West Coast Woman October 2020

out and about continued
outer planets, until you arrive at the
icy outer reaches of the Kuiper Belt
and the Oort Cloud, located on the
outer fringe of the solar system.
Planetarium Manager Howard
Hochhalter also offers virtual journeys
through space that you can join
from home:
• Every Tuesday at noon: Join Howard
on Facebook as he previews stars
and constellations in the upcoming
night skies (free program);
• Every 2nd and 4th Saturday of
the month: Howard focuses on helping
kids become masters of the universe
during KidSpace (free program
on Zoom);
• On the fourth Wednesday of
the month: Howard hosts Stelliferous
on Zoom, where he focuses on
the night skies, the latest news in
astronomy and answers your questions.
Cost: $5.
WBTT’s Soul
in the Garden
The event is on Friday, November
13, 6-9 p.m. at Marie Selby Botanical
Gardens (800 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota).
Join Westcoast Black Theatre
Troupe in a beautiful outdoor setting
for cocktails, dinner, live auction and
a show celebrating the Sixties, when
sweet soul music was in full bloom.
Songs will include megahits like
“Dancing In the Street,” “Twistin’ the
Night Away,” “Try a Little Tenderness”
and “Your Love Keeps Lifting
Me (Higher and Higher).” WBTT will
honor longtime supporter and immediate
past board chair, Marian Moss,
as its 2020 Heart & Soul Philanthropy
honoree. Delicious dinner catered by
Michael’s On East.
Limited to 150 guests to ensure
safe social distancing; livestream
option available for those not able to
attend. Attire: cool and comfy with
a groovy 1960s flair. Tickets: $250/
in person, $100/livestream. For more
information, contact Debra Flynt-
Garrett at 941-366-1505 or dfgarrett@
westcoastblacktheatre.org.
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Art Exhibits
Pat O’Neill presents “The Beauty
of Acrylics” as Island Gallery West’s
October featured artist. Pat is a local
artist from Bradenton. He is known
for his realistic paintings and beautiful
Florida seascapes and sea life
as well as his many residential and
business wall murals throughout the
Anna Maria Island area.
Pat will display his creative and
original acrylic paintings that show
not only his love and passion for
painting, but his uniqueness and
imagination for versatility in subjects
and composition. Pat’s great attention
to detail, perception of light
and dark and use of vivid colors will
be sure to bring the viewers delight.
They’ll hold a FACEBOOK LIVE
interview with Pat on Monday October
5 at 5pm. Tune in to hear about
his inspiration, his painting and for
a preview of the exhibit. www.facebook.com/islandgallerywest
Island Gallery West is located
at 5368 Gulf Dr., Holmes Beach, Trolley
Stop 15 on Anna Maria Island.
Pat’s exhibit runs through October
31. Visit www.islandgallerywest.com
or call 941-778-6648. Per county and
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city regulations, masks are required.
Hand sanitizer is available.
Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling
College is open beginning
October 1. The Museum Campus is
open to all, including the new Bistro,
the Shop, and the Grounds. On exhibit:
Harmony Hammond, Material
Witness, Five Decades of Art, Color.
Theory. & (b/w), Vita in Motu, Worker
by Barbara Banks and Vik Muniz.
They offer a variety of online exhibits.
Visit www.sarasotaartmuseum.org.
Sarasota Art Museum, Ringling
College Museum Campus, 1001
South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
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Manatee County Agricultural
Museum , 1015 6th St. West, is open.
Local artist Pat Robertson’s watercolor
exhibit has been extended
indefinitely. Robertson is a 33-year
resident of Manatee County, specifically
Palmetto and Terra Ceia. She
is a watercolorist and took her first
class at ArtCenter Manatee. She
is a signature member of the Florida
Watercolor and the Suncoast
Watercolor Societies. The exhibit
features beautiful flora and fauna
focused pieces. Some of the pieces
are for sale.
Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 1st and
3rd Saturday 10-noon, 1-4 p.m. Location:
1015 6th Street West, Palmetto.
Info: (941) 721-2034
Online exhibits: Underwater
Farms: Aquaculture in Manatee
County. Aquaculture has a long history
in Manatee County. The process of
growing aquatic animals and plants
for food, restoration, and pets has
evolved over the years, but continues
to have a presence in the agricultural
industry. Learn more about what
aquaculture farms have been in Manatee
County in the past and today.
