Many of us remember bedtime stories as a time of warm fuzzy feelings, a time when our parents could do no wrong and displayed what seemed like infinite patience. What we don’t remember with any sort of clarity are the words from those stories, let alone the exasperation and exhaustion our parents may have felt when they left us to dream of cartoon bears or big red dogs. Author Sean Carle—who has a one-year-old, a three-year-old and hundreds of children’s books in his home—decided it was high time to write a children’s book with the happiness of parents in mind too.

Titled “Baloney Pony Meets Some Colorful Friends,” the board book exists somewhere between the pedagogical and innocent “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” and the foulmouthed “Go the F**k to Sleep,” both of which went on to sell millions of copies across multiple languages. The story follows the adventures of Baloney Pony, who, as the book’s Kickstarter page says, “loves meeting new pals as much as he loves munching on stacks of baloney.”

“The idea is that kids meet these characters who are all related to certain colors,” says Carle. Those characters, however, are where the fun begins for parents. A brown beaver, a red one-eyed monster and a roller-skating pink taco are just a few, and the beauty of the innuendo that suffuses the characters is exactly what Carle wanted to leverage. “I don’t swear or use obscenities around my kids at all,” says Carle, “but in English there are all these ridiculous phrases adults can use that have double meanings and it totally goes over my kids’ heads.”

But the path to a final product has been riddled with mixed feelings. “I have a friend I’ve known since middle school who does illustrations for Disney,” says Carle, “and she didn’t want to illustrate it because she was afraid she’d get fired.” Meanwhile, other parents and colleagues love the concept but aren’t always willing to endorse the story openly. “It definitely gives me pause, but I’m not trying to hide obscene or disgusting images in it,” says Carle, “it feels like a really innocent thing to me.”

Still, there’s reason for Carle to be optimistic based on the success of the more explicit “Go the F**k to Sleep.” “It’s probably a joke that I’ve taken too far,” says Carle, “but I just love that space where you can communicate to adults and children at the same time, but on two different levels.” So, while the kids learn about colors as they follow the adventures of Baloney Pony, parents can share a cheeky laugh.

And what’s the harm in that?

The Kickstarter campaign for the first printing of the completed book closes on Thursday, July 1st. 

Click here for more information.

For the last decade or more, Sarasota’s streets have enjoyed a rather novel and bizarre addition to its public art landscape, a very “Florida” touch from area puppeteer and all-around creative force, Dr. Nik. With an immense and ever-growing collection of ostentatiously decorated and brightly painted bicycles parked across the city, he gave these streets a certain Sarasota character all their own. 

But after 10 years, Dr. Nik is finally paring back. And for one simple reason: unrelenting vandalism.

“I’m just tired of despicable deplorables trashing them,” he says.

At one point, Sarasota enjoyed as many as 44 of these “transportational two-wheeled sculptures,” as the Doctor has dubbed them, positioned around the Sarasota area in parks and outside restaurants and theaters—pretty much anywhere that people might congregate and find some joy in them. And he liked to move them around, keeping the audience guessing where they’d be found next. “It was fun,” he says. “It made people laugh and be happy, and that’s my goal in life.”

To that end, every bike Dr. Nik makes contains, amongst a variety of other decoration, a peace sign, a dove and a flamingo, for a message of peace with some Florida flavor.

And much of the community responded enthusiastically, hopping on for selfies and even flagging Dr. Nik down around town to find out where their favorite bike had been relocated. Some began to donate old bikes to the cause, leaving them outside Dr. Nik’s workshop as an offering to his creative impulses.

Not everyone has responded so civilly or respectfully, however, and it’s gotten to the point that Dr. Nik can’t go around town without seeing two or three of his sculptures violently torn apart each week. They steal the flamingoes. They steal the doves. They steal the seats. “And if they’re really pissed off,” he says, “they take a knife and stab the tires.”

Now, in addition to time spent repairing his sculptures, the endeavor begins costing serious money, and Dr. Nik estimates he’s “easily” sunk a few thousand into the project.

 “It used to be, ‘Oh well, I’ll take it home and fix it,” he says, “but it’s taking up too much of my time.” And for a natural creator who likes to divide that time between puppeteering, building, painting, writing and storytelling, he has plenty of other projects to devote his days to.

Still, Dr. Nik refuses to be bitter or angry about the continued vandalism. It’s not his way. “My whole existence on this planet is to be positive,” he says. “No anger. No hate. I move on. It’s been a good ride.”

For the immediate future, Dr. Nik plans to maintain around 11 of the transportational two-wheeled sculptures in Sarasota, including the most popular—Ring A Bell For Peace, positioned in Five Points Park. Much of the rest are available for sale at Artful Giraffe, where they’re already finding permanent homes with people who will appreciate them instead of abuse them. A select few he plans to take with him on a cross-country trip this August, leaving one in each major city as a means of spreading a message of peace across the nation.

“What could go wrong with that?” he says. 

Pictured: Dr. Nik on a Baltimore Orioles-themed bike that was later stolen.

The Hermitage Artist Retreat recently received two major grants that will be directed to historic preservation efforts and artist impact in the community. The organization received $110,000 from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, Inc., to assist with the restoration and rehabilitation of the historic Hermitage House. The Hermitage also received a $150,000 grant from Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation for its “Artist Impact SRQ” initiative, an expansion of the Hermitage’s growing community outreach and education programs, enhancing the Hermitage’s support for its artists and broadening the organization’s reach and impact in schools and underserved communities. 

The Players Studio (TPS), the education department of The Players Centre for Performing Arts, is proud to host two summer workshops – story-telling and audition song prep – hosted by Luke McFatrich. These workshops will both be geared toward youngsters, with the story-telling session accepting all those ages 10 to 15 and audition song prep accepting all those ages 10 to 18. Story-telling workshop:  Saturday, July 24, 11am-1pm, $35. Audition song prep workshop:  Saturday, July 24, 2-3pm, $20. 

Click here for more information.

The Sarasota Ballet announces today that two significant additions are being made to the Company’s Artistic and Education Departments – Mandy-Jayne Richardson, who joins as Ballet Mistress, and Lindsay Fischer, who joins as Assistant Education Director and Principal Company Teacher. Richardson will apply her expertise and artistry to the coaching of the professional Company, providing valuable insights towards rehearsing upcoming ballets such as Sir Peter Wright’s Giselle. Fischer’s impressive skillset will be channeled into The Sarasota Ballet’s Education Department, with an emphasis on contributing to the development of the pre-professionals of the Margaret Barbieri Conservatory and members of The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company. 

Triple 3 Marketing has announced its 2021 Sunset Photo Contest with one entry per person. It’s the fourth year for the regional contest and 7 winning photos will be selected. Photos can be taken anytime between January 1 and September 1 anywhere in Florida’s Gulf Coast region. The deadline is 5pm on September 2. 

Manatee County will host an open drive-through vaccination event Friday, June 25 from 10am to 1pm in the alleyway behind the County Administration Building for County Government employees who work in the Administration Building or any others downtown who want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Those who attend will be able to receive the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine.  

The Sarasota Young Professionals Group (YPG), a program of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, is proud to announce the 2021 Young Professional (YP) of the Year Award Finalists. This award recognizes a young professional in the Sarasota area that has demonstrated outstanding leadership personally, professionally, and in our community. The 2021 YP of the Year Award is presented by Kerkering, Barberio & Co. Based upon scoring criteria, the three individuals selected as finalists are Jade Davis, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, Ross Johnston, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and Lauren Tominelli, Sarasota County Government. 

Tom McCracken makes music at Fab Lab. 

Click here to read the full article in SRQ's May/June 2021 edition.