The 3rd annual PRIDE | Be Fabulous Arts & Music Festival returns to Sarasota this weekend, celebrating the history of drag culture with an exhibition and performance tonight at The Ringling Museum and championing LGBTQ+ rights in an all-day concert this Saturday at Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center. “In the light of the current political landscape,” says festival founder Shannon Fortner, “it’s great to be able to have a voice.” Keynote speakers include Yoleidy Rosario-Hernandez, the former Chief Diversity Officer and Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at New College of Florida, and Zander Moricz, a primary plaintiff in the “Don’t Say Gay” lawsuit brought against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The festival kicks off this evening at The Ringling, where a collaboration with Fortner’s Fabulous Arts Foundation and the Stonewall National Museum has created an exhibition on the history of drag performance from the 1800s through today. Through archival photos, books and pamphlets, letters and even some garments on loan (Fortner remains mum on the details. “You have to come see!”), the showing creates a timeline for the audience to follow, exploring drag performance as an artistic tradition and means of expression passed down for generations. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to educate people about drag culture,” says Fortner. “To recognize that drag is harmless, it’s fabulous, it’s funny, it’s beautiful—it’s all the things we want to see in a performance, be it music, dance or theater.”

At the same time, but up on the third floor, celebrated drag performer Lindsay Carlton-Cline will be leading a show on the history of drag culture in Sarasota, specifically, and all the people, performers and places that made the scene what it was and still is. But while tickets are sold out for tonight’s performances (you can still look for secondhand sales on the festival’s Facebook page), the exhibition itself will be on display through Pride Month and is free to view.

The festival continues Saturday at Fogartyville, with the music kicking off at 3pm and running strong until 10pm. Bands include headliner Palomino Blond, the Miami-based rock-and-rollers and Ringling Underground veterans making waves since 2018, and the alt-country/folk-punk pairing of Proud Miranda. Even Fortner’s own MeteorEYES will take the stage, playing both new material and purposefully digging out some old tunes, such as “Across the Pond,” a song written when gay marriage was still illegal. “The band felt it was really important that we play some of these songs,” says Fortner.

For those looking to catch the keynote speakers throughout the day, Rosario-Hernandez takes the stage at 5:45pm and Moricz at 8:45pm. “We’re a music festival, but we’re also a platform,” explains Fortner. “And we want the community to hear from people who have been doing such important work. It’s important that this community comes together and lifts each other up.”

Festival entry is $7 at the door, with proceeds going towards the pursuit of a permanent home for the Fabulous Arts Foundation. “So we can support our community year-round,” says Fortner. “It’s been really wonderful to see something like this happening in a space like that.” 

Pictured: Jax Anderson performing at the Fabulous Arts Foundation's 2022 PRIDE Festival.

“During the evolution of the play, it went through 10 different drafts. We had five different developmental readings of the play where we invited people to come listen to it. Our purpose was to say ‘tell us what you liked, didn’t like and how we can make the play better’,” says Joel Ehrenpreis, the founder of Lifeline Productions. “Instead, people started telling their own stories and were just blown away by the pervasiveness of mental illness. From that, I’ve already achieved one of my missions: having conversations and changing the words with which we use to speak about mental illness.”

Joel is speaking about Clowns Like Me, a one-man show starring his son, local actor and storyteller Scott Ehrepreis, that is making its world premiere on May 18th at the Cook Theatre in FSU’s Center for Performing Arts. In the show, Scott, who has a long list of acting credits and is currently performing as part of the ensemble cast in Florida Studio Theatre’s Network, shares the story of his journey living with mental illness. Scott suffers from several diagnoses including OCD, Bipolar Disorder, and Asperger’s Syndrome. The impetus for the production came about several years ago, when Scott’s father, Joel, wanted to begin to change the stigma that’s associated with people suffering from mental health challenges.

