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Arts + Culture

Vocal Spectrum performed for the students at three area schools on Friday. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • March 2, 2022
Chorus of the Keys leads student outreach outing

Chorus of the Keys brought a secret weapon, barbershop quartet Vocal Spectrum, to entertain area students last week.

  • Arts + Culture
Richard Hopkins led the audience through a presentation centered on the new construction project. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • March 1, 2022
Florida Studio Theatre announces ambitious expansion

Florida Studio Theatre has grown past its footprint in downtown Sarasota and is planning an expansion that will result in a new mainstage, two new cabarets, expanded parking and artist housing.

  • Arts + Culture
Darya Fedotova and Sergiy Mykhaylov are changing their dance studio's name in support of their Ukraine homeland. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • March 1, 2022
School of Russian Ballet changes name amidst conflict

Ukraine natives Darya Fedotova and Sergiy Mykhaylov want nothing more than to teach ballet and to see their homeland live in peace.

  • East County
  • News
Sharon Preston-Folta, the daughter of Louis Armstrong, is reclaiming her narrative and telling the world about her childhood. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 24, 2022
Daughter of American legend reclaims her history

Sharon Preston-Folta couldn't tell people the simple truth of her parentage for most of her life. But now she's quite comfortable telling the world she is Louis Armstrong's daughter.

  • Arts + Culture
Travis Ray smiles and poses in front of his handiwork at Monark Custom Framing and Art Gallery. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 23, 2022
Local entrepreneur is crafting art one bowtie at a time

Travis Ray is making custom bowties inspired by art, and he's doing it with locally sourced material and selling them at a local art gallery.

  • Arts + Culture
Dan Houston's life in art became richer when he rekindled his relationship with Judith Turrentine-Houston. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 23, 2022
Rekindled love leads to new art and new gallery

Dan Houston waited decades of his life to paint, and now he's mastering his art with the help of a new relationship and a new gallery space.

  • Arts + Culture
Hymn for Her got creative to pay the bills during the pandemic. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • February 21, 2022
Local musicians get creative to pay the bills

Area artists and bands have found creative ways to pay the piper in the time of COVID-19.

  • Arts + Culture
Patti Smith read from "Just Kids" and "The Coral Sea" and also sang a few songs from her canon. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 16, 2022
Patti Smith fondly walks down memory lane

It's been decades since Patti Smith last spoke with her late friend Robert Mapplethorpe, but the memories of their time together remain as indelible as any image in her celebrated life.

  • Arts + Culture
Hermitage fellow Paula Vogel shared her knowledge with a captivated audience at Booker High School on Friday. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 15, 2022
Playwright puts plot on paper at Hermitage event

Paula Vogel has seen her work brought to life on the world's largest stages. And she helped a Sarasota audience find the sweet spot in crafting their own elements of style last Friday.

  • Arts + Culture
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 14, 2022
Selby honors legacies of photographer and rock star in 'Flowers, Poetry And Light'

The artistic legacy of Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith is being displayed as a living exhibit at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

  • Arts + Culture
Trumpet player Luca Stine is excited to come home to Sarasota and play his own original compositions for the first time. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 14, 2022
Sarasota native Luca Stine returns home as mature artist

The trumpet player left Sarasota to pursue his musical dreams at the University of Miami, but he's coming back to play Selby Gardens with his own compositions for the first time as a professional.

  • Arts + Culture
It's rare for Adelaide Boedecker and Calvin Griffin to perform together, but they savor the moments when they do.
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 10, 2022
A trip home and then The Met beckons for Adelaide Boedecker

Adelaide Boedecker will sing with her husband in her hometown a week after Valentine's Day, and right after that, she has an opportunity to achieve a career highlight.

  • Arts + Culture
The triceratops needed armor to protect itself from dinosaur predators.
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • February 10, 2022
Bishop exhibit offers a lost (and found) world

“Dino” Don’s DinoVenture brings long-lost dinosaurs to realistic life at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature.

  • Arts + Culture
Melanie Marcotte, Kelsey Wehde Wilson, Luke Johnson, James Ashford, Susan Angermann, and Bruce Price in 2018. (Photo courtesy of FST )
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 9, 2022
Florida Studio Theatre mourns loss of James Ashford

Coordinator of casting and hiring worked at FST for 21 years.

  • Arts + Culture
The cast of "Ruby" includes Casey Murphy, Aleah Vassell and Brian L. Boyd. (Photo courtesy of Sorcha Augustine)
  • By Spencer Fordin
  • February 7, 2022
WBTT teases musical 'Ruby' after extended delay

The theatrical run of "Ruby" has been postponed twice due to circumstances beyond its control, but the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe is working overtime to give it a new life.

  • Arts + Culture
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Letters to Santa carry Christmas wishes and love
  • December 21, 2025
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The Family Church caroling crew from left to right is Melody Johnson, Laurie Houston, Nancy Pilato, Pastor Phil Derstine and Terrial Robinson.
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