.2862 James Griffin: A Tapestry of Movement Through December 13 Giving Thanks: Open Juried Show Through December 13 Ornament Extravaganza Through December 13 A Walk In the Woods December 17 – January 10, 2020 Small but Mighty, Open Juried Show December 17 – January 10, 2020

ART UPTOWN GALLERY artuptown.com / 941.955.5409 Marlane Wurzbach Acrylics Exhibit, “Just Add Water” Through December 27

ARTS ADVOCATES: THE FINE ARTS SOCIETY OF SARASOTA, INC. artsadvocates.org / 941.330.0680 Art Collection Tour Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall December 9 10:00 a.m.

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Meet the Artist: Dean Mitchell Betty J Johnson North Sarasota Public Library December 3 5:30 p.m.

CLYDE BUTCHER GALLERY clydebutcher.com / 941.702.8818 Holiday Book Signing December 4

DABBERT GALLERY dabbertgallery.com / 941.955.1315 A Season of Color December 6 – 30 Opening Reception : December 6, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

ISLAND GALLERY WEST island gallerywest.com / 941.778.6648 “Blue and Beyond” by Maria Sine Opening Reception: December 6, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

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THE JOHN AND MABLE RINGLING MUSEUM OF ART ringling.org / 941.358.3180 Remaking the World: Abstraction from the Permanent Collection The Ringling Searing Galleries Through August 1, 2021 Ai Weiwei: Zodiac (2018) LEGO The Ringling Monda Galleries Through February 9 Manuel Álvarez Bravo: Specters and Parables The Ringling- Searing Galleries December 8 – March 1 Syd Solomon: Concealed and Revealed The Ringling Searing Galleries December 15 – April 26

MEG KRAKOWIAK GALLERY & STUDIO megkrakowiakstudios.com / 941.400.2478 Holiday Cheers and Treats December 6 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

STATE OF THE ARTS GALLERY sarasotafineart.com / 941.468.6914 MID MOD Through January 1

SARASOTA SCENE IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT

BARNES & NOBLE, DAVIDSON’S DRUGS, & BOOKSTORE1 941.365.1119 SCENESARASOTA.COM BE INFORMED. BE ENTERTAINED. BE SCENE. DECEMBER 2019 | SARASOTA SCENE

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LITERARY Scene By Ryan G. Van Cleave

THREE NEW YA STORIES

THE NEVER TILTING WORLD by Rin Chupeco

When someone told me that this beefy (490+ pages!) first book of a fantasy duology could accurately be considered a cross between Mad Max and Frozen, I knew I had to read and review it. The Frozen connection is obvious. For generations, twin goddesses have ruled Aeon in relative peace, but one finally chooses betrayal, and the kingdom splits in two. One land is swallowed by the endless cold of night, and the other knows the deadly heat of an always-blazing sun. The Mad Max part is hard to miss, too— this is a post-apocalyptic world, after all. Add in Chupeco’s sandworms and desert marauders, and it’s easy to imagine Mel Gibson (or for those who prefer Mad Max: Fury Road, Tom Hardy) in these pages.

The story primarily focuses on the daughters of these goddesses who now seek to heal this broken world at last. In sum, it’s a decent set-up of an imaginative world, but the delivery of the various stories here ask a lot of readers thanks to four different points of view that can get muddled at times. There’s also a fairly on-the-nose climate change message in the narrative that some readers might find obtrusive. Yet I was often quite taken by Chupeco’s worldbuilding. This harsh, brutal land feels, looks, and smells as dangerous as it is. I was also interested in the elemental magic system that feels a bit like what we find in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Ultimately, I wanted to like this book more than I did, though the hope, bravery, and magic found in these pages are definitely rewarding in their own way. Rating:

RinChupeco.com

GRAVEMAIDENS by Kelly Coon

Kammani’s life went wrong when her family was booted from the world of nobility when her father couldn’t heal the royal son. The story in Gravemaidens takes place a few years after that disaster. Kammani parents are now dead, her family lives in shame, and things get even worse when her sister, Nanaea, is chosen for the land’s “greatest honor,” being one of the three sacred maidens chosen to join the dying ruler of Alu in the afterlife. To be clear, we’re talking about murder here a la the ancient Egyptians.