“The stigma around mental illness and the marginalization of people who struggle with it really got to me. A few years ago I started to talk to my son Scott, who happens to be a professionally trained actor, about the possibility of telling his story on stage,” says Joel. “One of the interesting things about this is that one of Scott's diagnoses is Asperger’s Syndrome and his form of aspergers is the form where he’s particularly good at one thing at the expense of a lot of other things. And for Scott, his passion is acting and storytelling. So that irony kind of struck me and my son only feels like his true self when he’s playing somebody else. I wanted to put these two pieces together–theater and mental illness–to help normalize mental illness and put a dent in the stigma.”

Clowns Like Me, May 18 - 28, Cook Theatre, FSU Center for Performing Arts, 5555 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 

Pictured: Joel and Scott Ehrenpreis. Photo courtesy of Erin Hoffer.

To learn more click here.

Told from the point of view of the ghost of Niki Armaos, this epic historical WW II fiction is set in Greece starting with the life of her socialist father, Antonis Armaos. What unfolds is a stoically resilient journey reminding me of Wei Wei’s memoir 1000 Years of  Joys and Sorrows.

If you know about Greek culture and its people, you know how passionate they live their lives and the lengths they are willing to go to fight for both country and family. Chomenidis captures the feeling of fear and moral conviction through beautifully drawn complex characters.

In Niki’s (which means Victory in Greek) case, this meant eight years of cloistered hiding while her father was wanted for treason. Chomenidis’ rifles his protagonist’s story with vigor and I found myself unable to stop reading this 450 plus page Prix Du Livre Européen Winning novel. In isolation, her father home schools her with strict goals to become multilingual and culturally sophisticated.

As her family resumes normal life after government exoneration, Niki’s life blooms into a coming of age discovery with the pleasures and pitfalls of dating as she waitresses at a high end restaurant. I’ll leave the rest of the story for the reader, but let me just say I haven’t read a book with such specificity in regards to food and relationships in quite some time. Niki becomes not only a character, but a friend.

Niki by Christos Chomenidis, Publication Date: June 13, 2023 ISBN 97816354211972.

Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 S Pineapple Ave, Sarasota, 941-365-7900, shop.sarasotabooks.com. 

At the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation’s (SAHP) 2023 Heritage Awards, which were held on May 6 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, presenter John McCarthy expressed how the awards celebration highlighted a wide range of projects to research, restore and preserve historical treasures county-wide. McCarthy, who serves as the vice president for regional history for Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is well known in the area for his historical tours and programs. At the event, McCarthy presented Anne Essner, the board president of Architecture Sarasota, the first place award for Adaptive Reuse for The McCulloch Pavilion. The building serves as the headquarters for Architecture Sarasota. Built in 1960 by architects William Rupp and Joseph Farrell, it was originally called the Scott Building. The building had fallen into disrepair when the newly founded Center for Architecture Sarasota approached the county in 2013 with the idea of restoring this important building through adaptive reuse to serve as an exhibition and education center. A partnership with the University of Florida School of Architecture was established, funds were raised and sensitive adaptive reuse of the building, led by Guy Peterson, FAIA, in consultation with Joseph Farrell began. The renovated Scott Building reopened as The McCulloch Pavilion in 2015. Lorrie Muldowney, the president of SAHP and chairperson of the Heritage Awards committee, says that the adaptive reuse of The McCulloch Pavilion was identified as an outstanding project by members of the awards committee because it was “a community-based project that engaged scores of craftsman who donated their goods and services and because Architecture Sarasota gives back to the community by providing a public space where citizens can learn about Sarasota’s rich architectural heritage and participate in conversations about the importance of continuing this legacy of excellence. Runners up for the Adaptive Reuse award were Sarasota Waterworks (Citation of Merit) and the Caldwell Trust Building at 27 South Orange Avenue (Honorable Mention). At the event, David Baber, vice president of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, gave a $4,000 check to Pastor Ashley Nicolls of St. Paul Lutheran Church for the restoration of the church’s education building designed by architect Victor Lundy and built in 1962. The event was presented in collaboration with the History and Preservation Coalition of Sarasota County, which is comprised of over 15 nonprofit and government entities committed to historic preservation and education. Major event sponsors included Hall Darling Design Studio, Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation, SAHP board members, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, and Architecture Sarasota.  