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Theatre
At the Players of Sarasota:
• The Players accelerated their plans
to move from their location in downtown
Sarasota (838 N. Tamiami Trail,
Sarasota). They’ll vacate their space
this October. A Few of Our Favorite
Things — Oct. 2020. A reimagined
look at the proposed finale show previously
scheduled for the 91st Broadway
Series will go virtual. The Players
will ask for performances submitted
virtually to put together a digital
homage to this Sarasota institution.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
– 2020. The Players fourth annual
production of The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow will again be presented outdoors.
More info at https://www.theplayers.org/shows/calendar.
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Asolo Rep Engage offers, free
of charge, their Monday Musical
Moments from shows you loved
like EVITA, PULSE, RAGTIME and
many more. You can listen to artists
like Ana Isabelle, Noah Racey, and
Nilo Cruz who helped bring that
amazing work to Asolo Rep on our
podcast, Engage: On Air. Families
and educators can enjoy Nia Explains
It All to get a crash course in
theater terminology.
Asolo Rep will move forward with
the rest of their announced season of
plays: OUR TOWN, GRAND HORI-
ZONS, and two brand new musicals:
KNOXVILLE and HOOD to be
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Ringling
College has Turbulent Times and Their
Effect on the 2020 Election, with political
analyst Susan MacManus. Her talk will
center on voting history, changing demographics
in Florida, and what the numbers
are telling us about the outcome of this
contentious race. This online presentation
takes place on October 21, 3-4:30 pm.
presented live and in the Asolo Theatre.
Stay tuned at www.asolorep.org.
Artist Series
Concerts
The Soiree Series concert featuring
Jennifer Kreider and Austin
Cripe, originally scheduled for October
25 and 26 at the Fischer-Weisenborne
residence, is now scheduled
for October 26 at 5:30 pm at Selby
Gardens. Tickets: $25.
The Soiree Series concert, Palm
Court Treasures, originally scheduled
for November 22 and 23 at the
Fischer-Weisenborne residence, is
now tentatively scheduled for November
22 at 5:30 pm at Historic Spanish
Point. Once this date is confirmed, we
will let you know. Tickets: $25.
They’ll also be offering the following
virtual concert:
Women of Note, featuring pianists
Lee Dougherty Ross and Gail
Berenson, sopranos Robyn Rocklein
and Jenny Kim-Godfrey and actors
Kate Alexander, Ariel Blue, and Meg
Gilbert. This program celebrates the
100th anniversary of the passage of
the 19th amendment granting women
the right to vote. The program, consisting
entirely of female composers
and performers, is part of a collaboration
led by Florida Studio Theatre to
celebrate the Suffragist Movement.
This concert comes to a computer
screen near you October 1-12. Tickets
per household are $15. Plans are also
in the works to stream some of the
performances from the organization’s
2020-21 25th anniversary season,
which is now tentatively scheduled
to begin on October 13, at Michael’s
On East, with a live luncheon plus a
virtual performance by classical accordionist
Hanzhi Wang.
Note: The Florida Jazzmasters
concert, which was first scheduled
for September 13, has been moved to
December 6, at Marie Selby Botanical
Gardens. The October 25 and 26 recitals
with Jennifer Kreider and Austin
Cripe have been moved to October 26
(now one single performance), also
at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
https://www.artistseriesconcerts.org
or 941-306-1200.
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The Choral Artists
of Sarasota’s
Season Kicks Off
Choral Artists of Sarasota’s 42nd
season, entitled “Rise Up!” features
eight concerts in October, November,
December, February, March, April,
and July. Two of the concerts are
planned for in-person events; three
will be presented outdoors and all
performances will include a virtual
presentation.
Choral Artists will also stage the
long-awaited “Listen to the Earth”
project—an ecological initiative
commemorating Earth Day’s 50th
anniversary last year—but postponed
due to the pandemic. Artistic Director
Joseph Holt will also illuminate
the creative process during a series of
virtual “Concert Insights,” throughout
the season. Each will focus on
the upcoming concert with a special
guest joining the conversation.
