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Arts + Entertainment

Many holiday events took place the first weekend of December, but there are still plenty of opportunities for festive fun to have on the keys.
    By
  • Dana Kampa
  • December 11, 2025
Catch Santa on Longboat Key before Christmas

It's not too late to share those holiday wishes with Saint Nick before Christmas.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
A Kwanzaa display rests on the table during the event.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • December 11, 2025
Kwanzaa celebration prepares community for the holiday

The Kwanzaa Community Celebration will be followed by the 7-Day Candle Lighting Ceremony and Celebration from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
The moon rises as German and English troops gather together in "No Man's Land" to celebrate the birth of Christ in Asolo Rep's "All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914."
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • December 10, 2025
'All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914' returns to Historic Asolo Theater

First created as a Minnesota radio program in 2007, Peter Rothstein's show uses word and song to tell a little-known chapter of history.

  • Arts + Culture
Paul Nicholas and David Cantor form an unlikely friendship in Florida Studio Theatre's "A Tailor Near Me."
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • December 9, 2025
The best things to do in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat for Dec. 11-17

Don't miss these arts and entertainment events around Sarasota and Manatee counties this week.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Things To Do
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
The audience roared its approval when Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas delivered an encore performance on the Sarasota Orchestra's Masterworks concert, "Close Encounters."
    By
  • Gayle Williams
  • December 8, 2025
Sarasota Orchestra gives audience close encounter with Masterworks program

Musicians weren't just on stage; they were in the corners of the Van Wezel for Respighi's "Pines of Rome."

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • By Observer Advertising Content Staff
  • December 5, 2025
Sarasota Concert Association presents the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Join Sarasota Concert Association on Monday, January 19, 2026 at 7:30 pm at Van Wezel.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Spotlight Partners
Sponsored Content
  • By Observer Advertising Content Staff
  • December 4, 2025
Forks & Corks Food & Wine Festival

From January 22–26, 2026, this celebration will feature wine dinners, tasting seminars, an online auction, and the iconic Grand Tasting at The Ringling Museum.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Spotlight Partners
Sponsored Content
  • By Observer Advertising Content Staff
  • December 3, 2025
Mad Hatter NYE Party

Step into whimsy and welcome 2026 in spectacular style at GROVE's Mad Hatter NYE Party!

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Spotlight Partners
Sponsored Content
  • By Observer Advertising Content Staff
  • December 3, 2025
Join us at the 6th Annual Sarasota Luxury Travel Forum

Learn about incredible destinations, meet top-tier travel experts, and plan your next unforgettable getaway.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Spotlight Partners
Sponsored Content
CEO Mike Bisaha says the new equipment will at least triple Big Top Brewing Co.'s beer production.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • December 3, 2025
Big Top to open expanded brew house at Sarasota's Fruitville Commons

An upgraded brewing system will more than triple Big Top's beer production.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
Anne Vose and Jackie Donnelly peruse the works of artist Marie Therese Lacroix, center.
    By
  • Dana Kampa
  • December 3, 2025
Check out these artists at Lawn Party by the Bay

Local creatives are bringing a new art exhibition to this year's Lawn Party by the Bay, along with a silent auction of Peter Max's work.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
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
The Shaelyn Band, which opens the Lakewood Ranch Blues Fest Dec. 6 at Waterside Place, is led by singer Shaelyn Mulberry.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • December 2, 2025
This musical soul search leads to Lakewood Ranch

The Lakewood Ranch Blues Fest is back for its second edition with seven top bands at Waterside Park.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
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Latest in Arts + Entertainment

1
Paul Nicholas and David Cantor star in "A Tailor Near Me" at Florida Studio Theatre through Feb. 15.
  • December 18, 2025
Florida Studio Theatre's 'A Tailor Near Me' stitches threads of friendship and art
2
Justin Gomlak helps bring big city glamour to the Sarasota stage in "A Very Broadway Christmas," which plays Monday, Dec. 22, at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.
  • December 17, 2025
The Van Wezel wants you to have 'A Very Broadway Christmas'
3
Richard Thomas stars in "Mark Twain Tonight!" at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Dec. 19-20.
  • December 16, 2025
The best things to do in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat for Dec. 18-24
4
Trevor Stalcup and Jessica Assef star in George Balanchine's "Mozartiana," in Sarasota Ballet's Program Three, "Masters of Movement," which runs Dec. 19-20 at the Sarasota Opera.
  • December 16, 2025
Sarasota Ballet taps a Balanchine disciple to stage his final major work
5
Tree Fort Productions takes a recovery road trip, one classic car at a time
  • December 15, 2025
Tree Fort Productions takes a recovery road trip, one classic car at a time

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