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Arts + Culture

Jolly (Flynn Nolen, center) is surrounded by the other characters including Candy (Christiana Allison), Mrs. Claus (Jillian Hurley), Jangle (Ray Barber), Tinsel (Vanessa Smith), Jingle (Mareece Love) and Santa Claus (Dellan Short).
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • December 9, 2025
'Deck the Halls' celebrates the holidays, Sarasota-style

The annual production by Florida Studio Theatre has become a holiday tradition for audiences.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Struggling artists on New York's Lower East Side hope for better days in Sarasota Players' production of Jonathan Larson's "Rent."
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • December 9, 2025
'Rent' weaves a 'tapestry of music and story' at The Sarasota Players

Director Brian Finnerty talks about The Sarasota Players' reinvention of Jonathan Larson's musical.

  • Arts + Culture
Lijana Wallenda perches on a chair balanced on a shoulder bar carried by her brother Nik Wallenda and Paul Matthew Lopez in the "Wonderland: Believe" circus, which runs through Jan. 4 in a big top near the UTC Mall.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • December 3, 2025
At the Wonderland circus, it's a Wallenda-ful life

Nik Wallenda brings his family and friends back to the UTC mall in a new theater-style tent.

  • Arts + Culture
Sarasota Opera Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi and General Director Richard Russell.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • December 2, 2025
Sarasota Opera artistic director will step down after 44 years

General Director Richard Russell will add artistic director to his role after Victor DeRenzi's departure in May.

  • Arts + Culture
Sarasota Concert Association names new board president
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • December 2, 2025
Sarasota Concert Association names new board president

Charlie Berardesco succeeds Joy McIntyre, who remains on the board.

  • Arts + Culture
Stephanie Zandra plays the Archangel who looks down over Joseph (Eustace Williams) and Mary (Maicy Powell) in Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe's "Black Nativity," which runs through Dec. 21.
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • December 1, 2025
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe presents holiday pageant in living color

Director Nate Jacobs discusses his latest take on Langston Hughes' "Black Nativity" and why it matters more than ever.

  • Arts + Culture
Keep the wonder alive during the most wonderful time of the year
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • November 26, 2025
Keep the wonder alive during the most wonderful time of the year

From twinkling lights to festive music to caroling on a trolley, there's something for everyone in this holiday sampler of eight events.

  • Arts + Culture
Nathan Benderson Park bridge, Lakewood Ranch.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • November 25, 2025
Hermitage fellow is fixing the world one song at a time

Tom Lubben, the middle member of The Lubben Brothers, will perform with clarinetist Shawn Allison at Benderson Park in a Hermitage Sunsets concert.

  • Arts + Culture
Sarasota actor Alan Kitty is launching a Mark Twain Festival at the Crocker Memorial Church, home of the Sarasota Historical Society, in Pioneer Park.
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • November 24, 2025
Mark Twain is alive and well and living in Sarasota

Twain impersonator Alan Kitty is launching a festival to honor the noted author's 190th birthday.

  • Arts + Culture
Sarasota arts scene serves up holiday classics, explores the modern 9-to-5
    By
  • Su Byron
  • November 21, 2025
Sarasota arts scene serves up holiday classics, explores the modern 9-to-5

Across the region, creativity is flourishing — from bold new theater and centennial celebrations to music and dance that lift the spirit.

  • Arts + Culture
Anxious travelers are desperate to contact loved ones after they are stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, in Asolo Rep's production of "Come From Away."
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • November 19, 2025
Asolo Rep tells a story of Canadian hospitality with 'Come From Away'

When 7,000 travelers were grounded in Gander on 9/11, locals opened their homes — and their hearts.

  • Arts + Culture
Hermitage Artist Retreat programming includes events on the beach adjacent to its campus.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • November 18, 2025
Artist retreat receives more than $300,000 in grants

The grants will help fund Hermitage Artist Retreat's operations, storm recovery and programming.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
A crowd scene of Cypriot art acquired by John Ringling in 1928 is the centerpiece of the new Gallery 12 at The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • November 18, 2025
John Ringling's Cypriot treasures get a permanent gallery for the first time

Consulting curator Joanna Smith discusses a decadelong journey to open Gallery 12 at The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

  • Arts + Culture
Architecture Sarasota's MOD Weekend 2025 kicks off with a party at the Umbrella House, designed by Paul Rudolph in 1953 for Philip Hiss. Both were members of the Sarasota School of Architecture.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • November 12, 2025
Architecture Sarasota makes a MODest proposal

Learn about signature Sarasota buildings and have fun along the way during Architecture Sarasota's MOD Weekend.

  • Arts + Culture
Daredevil clown Johnny Rockett, the Grinch and superstar aerialist Nik Wallenda pose in front of Wonderland's new tent near UTC.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • November 11, 2025
Nik Wallenda teams up with LECOM for holiday circus

The medical college bought three-year naming rights to the new Wonderland tent.

  • Arts + Culture
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