« Back To SRQ Daily Archive

SRQ DAILY Nov 26, 2018

Monday Business Edition

Please allow images to view this email properly

Monday Business Edition

"I don't think people understand how strong the Colony brand was at its peak."

- Virginia Haley, Visit Sarasota COunty
 

-Nominate a business owner for SRQ Magazine's 2019 Localpreneur of the Year Competition. Nominations Close Friday, December 7
[RIP]  Murf Klauber Rebranded The Colony, Remade Region
Jacob Ogles

Murf Klauber, who left an indelible mark on Sarasota hospitality and changed the international reputation for Longboat Key, died on Thanksgiving, a day after the demolition of The Colony concluded.

“They tore down his unit last,” recalls son Michael Klauber, who went to the resort with family to watch the last buildings come down. The moment proved more than a little bittersweet for family. But the synchronicity of The Colony and the elder Klauber leaving the shores of Longboat permanently behind, it seemed one last fitting chapter in the story of a visionary.

“He left us with elegance and grace,” Michael Klauber says.

Murf Klauber, 91, over the course of several decades changed the worldview of this region as a retirement and vacation destination, a figure who loomed in his way as a John Ringling for the 20th century’s latter half.

Klauber himself began his relationship with Longboat Key as a vacationer, visiting here with family and then deciding to stay and invest. When Colony founder Herb Field sought investors, Klauber first signed on in 1968 and quickly took a leadership role at the resort. It was Klauber who thought to turn a bohemian beach resort into a luxury destination made up completely of suites.

Klauber, too, rebranded the venue as The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort. He recruited tennis pro Nick Bollettierri to start a tennis academy on property that would attract the sport’s greatest phenoms and eventually evolve into today’s IMG Academy. And all the while, the resort began to attract and introduce this island community to luxury travelers, many of whom slept here for the first time in a room at The Colony but later made this region their home.

“I don’t think people understand how strong the Colony brand was at its peak,” says Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County. “Murf had the vision to focus on tennis just as the sport was rising in popularity. One of his other impacts was establishing the feeling for casual elegance as a calling card for the west coast of Florida.”

Indeed, for a successful medical professional and a veteran of development before he even arrived in the region, Klauber in life seemed the picture of whimsy. As a hotelier, he broke ground developing a slate of children’s activities at the resort years before such programs became an industry expectation. The key to The Colony’s success, he insisted, relied fundamentally on whether families—parents and young ones alike—had fun.

Klauber ran the resort for decades, but largely turned the manager keys over to daughter Katie Klauber Moulton in 1988. Sons Michael and Tommy became some of the region’s most prominent culinary entrepreneurs.

The visionary didn’t always get along swimmingly with all around him. Disputes with property owners at The Colony ultimately led to legal wrangling and the closing of the resort. And at various points, Klauber pursued plans to redevelop parts of Sarasota’s Bayfront, ambitious dreams that never quite came to fruition.

But Klauber’s mark on the region endured regardless. And in his lifetime, he saw the seeds of his vision grow, even if in sometimes unexpected ways. A recently approved master plan for The Bay, one in which Michael was deeply involved, owes some of its spirits to Klauber’s dreams. Of course, so too will the redevelopment that eventually will rise at the site of The Colony.

Klauber just before his 90th birthday spoke with SRQ, showing up to a photo shoot in a brightly colored blazer and a pair of shorts, with pure fondness for the region that he helped redefine but which had enough appeal to draw his family here in the first place.

““I fell in love with Longboat and Sarasota,” he said then, “and it was a wonderful love affair.” 

Photo by Wyatt Kostygan: Murf Klauber

Read our 2017 feature on Murf Klauber

[Visual Arts]  Southern Atelier Offering Master Class with Living Master Steven Assael

Southern Atelier is presenting a 10-Day Master Class with Living Master Artist Steven Assael. The workshop takes places Wednesday, November 28, 2018 through Friday, December 7, 2018. Southern Atelier is located at 7226 21st St. East, Sarasota. Assael’s 10-day Master Class at the Southern Atelier focuses on analytical and emotive approaches to painting the human figure. Using a single long pose, the class will emphasize certain aspects of Assael’s process, such as the importance of color, value relationships, and the development of form in a related atmosphere. Assael will review the importance of observation, anatomy, proportion and plane shifts, projecting and receding from the eye and how to create an alla prima technique which involves both scumbling and glazing. The class will also include drawing and painting demonstrations, short lectures and daily critiques. 

