SRQ DAILY Mar 20, 2019
Wednesday Philanthropy Edition
"We expect to have a rigorous discussion after the film."
The Sarasota Film Festival has officially left pre-production and shooting has begun, with SFF President Mark Famiglio kicking off the film-centric festivities last night at the Sarasota Modern Hotel, and releasing the complete film line-up for this 21st year of SFF.
Opening with the journalism-focused documentary Mike Wallace Is Here, Famiglio hopes to set the tone for a festival seeking more than fun and fame—but one looking to have an effect and affinity with its community. “We expect to have a very rigorous discussion after the film,” he says, and several festival selections speak to similar sentiment. SFF Focuses this year include “African-American Spotlight,” “LGBTQ Representation” and “Fashion on Film,” bringing narrative and documentary films to encourage conversation around each topic.
The “Focus on Florida” program celebrates and examines the region with films like All There Is – A Circus Story, exploring circus culture and starring local icons such as Dolly Jacobs and Pedro Reis, and Pahokee, a Sundance hit about coming-of-age in a small town in southeast Florida. At the same time, the “Community Screenings” program uses documentary films such as Trafficking Solution and Invisible… Poverty, Hope and the American Dream to tackle relevant local issues like sex trafficking and homelessness.
Community roots run deep for the festival, and several community collaborations make their mark upon each year’s programming as well. An initiative with Booker High School brings the student-led film Into The Storm to the listings, while efforts with the Fine Arts Society of Sarasota and the Sarasota World Affairs Council brings the films The Price of Everyting and Swing Time in Limousin, respectively. The Through Women’s Eyes International Film Festival, running April 6–7, brings women-led films like Lovesick, a documentary about a matchmaker in India for those with HIV, and Upstream (Stroomop), a South African narrative feature about five women battling the elements.
Hollywood expectations will still be meet with the directorial debut of actor Greg Kinnear, a dark comedy entitled Phil, serving as Closing Night film and the return of Blythe Danner, who stars opposite John Lithgow in SFF Centerpiece Film The Tomorrow Man, directed by David Fincher protégé Noble Jones. “This was a banner year for us,” says Harrison Bender, programming manager for the festival, and the one who spent countless hours watching the thousand-plus submissions, winnowing the wheat from the cinematic chaff. His picks this year include three world premieres—Feral, Epiphany and Florida Water—and a last-minute pick-up in Red Joan, a spy film starring Judi Dench.
Slow cinema also gains a foothold in the festival this year, with two films clocking in at nearly four hours long or more: An Elephant Sitting Still (234 minutes) and A Bread Factory (270 minutes). 
The State Board of Education has named Bernadette Pletcher of Tillman Elementary the Assistant Principal of the Year in the State of Florida.
Working in close collaboration with Tillman Principal Marla Massi-Blackmore and the teachers and staff at Tillman, Pletcher helped guide the Title I school in a small neighborhood in Palmetto to rise academically from an F grade in 2015-2016 to a B grade in 2016-2017. The school maintained its B grade in 2017-2018.
Pletcher came to the School District of Manatee County as a Math Coach at Manatee Elementary School, later serving as an Elementary School Instructional Specialist from 2013 to 2014 before becoming an assistant principal at G.D. Rogers Garden and Anna Maria Elementary Schools. She has been an assistant principal at Tillman Elementary since July of 2016.
Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue, a not-for-profit animal rescue organization, has launched its “Journey Home Campaign,” a capital campaign to build a new campus for the organization. Unveiled at a luncheon yesterday, the fundraising campaign sets a goal of securing $8 million to finance construction and renovation of a new 25,000-square-foot campus located at 4951 Lorraine Road in Bradenton. The current campus is overcrowded and prone to flooding. So far, the campaign has raised more than $1.8 million, and an anonymous donor has agreed to match all donations up to $4 million.
Redwood Financial Network, a boutique wealth management firm, has announced that it is accepting applications for its 5th annual $1,000 scholarship, a non-need-based scholarship open to any graduating high school senior who plans on attending college in the Fall of 2019. The successful entry will be selected based upon academics and a 500-word essay responding to the question, “What Does Financial Responsibility Mean To You?”
All applications must be submitted to Sunwook Jin via email at SJin@RedwoodFN.com no later than 5pm on April 30, 2019.
Habitat for Humanity Sarasota, Inc. and the Sarasota Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) have celebrated the completed construction of two out of three homes built through the SHIP Partnership Program. Habitat Sarasota received $500,000 in funds from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program to build three affordable single-family homes in Sarasota. The homes are sold at no profit, financed with a 0% interest mortgage, to income-qualified families that earn up to 80% of area median income. Habitat Sarasota aims to serve families with an affordable mortgage not exceeding 30% of their gross monthly income. The objective is to remove people from housing situations that are unhealthy, substandard, overcrowded and not affordable.
The Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County's "An Evening for Healthy Start" 10th Anniversary fundraiser was a success, with over $37,000 raised. These funds will go to support Healthy Start direct services, with a portion of the proceeds destined to cover a funding gap for a vital community program, Save My Life.
Created in 2006 in response to the alarming racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes, the Save My Life Program was designed to address the significantly higher rates of poor birth and health outcomes, such as low birth weight, prematurity, and fetal and infant death experienced by African-Americans. The Save My Life Program offers education in group settings or home visits on a variety of health and pregnancy-related topics, providing the tools and information women need to have healthy pregnancies, birth healthy babies and become healthier. Classes are offered free-of-charge at various locations throughout the Newtown and North Sarasota areas, reaching about 100 pregnant women, new mothers and women of childbearing age each year.
Photos are now available from the 2019 SMARTgirl Leadership and Mentoring Summit. Powered by SRQ MEDIA’s Women In Business platform, the 2019 SMARTgirl Leadership and Mentoring Summit took place at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota on Friday, March 15, 2019. The program was designed to engage girls in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades to imagine their future careers and create the tools they will need to succeed through mentorship, soft skills training and hands-on workshops with some of the community’s top women leaders.
Thank you to our fantastic SMARTgirl mentors, an audience of over seventy SMARTgirls, and the 2019 program speakers: Mark Smith of The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art; Keynote Speaker, Roxie Jerde of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County; SMARTgirl Partner Alumni Speaker, Britney Guertin of Visit Sarasota County and representing the Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County, and Interactive Workshop Speaker, Blair Bloomston of Game On Nation.
We could not have had such a successful summit and luncheon without the support of our 2019 SMARTgirl Sponsors: Career Edge, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, New Balance of Sarasota and University Park, New College of Florida, Sue Ellen’s Floral Boutique, and The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Thank you to host sponsor Hyatt Regency Sarasota, audio visual sponsor PSAV, and to our 2019 Participating SMARTgirl Partner Organizations: Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County, Girls Inc., Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, and the YMCA.
In the rip-roaring comedy, Noises Off, a motley crew of actors frantically stumble through a final rehearsal just hours from Opening Night and things could not go worse. Lines are forgotten, love triangles are unraveling, and sardines are flying everywhere but will they be able to pull their act together on stage even if they can’t behind the scenes?
Asolo Repertory Theatre
A percussionist of great versatility and virtuosity, George Nickson brings the marimba to the fore in this concert that includes selections from Debussy’s “Children’s Corner Suite” and “Over The Rainbow” by Harlan/Oetemo. Principal percussionist for the Sarasota Orchestra and founding member of ensemblenewSRQ, Nickson has been hailed across the country, including as “a performer handling his role with ease and flair” by The New York Times.
Michael's on East ballroom, 1212 South East Ave., Sarasota
A musical tribute to the black musicians of the Harlem Renaissance and the new “swing” beat, experience the jazz scene—uptown, downtown, raffish and startling beautiful atmosphere. Come, swing and jive to such songs as “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” “I’m Going To Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” “The Joint is Jumpin’” and, of course, “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”
Stone Hall: Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W, Bradenton
A Key Chorale special event, Cirque des Voix is a performance unlike any other. See world-class circus artists combine with the 100+ voices of the Key Chorale and the musical mastery of the 40-piece Cirque Orchestra to produce one of the most unforgettable productions you’ll ever experience.
The Mall University Town Center, 140 University Town Center Dr., Sarasota,
Wizards and sorcerers. Magicians and illusionists. Fairies and elves. Genies and dragons. Singer Stevie Nicks or Titania, Queen of Fairyland? Harry Potter or Harry Houdini? Midsummer Night’s Dream or Puff the Magic Dragon? The magical world beckons you to step through the sliding doors of illusion and onto the dazzling Ringling College campus, where we will honor the most wondrous beings in our realm - Ringling College students. Reserve your seats now for this spellbinding evening.
Enjoy a night of exquisite dining while supporting USF Sarasota-Manatee’s Hospitality Management program. This dining experience is organized, prepared and served by USFSM students and faculty. Students in the restaurant management, event management and food prep courses organize, plan and execute each aspect of the event from start to finish.
The Ritz-Carlton, 1111 Ritz Carlton Dr., Sarasota
How does a place create a community? We know from research that a person’s zip code is a more reliable determinant of health than their genetic code. Why then, do we still struggle with poverty, addiction and homelessness in this region of beauty and prosperity?
Join us for our annual luncheon in March, where guest speaker Elma J. Felix-Lamontagne, AICP, will deliver a presentation about how places help to shape the identity of a community.
The Westin Sarasota, 100 Marina View Dr, Sarasota, FL 34236
Good food and great music is always a perfect pairing. In this performance, enjoy a "West Side Story Medley", "Sweet Georgia Brown", "And I Love Her", "Fiddler on the Toof Medley" and a nod to the classics with "Beethoven With a Twist!"