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Like her father before her, Kammani wants to be a great healer, and perhaps she can heal the dying king and in so doing, save her sister, because if he doesn’t die, there’s no need to kill three maidens to join him in death. Kammani’s an admirable character who deeply feels the need to take care of everyone but herself. Unlike the opening of The Hunger Games, there’s no option for her to take her sister’s place here. Kammani has to enter the world of high court intrigue and sleuth her way through all the sneaky

This stand-alone fantasy novel from Garth Nix—the Australian master of fantasy worldbuilding—is a big book (560 pages!), but it starts fast. You’ve got action in chapter one, and before long, we’ve got people-munching monsters, magic, and mystery to keep us turning pages. It’s been more than 100 years since Liliah fled from the Fall of Ystara and fell into a magical sleep inside the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite. Now she awakens, ready to relaunch her quest to be joined with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara. While that sounds like quite the task, Liliah is one of the most powerful users of angel magic the world has ever seen—among other things, she’s capable of summoning angels and making them do her bidding. One of the things Nix does so well is create believable worlds, and this one is no exception. The well-detailed society is equal in terms of gender (many of the soldiers, mages, and other people in positions of power are women) while also being racially diverse. The magic system, in particular, is unique and let’s call it what it is—pretty cool, albeit complex, in how it uses icons (depictions of angels) as the primary vehicle for magic. Throughout

and dangerous happenings to figure out how to keep the body count from unnecessarily rising. Telling a story like this via a first person point of view limits the worldbuilding a bit, but Coon does a good job regardless. This is an intriguing, character-driven story that touches on a number of interesting themes that readers will find timely and worthy of consideration. Rating:

KellyCoon.com

his career, Nix has always been good at putting a fresh spin on fantasy tropes. To succeed in her plan, Liliath needs to deal with a team of teens consisting of the reckless musketeer Agnez, the healer giant Simeon, Dorotea the gentle mage, and Henri, a clerk of the Cardinal. The relationship of these four is compelling, though I’m most intrigued by Agnez, who’s ready to duel at the drop of a hat, and he has biting wit, as well. He’s a terrific character which is saying something since the whole group is interesting and well-crafted. The stakes are high. One kingdom has been destroyed already thanks to Liliath’s pursuit of her goals, and she’s willing to sacrifice another in order to get what she wants. Yes, she’s a villain, but though Liliath’s single-mindedness, unapologetic drive makes her a monster at times, thanks to Nix’s deft writing and careful characterization, she’s sympathetic, too. That’s quite the trick.

ANGEL MAGE by Garth Nix

This is an engaging book by a master of the genre.

Rating:

GarthNix.com

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InHEALTH SOCIAL MEDIA: GOOD FOR PLASTIC SURGEONS, BAD FOR PARENTS By Alissa Shulman, M.D, F.A.C.S

I have two daughters, a 13-year old and an 11-year old. The 13-year old has a phone and the 11-year old does not. How does this relate to Plastic Surgery?

“I discourage those who want surgery so they can simply look better or feel better about themselves—I consider that attitude a ‘red flag’. That attitude tells me that, most likely, no amount of surgery will be enough. They need to find their sense of self-worth…”

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Well, social media sites continually interfere with parents’ attempts at child guidance, which has been proven by many studies over the past five years. The selfie phenomenon, compounded by one’s sense of self-worth, is being measured by the number of “followers” one has on a site. This has added to the number of young people looking to permanently alter their looks to make them more “photo worthy”. This leaves me torn between teaching my girls to love themselves just the way they are and my chosen profession, which surgically alters ones’ appearance. Personal case in point: There was a very beautiful, exotic, and provocativelyposed young lady on my daughter’s phone as her background wallpaper. She is not a personal friend and doesn’t stand for anything, nor does she even promote something useful—i.e. saving mistreated animals or protecting the environment. She is, however, someone my daughter and her friends seem to admire simply for her beauty. This was a painful dose of reality for me. I thought we had raised her to recognize everyone’s own natural beauty and to look beyond the superficial in others, especially since I truly believe we all

have our own personal beauty. Unfortunately, my discovery lead to a loud, tearful discussion, because it was not the first. I follow her on Instagram specifically to keep her safe. When I consult with someone regarding cosmetic surgery, I focus on the positive attributes of the prospective patient. If surgery will improve their shape in a manner that is safe, we proceed. However, I discourage those who want surgery so they can simply look better or feel better about themselves—I consider that attitude a “red flag”. That attitude tells me that, most likely, no amount of surgery will be enough. They need to find their sense of self-worth and want to enhance who they are. For now, my younger daughter enjoys just being 11 and knows she is beautiful. Despite the phone incident, my older daughter knows she is strong and beautiful as well. Unfortunately, I also know that it is very difficult for young women to navigate middle school and high school and come out totally unscathed. Alissa Shulman, M.D, F.A.C.S Sovereign Plastic Surgery 1950 Arlington Street, Suite 112 Sarasota, FL 34239 941.366.5476 sovereignps.com