Southern Atelier

[Music]  PMP/Suncoast Releases Winter Residency Schedule

The Perlman Music Program Suncoast celebrates the 15th anniversary of the PMP Sarasota Winter Residency this year, as select students from around the world flock to Sarasota to learn under the baton of famed violinist Itzhak Perlman and other award-winning faculty. Running from December 22 through January 5, the winter residency also brings to Sarasota a whole host of practices, recitals and concerts for area music-lovers to enjoy. With more than 20 events, and most of them free to attend, a complete schedule has been released and is available via the website below. 

Perlman Music Program Suncoast Winter Residency

[Architecture]  CFAS, McCarthy Hosting Architecture Walking Tour of Sarasota

Center for Architecture Sarasota and Historic Spanish Point Executive Director John McCarthy have announced another Sarasota walking tour. “Experience Sarasota Architecture Old + New” will lead attendees down Main Street, through Laurel Park, to Hotel Ranola, up Osprey Avenue and across Ringling Boulevard, with McCarthy exploring the architecture and explaining the history of the town. The tour is scheduled for Thursday, December 6, from 3:30pm to 5:30pm, beginning at the Center for Architecture at 265 South Orange Avenue. Tickets are $25 for CFAS members and $30 for non-members. 

Center for Architecture Sarasota



[SOON]  BUSINESS: Nominations Now Open for 2019 Localpreneur of the Year , November 8 – December 7

Nominate a passionate and purposeful local entrepreneur who you believe has forged a successful company in the Sarasota and Bradenton region with astute corporate drive, a heart for giving back, a talent for engineering innovation and indelible leadership qualities. Your entrepreneur nominee should have an active for-profit business located in Sarasota or Manatee County and may represent any sector of business.  The LOCALPRENEUR OF THE YEAR program celebrates these courageous and intrepid visionaries who make this one of the best places to start and run a successful small business. We will announce the finalists at the SB2 Regional Economy and Localpreneur of the Year Awards Luncheon on January 24, 2019 at The Hyatt Regency Sarasota and showcase all nominees and finalists in the February 2018 edition of SRQ | The Magazine.

[SOON]  MUSEUM: Storytelling: French Art from the Horvitz Collection , September 9 – December 2

Explore two exhibitions selected from one of the world’s finest private collections of French art, “Imaging Text: French Drawings for Book Illustration” and “17th and 18th Century French Paintings,” from The Horvitz Collection. Features 60 drawings and 10 related prints for book illustration, created between the 16th and 19th centuries, as well as a selection of 10 paintings. Subjects range from mythological and religious scenes to more playful genre imagery.

The Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota.

[SOON]  GALLERY: The Orchid Show: Endless Forms , October 12 – November 26

This year’s Orchid Show will amaze visitors with never-before-seen displays of orchids that celebrate the plant family’s dramatic diversity of colors, shape and even scents. With November’s Orchid Evening, experience the Orchid Show in a whole new light with an orchid-inspired cocktail reception and an exclusive, after-hours lighted viewing to the latest exhibition at Selby Gardens.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 900 South Palm Ave., Sarasota

[SOON]  THEATER: South Pacific , October 26 – December 2

This beloved musical, winner of 10 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is set in the South Pacific during World War II and follows two parallel love stories that face prejudice and war. Both a social commentary of the time and a favorite for hopeless romantics, this musical includes classics such as “Bali Ha’i,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” and “Some Enchanted Evening.”


Venice Theatre, 140 Tampa Ave. W, Venice

[SOON]  GALLERY: National Sumi-E Society , October 30 – November 30

Celebrating the Japanese art of ink wash painting, also called Sumi-e, this exhibition brings art from around the country to Bradenton for a show dedicated to the delicacy, beauty and history of the medium. Spanning across all three galleries, this is another flagship exhibition for one of Bradenton’s leading art centers.

ArtCenter Manatee, 209 9th St. W, Bradenton.

[SOON]  THEATER: Dike , November 9 – December 16

Written by Hannah Benitez, a Cuban-Jewish-American millennial originally from Miami, Dike follows a pair of sisters from a religious family who reunite after two years of separation to navigate the cloudy waters of identity. An awkwardly hilarious and gripping exploration of love, sexuality, and sisterhood, with an all-female cast, Dike questions the limitations religion and social conditioning raise within all of us.

Urbanite Theatre, 1487 2nd St., Sarasota.

[SOON]  THEATER: Marvin Gaye: Prince of Soul , November 28 – January 13

After several years of requests from theater patrons, Sheldon Rhoden will reprise the role of Marvin Gaye. This original show begins in the 1950s at the start of Gaye's career with Motown and follows its twists and turns until his untimely death in the mid-1980s.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 North Orange Ave., Sarasota.

