Promoters of St. Armands winter fest pull the plug on repeat event

St. Armands Circle won't host a Winter Spectacular in 2023, after a comment period during which a majority of emailed comments from area residents and merchants to the city of Sarasota were unsupportive of the event.

In a letter to Sarasota city officials, Jeff and David Koffman of Ride Entertainment of Sarasota wrote that a reprise of the 2022 event will not be held.

“We are disappointed that, as a result of the loud voices of a minority of citizens, the potential and purpose of Winter Spectacular ’23 will not be realized and is still mired in contentiousness,” they wrote. "It seems that our efforts to continue down the path of bringing back the Winter Spectacular for this coming holiday season will only be divisive by these same loud minority voices and thus negate the true meaning of the holiday season and the purpose of the festival.”

There may have been more to it than that. 

The city invited merchants and residents of St. Armands and Longboat Key to submit their comments about the six-week event. Of the 331 emails received, between May 5 and June 2, 307 were against a repeat, 19 were supportive and five were neutral. 

“My sense is that residents are thrilled,” said Chris Goglia, president of the St. Armands Residents Association. Goglia was a staunch opponent of the Winter Spectacular, which placed him at odds with Tom Leonard, owner of Shore restaurant and chairman of the St. Armands Business Improvement District Board of Directors. Leonard partnered with Ride Entertainment to bring the event to St. Armands, but as a private business owner and not on behalf of the BID.

Goglia argued before city officials at the time that closing circle park — state-owned land managed by the city — for a for-profit enterprise was illegal, and that the free, less intense events traditionally held around the holidays in the circle were more appropriate for a public space. 

“Our first priority when proposing the Winter Spectacular ’22 was to create a memorable, unifying and joyous experience for all of Sarasota during the holiday season,” wrote the Koffmans in their letter. “We had over 20,000 happy residents and visitors that greatly enjoyed the festival.”

In February, the event promoters were back before the City Commission seeking a permit for a sequel, describing the 2022 event as a rousing success. Commissioners tabled the discussion, instructing staff to gather more data before determining whether to proceed.

File photo

Jeff Koffman and Leonard pitched the Winter Spectacular last year, they told commissioners, to highlight the new holiday tree paid for by the city to replace the 20-year-old tree that was no longer functional. The plan was supported by some residents and merchants during hearings and opposed by others over concerns about additional traffic and private use of public space. 

It was also opposed by then-St. Armands Merchants Association Executive Director Rachel Burns, who told commissioners she would be forced to cancel some annual holiday season events long produced by the merchants group in order to accommodate the festival.

Among those events was the 44th annual tree lighting — Holiday Night of Lights — which Burns said she was forced to cancel because she could not safely accommodate the crowd in limited space unoccupied by the festival.

Burns said she is already at work to bring back the traditional tree lighting, Porsches in the Park and other December events. She has stepped down as executive director of the circle association because of her application to serve on the St. Armands BID board, and now serves as marketing and events director.

“I already spoke with the city events department and there are no other conflicting permits or applications,” Burns said. “I wanted to make sure before I jump in that I wasn't going have the same issue as last year where I lost deposits and I had to call people. We're going to have Porsches in the Park again, and we're also going to be doing activities on the weekends. 

“Because of the city events ordinance I can't do full-fledged events, but I can reserve the park for activities. They're going to be smaller scale, but we're going to have more going on that will be free for the public to enjoy.”

Weeks before Leonard and Burns were publicly at odds over the use of the circle park during the holidays, the pair successfully lobbied the City Commission for a replacement of the tree last fall. Commissioners approved their $286,000 grant request, which included installation of the 60-foot tree and storage for one year. 

Burns joined Goglia in arguing that a for-profit use of public park space is inappropriate, and that the circle association board, which she represents, was opposed to the festival. Commissioners sided with Leonard and Ride Entertainment, agreeing that the Winter Spectacular presented an opportunity to highlight the investment in a city tree, although it is owned by the St. Armands Circle Association. 

“It was pretty torn with the merchants. There were a lot of newer merchants who were very optimistic and there were merchants who had been around for a long time who weren’t optimistic,” Burns said. “It wasn't like what we've done for the last 44 years, which has always been something that is free or low cost for the community. Unfortunately (Winter Spectacular) didn’t translate to sales or exposure for the merchants, and that's where we look at things because our mission is to market the circle and to market her businesses. 

“I can’t fault them for wanting to try something new,” she added of the Koffmans and Leonard. “We never know what's going to work and what's not. I don't see it as they failed. They gave it an effort and I think that what they want to do may fit somewhere else in Sarasota."