Plantation Golf & Country Club, 500 Rockley Blvd., Venice
This is a wine pairing experience unlike any other. Each individually themed station features exciting food and wine pairings along with activities and entertainment throughout the Ringling estate. Taste a variety of wines from Total Wine & More and engage with their wine experts while enjoying culinary delights from Sarasota's top caterers.
The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota
This year marks the 7th Anniversary of Women & Medicine and will support the Internal Medicine Residency Program at SMH. This educational luncheon features informative presentations and discussions from Sarasota Memorial Physicians. The topic of this luncheon will be, How to Be A Parter in Good Health [Making the Most of Your Physician Relationship]
Michael's on East, 1212 East Avenue, Sarasota
Cat Depot’s Mardi Gras-themed, Meow Masquerade, will take place at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota on Friday, March 29, 2019 from 6:30-10 p.m. Guests will be treated to a variety of entertainment featuring performances by The Circus Arts Conservatory, Gumbo Boogie Zydeco Band, and DJ Jay. The good times will roll with a delicious plated dinner, handcrafted cocktails, premium raffle, and silent auction. Enjoy an interactive photo booth with TapSnap, and face painting by Pixie Painting. Tickets are $150. Please email claudiah@catdepot.orgor call 941-366-2404 for more information. Tickets available online – www.catdepot.org.
Hyatt Regency Sarasota, 1000 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota FL
The Music Compound’s 5th annual Beer, Bands & BBQ is back on March 30, 2019 from 11 am - 4 pm. It will be hosted at a new location, the courtyard of The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave. Sarasota.
Look forward to 10 bands including Kara & Kaleidogroove, students from Music Compound will perform between sets. Food trucks and beer will be available throughout the day.
Admission is free and you are encouraged to bring your own lawn chair.
VIP wrist bands are available for $15 and include food samplings and a beer.
The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave., Sarasota
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Join us for the Greatest Circus Scavenger Hunt in Sarasota! Fun for all ages, The Circus Angel Scavenger Hunt is a benefit for the Showpeople's Winter Quarters, established in 2015 by The Circus and Traveling Shows Retirement Project, Inc.a 501 (c) (3) organization which helps provide affordable housing assistance for elderly or infirm circus performers in the Southwest Florida area.
The scavenger hunt includes 6 circus theme stops, live entertainment , giveaways and gift bags. You will have enough time to enjoy each stop, solve riddles with clues to find the little circus angels missing wing. The Grand finale is at 2:30 back at the registration hall at St. Martha's Church on Orange Avenue in Sarasota where the “All Aboard” Grand Prize package, a gourmet dinner served in the private "Silver Car' on an Original Circus Train, will be awarded to the winning team of up to 6 people.
Scavenger Hunt is by auto, in and around 5 miles of downtown Sarasota. Important: this is not a race. Tickets are reserved by emailing srqlynn@gmail.com and are available for purchase from The Circus and Traveling Shows Retirement Project, Inc. on Venmo via Lynn McDonald @ Lynn-McDonald-16384. $25 per person. Two to six people per car to qualify.
Join us to experience an evening of award-winning bites and imbibes as voted on by the readers of SRQ Magazine in this annual TGIF Best of SRQ Local Party on Friday, April 5th from 5-8pm at the Aloft Sarasota Hotel in Downtown Sarasota. 15+ Restaurants. Cocktail Samplings. Live DJ in the Courtyard. Celebrating the best locally owned establishments in the region, SRQ MEDIA asks our astute readers to vote for their favorite local eats, shopping, arts, luminaries and hotspots culminating in the buzzworthy special "Best of SRQ Local" awards feature published in the April edition. Celebrate your TGIF with the best our region has to offer—we will highlight local experiences—from new restaurants to the memorable theatre productions, from our community's best achievements to seriously talented chefs. Tickets on sale at SRQMAG.COM/BestOf.
Aloft Sarasota Hotel, 1401 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota, FL
The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is the world’s largest movement to end cancer. Money raised from Relay For Life helps the American Cancer Society save lives by funding ground breaking research to discover cancer’s causes and cures and help people facing cancer today with free programs and services. People form teams and raise money together leading up to the event. Then, everyone comes together for a night of fun that celebrates cancer survivors, remembers loved ones lost to cancer, and unites us in our commitment to fight back against the disease.
Manatee County Fairgrounds
Join us for an evening of deep-dive peer mentorship at the spring SkillSHARE: Mentorship at the Speed of Life on Thursday, June 13, 2019 at the SRQ Studios at 331 South Pineapple Avenue in Downtown Sarasota from 5-7:30pm. Register online by submitting questions from the areas in which you'd like to be paired with a peer mentor for the evening at SRQMAG.COM/SKILLSHARE. Light bites and wine. Registration closes on Friday, May 17, 2019; the registration fee is $25 per person. Limited to 16 mentees. For more information, contact SRQ MEDIA at 941-365-7702 x204.
SRQ Studios, 331 S. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236
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