[SOON]  THEATER: Guitar Girls , November 28 – March 31

A celebration of female singer-songwriters who have used their music to give themselves a voice in contemporary America. Artists like Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, and Carly Simon have made indelible marks on the music industry.

Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 North Palm Ave., Sarasota

[SOON]  GALLERY: Cycle 2: Art Center Instructors, McMennamy and Gatzambide , November 29 – January 4

Art Center Instructors exhibition will feature the talented local and visiting Art Center Sarasota instructors. A second gallery will offer Stephen McMennamy, an Atlanta-based artist, his first solo exhibition featuring his time-based video collages. Artist Peter Gatzambide will exhibit a recent series of assemblage paintings and works on paper in his first solo exhibition at Art Center Sarasota.

Art Center Sarasota, 707 North Tamiami Trl., Sarasota.

[SOON]  BUSINESS: SB2 presents Philanthropic Agenda , November 29, 11:00am - 1:00pm

The SRQ Philanthropy Agenda luncheon and panel discussion will explore the dynamic and ever changing world of non-profits. What's trending, who's innovating, why are donor-advised funds growing so rapidly and what exactly are donors looking for? The luncheon will culminate with the SRQ Gives Good program at which we will honor the Non-Profit Innovation in Philanthropy Award and the Local Philanthropy Hero Award honoring individuals who have meaningfully impacted our community for good in the past year.


The Hyatt Regency Sarasota, 1000 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota, FL 34236

[SOON]  THEATER: Elf- The Musical , November 29 – December 16

Santa Claus narrates the story of Buddy, who was raised at the North Pole. Prior to Christmas, Buddy learns he’s human, not an elf. He convinces Santa to let him return to New York City to find his real father. He finds his father (who’s on the naughty list) and a step brother who doesn’t believe in Santa. Buddy decides it’s up to him to bring back the spirit of Christmas to his family and all of New York.

Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 3rd Ave W, Bradenton

[SOON]  DANCE: Raphael Xavier: Point of Interest , November 30 – December 1, 7:30PM

Crackling with his signature bravado and high-energy physicality, Raphael Xavier shares the stage with a multigenerational cast, performing a series of solos, duets and quintets in his newest work, featuring a soundscape of beats, spoken word poetry and musical rhythms. 

Distilling the art of break dancing to its purest form, Raphael Xavier takes this movement vocabulary to uncharted territory. Point of Interest ventures into the "mature" space for hip-hop dance, following the standard of traditional Breaking aesthetics while pushing the boundaries of a culture and dance form commonly associated with youth. 

The Ringling

[SOON]  PERFORMANCE: Perfect Pairs , November 30 – December 3

Ward Stare leads Sarasota Orchestra in a program pairing exquisite French music with rich German orchestral fare. Twin sisters Christina and Michelle Naughton provide double the drama in Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos, while Ravel’s masterwork appropriately uses the word “delicious” in its subtitle. Mozart’s music from Thamos, King of Egypt is a rarely heard delight and German Romantic giant Richard Strauss’ operatic suite concludes the program in an explosion of orchestral virtuosity.


Sarasota Orchestra, 709 North Tamiami Trl., Sarasota

[SOON]  PERFORMANCE: The Nutcracker , December 1

In the season opening, the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School presents a production of this timeless classic alongside Tchaikovsky’s much-loved score. Travel through this fanciful world and dance along with the sugar plum fairies, as Clara and her Nutcracker Prince journey into the whimsical Kingdom of Sweets.

Sarasota Opera House , 61 North Pineapple Ave., Sarasota

[SOON]  FESTIVAL: Bradenton Blues Festival , December 1

This sixth annual festival features a stellar lineup of top blues musicians, including Welch-Ledbetter Connection, Mr.Sipp, Shakura S’Aida, Chris Cain, Harper & Midwest Kind, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Kelley Hunt, & Trey Wanvig in between sets. Food, drinks and merchandise will be available for purchase on this beautiful riverfront setting.

Bradenton Riverwalk Event Pavilion, 452 3rd Ave. W, Bradenton

SRQ Media Group

SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email

Copyright © 2024 by SRQ Media Group, 331 South Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236.
Powered by Sarasota Web Design | Unsubscribe

Read More

Where Oil Meets Water

Where Oil Meets Water

Phil Lederer | Mar 1, 2024

Freedom to Wander

Freedom to Wander

Laura Paquette | Mar 1, 2024

Drive and Dine

Drive and Dine

Laura Paquette | Mar 1, 2024

A Mesmerizing Journey

A Mesmerizing Journey

Barbie Heit | Mar 1, 2024