First up is Out of Adversity: Embracing
Our Differences: Historical
and well-known composers, celebrated
for their incredible musical
compositions, come out of the
closet. In examining the lives of Handel,
Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Barber,
Poulenc and others, the adversity
they encountered as gay composers
in society is highlighted. This virtual
presentation is Sunday, October 18,
4 p.m. The “Concert Insight” for this
concert is Thursday, October 8, at
10 a.m. For information and tickets,
visit www.ChoralArtistsSarasota.org
or call 941-387-4900.
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Ballet and Dance:
Sarasota Contemporary
Dance presents Evolving/Revolving
on October 1-4 at Historic Asolo
Theatre in-person and virtual. Performances
are at 7:30 pm, except
Sunday has a matinee at 2:00 pm.
Tickets (virtual and in-person):
Callm 941.260.8485 or go to ww.sarasotacontemporarydance.org.
They’re offering live, socially distanced
seating at a limited capacity
for all of their shows this season, as
well as a Virtual Stream of each performance
through their own Digital
Theater that will be showcased on
their website. The virtually streamed
performance will be a professional,
multi-angle experience to allow audience
members at home feel like they’re
right there in the theater with the artists.
For more information, visit sarasotacontemporarydance.org/tickets.
SCD has invited back Erin Fletcher
(Resident Choreographer since 2015)
and Erin Cardinal with Brian Fidalgo
(Guest choreographers 2018) to revisit
their captivating pieces and expand
them into evening-length works. This
production features themes of migration
from Cardinal and Fidalgo, as
well as an exposé into the iconic identity
of Marilyn Monroe by Erin Fletcher:
investigating the tragic life of the
actress and the gossip surrounding
her public persona and death.
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For the first time ever, The Sarasota
Ballet will be offering specially
filmed performances that ticket buyers
can stream from the comfort of
their homes. These digital experiences
will replace in-theater performances
for the first three programs of the
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30th Anniversary Season. The priority
of The Sarasota Ballet is to safeguard
audience members, dancers, and staff
from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Program 1 is on October 23. More
info at https://www.sarasotaballet.
org/fall-digital-season.
The Great Outdoors
At Benderson Park
• Park visitors are reminded to
practice safe social distancing, o
remain home if they have any signs
of illness, and to wash their hands
regularly with soap and water. All
park restrooms remain open, and an
amplified cleaning schedule remains
in place. High-contact areas and
touch points continue to be regularly
disinfected throughout the day.
• The Ronald A. Balducci Playground
is open during regular park
hours (6 a.m.-8 p.m.), but hour-long
closures at 8 a.m., noon and 4 p.m.
allow crews to clean playground
equipment.
• As a reminder, only electric
boat motors are authorized in our
waters; gas motors must be raised to
indicate they aren’t in use. (This is
in accordance with Sarasota County
ordinances.)Follow the park at
NathanBendersonPark.org.
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A new Canopy Zone feature is
now open at Manatee County’s Robinson
Preserve, allowing visitors
to experience nature from a fresh
perspective while exploring amidst
the treetops.
Situated at the edge of the historic
Reasoner Tract at Robinson Preserve
South, the Canopy Zone is nestled
among century-old botanical giants
that once formed the test plot for Royal
Palm Nurseries. Follow the boardwalk
as it extends past the Mosaic
Center for Nature, Exploration, Science
and Technology (the NEST) and
find yourself climbing among the
limbs and leaves.
Thanks to careful planning, the
Canopy Zone was built amongst the
existing trees, allowing for a densely
shaded environment and a cool experience
to combat the summer heat.
The boardwalk features LED lighting
allowing it to be used for staff-guided
evening programs for the public and
permitted special events.
The compact, two-story structure
is filled with adventure park elements
including a series of boardwalks, rope
bridges, climbing nets, and slides.
Crawl through the net tube to catch
a bird’s-eye view of the newly built
waterways of the Robinson Preserve
Expansion or climb the tower, zigzagging
through platforms to top and
then take the spiral slide all the way to
the understory loop on the forest floor.
While some of the more challenging
elements are recommended for ages
5 and older, all ages and abilities are
welcome on the accessible tree-top
boardwalk loop that emerges overlooking
the Robinson Preserve Expansion,
complete with mounted binoculars
for viewing the wading birds and
other wildlife within the preserve.
The project complements the
ongoing habitat restoration on 135
acres located at the expansion area
of Robinson Preserve to enhance
fisheries habitat and install native
plants. Additional amenities are also
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8 WEST COAST WOMAN OCTOBER 2020