- December 26, 2024
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When Jeffery Kin chose a name for his arts organization in October 2021, he had no idea how prescient “Sarasota Rising” would sound three years later.
“I picked Sarasota Rising because a rising tide lifts all boats,” says Kin, former producing artistic director of The Sarasota Players. “I knew that the organization would be the producer of the Living Arts Festival but I needed a name that would work for other events as well.”
Back in 2021, Sarasota was rising pretty nicely on its own. The pandemic and the opportunity to work from home drew more people to the area, with its easy access to free public beaches. Meanwhile, the city’s reputation as Florida’s “Cultural Coast” continued to attract more artists and arts patrons to this circus town.
Now, after three hurricanes (two of them extremely destructive) not to mention a torrential rain storm in June that generated national media coverage, some are beginning to question their commitment to Sarasota.
Told about people posting on Facebook that it’s time to pack up their tent and leave Sarasota, Kin is philosophical: “Maybe it’s their time to go.” For his part, the arts champion, whose formal title is executive director of Sarasota Rising, is here to stay, come rain or shine.
Still, there’s no denying “paradise lost.” (Thank you, English poet John Milton.) The 100-year-old belief that good luck or Seminole magic was protecting Sarasota from a direct hurricane hit was blown away.
Cue Kin and the city’s first Rising Arts Festival, which will run in different venues around Sarasota from Nov. 10-17 and will even take a road trip south to Venice on Nov. 14.
For the last three years, folks have been asking Kin why Sarasota needs a Living Arts Festival when the town’s arts organizations rebounded from Covid just fine on their own.
Before recent weather events, Kin would point to Sarasota’s lack of a performing arts festival like Spoleto, held annually in Charleston, South Carolina. While he was in the process of formulating his fest, he visited some of his future rivals for inspiration.
Now Kin’s focus seems to be less on raising Sarasota’s already formidable presence on the national arts stage than to lifting spirits in a battered community. Whatever the motivation, tourists are welcome, even if they come from Englewood.
When people ask Kin why we need the Living Arts Festival, he reminds them: “The arts help people heal from adversity.”
On a recent ride around town with Kin, all one could see were mounds of tree branches and mountains of ruined furniture. Maybe it’s time to take a break from the cleanup and worry about the financial impact of the hurricanes. Let’s see what this Living Arts Festival is all about.
Kin is especially excited about the closing event, “A Celebration of Youth,” at the Sailor Circus Arena on Sunday, Nov. 17. At this affordable event, the audience will see the next generation of Sarasota’s performers — singers, dancers, musicians and circus artists.
The students hail from organizations such as the Circus Arts Conservatory, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Cuban Ballet School, the Sarasota Ballet Studio Company, the Venice and Riverview High School choirs and others.
Think “Glee” meets “Fame” meets “The Greatest Show on Earth.” As Tim Robbins says over and over in “The Hudsucker Proxy” when he tries to sell his boss on the Hula Hoop,”You know — for kids!”
Children may not understand the financial impact of hurricanes, but they’ve certainly experienced upheaval and trauma. What better way to to demonstrate the power of arts and community than “Rise and Shine Saturday,” on Nov. 9?
Originally scheduled for the Municipal Auditorium, the event has been moved into tents on the adjacent green because FEMA has taken over the auditorium for its disaster recovery operations.
Several of the events Kin has lovingly put together over the last three years had to change direction because of the hurricane impacts. That’s not a problem for the Ohio native, who is a theater trouper if there ever was one.
As Kin drives around town, he notes venue changes for the Rising Arts Festival, funded by donors such as the Downtown Improvement District, Jonathan and Michelle Mitchell, Jaime and Julie DiDomenico and many others.
A free opening night party titled “A World of Entertainment” will now take place at 7:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Art Ovation Hotel downtown after issues with vendors moved it from the roof of the Northern Trust Building.
The soiree will feature performances by one-man Cuban band Renesito, Sarasota Jewish Theater, Diversity: The Voices of Sarasota and Tania Vergara’s Endedans Contemporary Ballet.
A festival event that Kin had hatched with Embracing Our Differences has been canceled.
Visitors were to travel paths at Selby Gardens’ Spanish Point campus and view art created by kids for the annual Embracing Our Differences exhibition as well as banners from arts organizations such as Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Modern Marimba and CreArte Latino.
As they say in baseball, there’s always next year. In the meantime, if you’re hankering for some Embracing Our Differences art, head over to the Sarasota Art Museum, housed in the former Sarasota High School.
“Embracing Kindness,” a collaboration between Embracing Our Differences and SAM, features 14 enlarged images of artwork. The show on the museum grounds is free and runs through Dec. 17.
If you want to take a day trip, the Living Arts Festival’s “All Roads Lead to Venice” has your name on it. With such a vibrant arts scene in Sarasota, it’s sometimes easy to forget that there’s a cultural destination just 17 miles south. While Venice suffered a lot of damage from Hurricane Ian 2022, its beautiful pink downtown was spared the wrath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The city of Venice is inviting visitors to a “takeover” of its downtown by arts groups such as the Venice Arts Center, the Venice Symphony and the Venice Theatre in an event sponsored by Venice Mainstreet and The Downtown Association.
“All Roads Lead to Venice” includes a tour of the town’s art galleries, including one run by Clyde and Niki Butcher. In case you missed it, revered landscape photographer Clyde Butcher was recently awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Joe Biden at the White House.
We can’t make any guarantees about which members of the Butcher family will be on hand Nov. 14. The Butchers will hold an open house on Nov. 16 at their Venice Gallery & Studio and another on Dec. 11 at their Big Cypress Gallery.
It’s time to get back on the road to Sarasota. One late starter in the Living Arts Festival is a screening of the Off-Broadway performance of “Clowns Like Me,” a humorous one-man show about mental illness.
If that doesn’t sound like a barrel of laughs to you, you haven’t seen Scott Ehrenpreis perform. He makes dealing with autism spectrum disorder, OCD, bipolar disorder, social anxiety and depression funny. We kid you not! The screening takes place at Burns Court Cinema on Nov. 16.
Feeling overwhelmed by all the arts choices available now that season has kicked into gear? Kin and Company has just the remedy for you: Arts Roulette! On Nov. 16, festival team members will go out into the community to help arts patrons spin the wheel.
“Bettors” can take home free tickets to performances by cultural groups participating in the Living Arts Festival. After the last few months, it will be good be winning again.