The University of Alabama recently honored Sarasota County developer and attorney Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. and his wife, Eliza Culverhouse, at an induction ceremony into the inaugural class of the 1831 Society. Named for the year the university was founded, the 1831 Society was created to recognize and celebrate the annual philanthropic commitments of alumni, parents, and friends who have taken a significant role in preserving, protecting, and promoting UA. The ceremony recognized 31 leaders who, through their generosity, collectively donated amounts totaling more than $483 million. As strong supporter of UA, Culverhouse’s roots run deep at the oldest and largest public university in the state. Culverhouse and his wife, Eliza, have cumulatively contributed more than $16 million to UA over the past decade. Both of Hugh’s parents attended the university and were involved in athletics there, and the business school bears the name of Hugh Culverhouse Sr., a two-time graduate of UA, prominent tax lawyer, developer and former owner of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His mother was a champion golfer on the school's golf team. Culverhouse has donated to a variety of causes at the university, notably including more than $11 million through the Eliza and Hugh F. Culverhouse Student Assistance Scholarship to defray debt for students enrolled in the Culverhouse College of Business and $2.25 million to fund scholarships for women golfers at UA. According to the Office of the U.S. Department of Education, 43.5 million Americans have federal student loans as of 2022. The number of student loan borrowers varies across state lines. Respectively, in 2022, the percentage of state population with student loan debt in Florida and Alabama was 12.08% and 12.72%. Hugh currently serves as the CEO of Palmer Ranch Holdings Ltd in Sarasota, FL, where Eliza also works as the Director of Community Relations. Through the Eliza & Hugh Culverhouse Family Foundation, substantial support has also been made to Hugh’s alma mater, University of Florida, with contributions of more than $4 million made over the last 6 years. Hugh is a two-time graduate of UF, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1971, an MBA in corporate finance from New York University in 1972, and his law degree from UF Levin College of Law in 1974. Prior to his current role as CEO, Culverhouse served as a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, a trial attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission in its division of enforcement, and then he would later go into private practice for more than two decades. Eliza is a passionate advocate of UA’s dance program and established a dance support fund, which brings guest choreographers to campus and supports graduate students and productions. The university recognized its most generous supporters by establishing the 1831 Society, a cumulative giving society that recognizes those loyal donors whose total giving to UA is $5 million and greater. Gifts from the 31 individuals and couples represent nearly 20% of campaign gifts to date, contributing to higher education at every level with professorship, scholarships, centers, programs, buildings and more. The 1831 Society recognizes only individuals and couples, not corporate or foundation donors. To find out more information about making a contribution to support UA, visit https://giving.ua.edu/ways-to-give/. 

On Friday, May 5th, a record-number 248 golfers teed off at the 21st Annual Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation Golf Tournament. The all-day event raised over $128,000. To date, the tournament has raised over $1.2 million for the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Physicians Endowment, which provides continuing education opportunities for Sarasota Memorial Health Care System staff. Played over both courses at Laurel Oak Country Club, The Golf Tournament is the annual collaboration of local businesses and individuals who support the event through sponsorships and participation in the tournament. More than 75 volunteers were also on hand to help make the event a success. David Fouche of J2 Solutions served as tournament chair. The Golf Tournament’s Fairway Sponsor was Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel. Other major sponsors included Golf Cart Sponsor, DeAngelis Diamond and Above Par Sponsors: Flad Architects, Gilbane Building Company, Gresham Smith, J2 Solutions and Sarasota Emergency Associates. Next year’s tournament will be held at Laurel Oak Country Club on May 3, 2024. For more sponsorship information, visit smhf.org/events or call 941.374.9700.