- November 7, 2025
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Think it’s tough being a freshman? Try being a sophomore.
Sarasota Rising Executive Director and CEO Jeffery Kin knows what it’s like to launch a festival, but he had three years to get ready before the 2024 Living Arts Festival Sarasota. He’s only had a year to prepare for the second festival. But like any sophomore, Kin is older and wiser this time.
This year’s Living Arts Festival is more streamlined than last year’s fest, which had to deal with last-minute changes in schedule and venues because of Hurricane Milton. In November 2024, Kin had to give up the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, which was occupied by FEMA employees helping to get residents back on their feet in the wake of the storm.
This year, two of the Living Arts Festival’s marquee events will take place at the Municipal Auditorium. Like last year, Art Ovation Sarasota hotel will host the opening party. This year’s theme is “Up, Up and Away.” Cue the balloons!
Those old enough to remember the Fifth Dimension will know the first line: “Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?”
Kin and Art Ovation Cultural Curator Robyn Holl aren’t giving away any secrets about the party, but based on last year’s event, it’s bound to be full of surprises.
Those who missed the Living Arts Festival’s 2024 opening party were kicking themselves after pictures of a Native American dancer in full regalia and Cuban American musician Renesito Avich started circulating on social media. The Native dancer would later march the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Renesito (he goes by his first name) would go on to grace the stage of the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City in the Tony award-winning musical, “Buena Vista Social Club.”
Anybody who saw Renesito at the Living Arts Festival opening night party got bragging rights. Imagine sitting with your friends at the Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway and impressing them by casually saying, “Yeah, I saw Renesito in Sarasota.” As the old Mastercard ad goes, “Priceless.”
Such fortuitous connections and lucky encounters happen to Kin all the time. The former artistic director of The Sarasota Players is like the Pied Piper. Many of his friends and followers from his 15 years at the community theater are working tirelessly at the Living Arts Festival.
In honor of his birthday in July, Kin livestreamed a telethon for Sarasota Rising, the nonprofit he formed in August 2021, on social media. Friends showed up bearing gifts and performers such as Sarasota leading lady Kathryn Parks showed their love for Kin with song and dance. According to Kin, the fundraising effort brought in about $3,000 for Sarasota Rising, the Living Arts Festival’s producer.
Another guest was Holl, who met Kin shortly after she moved to Sarasota in April 2022 to take the job at Art Ovation. “I don’t know what happened. The stars aligned and people kept showing up at the desk saying they wanted to talk to Robyn. I don’t know how they heard about me,” Holl says. “I started meeting with all kinds of artists and performers.”
As part of her job, Holl also curates the art exhibitions in the lobby of Art Ovation as well as the artists in residence. An artist herself, Holl got her introduction to Sarasota when she was an artist in residence at the hotel.
When Kin approached Holl about serving as the host hotel for the inaugural Living Arts Festival, she says “it seemed like a natural for us. I took it to my team and they signed off on it.”
Renesito ended up headlining the 2024 Living Arts festival because he was already booked to perform at Art Ovation when Kin approached Holl with a date for his opening party. “I said, ‘Let’s combine efforts’ and it all worked out,” Holl says.
All of which is to say, you never know who’s going to turn up at this year’s opening party.
Like last year, the Living Arts Festival will showcase young performers being trained by local schools and cultural groups. Sarasota High School, Suzuki Institute, the Players Studio (the youth arm of Sarasota Players), Manatee School of the Arts, Ovation School of Musical Theatre and Bay Haven Bright Spots are some of the groups and schools that will be represented on Rise and Shine Saturday, on Nov. 8.
Two outstanding teachers will be recognized with cash awards — $2,500 for the grand prize and $1,500 for runner-up. The teacher tribute awards are named in honor of David L. and Opal P. Hamblin, both lifelong educators. “We want to honor the teachers who are inspiring kids and raising them up,” Kin says.
It was a busy summer for Kin. His play, “Time Will Tell” was one of three chosen for Sarasota Jewish Theatre’s Newish Jewish Play reading series. It is based on “Two,” a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer about unconventional love that Kin has updated for modern audiences.
Kin says he fell in love with Singer’s work when he was a struggling actor in New York City. Since his arrival in Sarasota back in 1991, Kin has branched out into directing, teaching, coaching, producing and writing plays.
Riffing on Jack Johnson’s 2005 hit song “Good People,” an interviewer asked Kin who the good people are in Sarasota. There are too many to mention here, but you’ll find some of them at the 2025 Living Arts Festival wearing volunteer T-shirts with sponsor Bank of America’s logo on the back.
