Slice of the City

APRIL FOOLS —

+ Sarasota aims high to bring in sky ride
Now that renovations at Bird Key Park are complete, it will become the host of a sky ride that will shuttle residents and tourists to, from and around St. Armands Circle, while at the same time providing a view of the city from up above.
Construction is scheduled to begin April 1. Businesses interested in advertising on the buckets should contact TK.

+ ‘Seniorpalooza’ set to rock Payne Park
The line-up includes The Temptations, Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, Frankie Valli and Kenny G.
That could only mean one thing: “Seniorpalooza” is going to rock Sarasota.
Sarasota’s inaugural “Seniorpalooza” will take place from noon Friday, April 1 through 10 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at Payne Park. All food vendors will offer an early-bird special starting at 4 p.m. each day.
All seniors planning to attend the weekend-long extravaganza should arrive dressed in comfortable pajamas and bring a sleeping bag, shower cap, bedroom slippers and an extra blanket.

+ Officers in training get some new wheels
In an effort to go green, new police officers will be patrolling the area on Segways and lead Segway tours during their downtime, thus enabling them to get a better feel for neighborhoods. The Sarasota Police Department and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office are in the process of ordering a total of 50 yellow-and-black “POLICE” Segway i2 patrollers and 50 pairs of yellow driving gloves.
The public is advised that the same traffic laws apply for officers motoring Segways as officers driving motor vehicles. Do not attempt to speed away — you will be caught ... eventually.

+ Circus Sarasota star bridges the gap
Nik Wallenda is going to need a heavy-duty sleeping bag and a major amount of protein bars for his next death-defying act, when he’ll walk on a tightrope connected from the Ringling Bridge to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, in St. Petersburg.
He’ll begin his journey in Sarasota April 1, which the city has declared “Acts of Defiance” Day.
The stunt, which will take three full days to complete, will require Wallenda to connect his sleeping bag to the wire with heavy metal clips and wear reflective clothing to prevent birds from flying into him at night.
A boat parade in his honor will follow his every move while he inches his way over the water.