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Laughing MATTERS THE ONE ABOUT FLORIDA MAN By Ryan G. Van Cleave | Illustrations by Darcy Kelly-Laviolette

ne of my buddies from up north (Atlanta) saw an Internet story about anti-Trump messages being painted on the underbelly of Florida crabs. He asked if I knew anything about this person named “Florida Man” who was allegedly doing it. I told him, “Yes. I know exactly who’s doing it. It’s my neighbor. His name is Bob.” Spoiler: It is NOT my neighbor, Bob, any more than it’s my other neighbor Bob (to my left, not to my right—stay with me now—they have the same first name). Florida Man is every man willing to play his part in being the World’s Worst Superhero, potential Darwin Award winner, and/or just Perpetrator of Weird Stuff suitable to fill that pages of the sequel to Craig Pittman’s fine book (reviewed a few months back right here in Sarasota Scene!) Oh, Florida: How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country. While I didn’t personally experience the crab-painting fiasco, I have run into Florida Man in a host of ways recently. None of these made the news—that I know of—but all are 100% true-as-mud stuff I saw while trying to mind my own business here in the strange state I’ve called home for a decade.

Florida Man Incident One On my way to work yesterday, I passed one of the zillion gas stations we enjoy here in sunny Sarasota. I don’t typically make a point of taking my eyes off the road to randomly peer at such places, but for whatever reason, I did. Florida Man was there, facing the side of the building in a stance I recognized. It’s the wide-kneed, pants-halfway-down position one assumes after drinking, say, eleven Pabst Blue Ribbons beers and you just can’t hold it in any longer. A guy in a pickup in the left lane decides he has to cut into mine for no reason, so I laid on the horn to get this goober to stop being a goober and avoid an accident. He did. But Florida Man took my honking as me heckling him. He turned and shook a fist—and much more—at me. It gets worse. A cop in the other lane starts to slow down. Florida Man incorrectly deduces that the cop might hop the median and come roaring after him instead of pulling into a fast food joint (which he did). So, Florida Man runs up the street the opposite way the cop was going, without bothering to deal with his “hanging loose” situation that row upon row of northbound traffic got an eyeful of.

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insider Florida Man Incident Two The other day, near the corner of Fruitville and Beneva, Florida Man was sitting on a folding chair, waving at all west-moving traffic. Nothing too weird about that, right?

Florida Man Incident Four The shaggy-bearded guy who lingers at the intersection of Bee Ridge and Cattlemen alternates between these three signs, depending on the day of the week.

Oh, did I mention? He was wearing a top-to-bottom bear suit. Fangs, claws, and all.

I accept cash, credit, and Paypal, but no checks without ID. Need $$$ to fuel private jet.

Plus, he had a fishing pole. And he was using it. In the grass at his feet. I debated hollering “Getting any bites?” out the window of my car, but decided not to poke the bear, so to speak. Florida Man Incident Three Last Thursday was Halloween, and in my neighborhood, a 40-something-year-old version of Florida Man was trick-ortreating right along with all the little kiddos. His costume? Cutoff jeans, and a black t-shirt covered in strips of silver duct tape.

Gargamel kidnapped my family. Need money to hire smurfs for revenge. So, there you have it. Florida Man is thriving right here in our own little corner of paradise. I’ll be sure to pass the good word on to my up-north buddy. And who knows? Maybe Florida Man really is my neighbor Bob. Or my other neighbor, Bob. Or maybe he writes for Sarasota Scene magazine. . . ***

Irate Mom: Just what the blazes do you think you’re dressed as? Florida Man: I’m Mike. Irate Mom: And what type of Halloween costume is this? Florida Man: It’s Halloween? I just saw people’s was giving away candy.

Have your own post-midnight incident with Florida Man? Ever BEEN Florida Man yourself, if just for a moment? Know where I—or my Atlanta buddy—might find Florida Man in his native habitat, ready to engage insome Florida-Man-style tomfoolery? Want to tell me that Florida Man’s just an urban legend, like Bigfoot, the Skunk Ape, and Velveeta cheese? If you can answer yes to any of the above, go ahead and reach out to me via email at FloridaManForever@sarasotascene.com. I’ll have my people reach out to your people and maybe we’ll set up a meeting—bear costumes optional.

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