This summer, harness the heat to create stunning glass creations at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens where guests can learn about flameworking from professional glass blower and Selby Art Instructor Matt Szidik.

Szidik studied art in college, where he discovered the world of glassblowing. He’s a member of St. Pete’s artistic community and owns Little Wolf Glass, where he transforms this medium into anything from leafy palm trees to elegant sunset-colored bowls.

In this program, Szidik will share his wealth of experience with students of all skill levels ages 12 and up. Participants will learn the basics of flameworking, which involves the use of oxygen, propane, a torch and heat resistant borosilicate glass to create a glass pendant that they can hang on display or wear. After he demonstrates the process, each student gets their glass rod and selects the colors they wish to use. As students work, Szidik moves around the open-air tent, offering guidance. “We’re aiming for flower pendants, but often people go on their own and make their own masterpiece,” he says.

Szidik hopes that participants leave the workshop with the desire to further pursue the art form. “You have the whole class time to experiment, learn and play,” he adds. “It’s super fun and hopefully people might want to take it up as a hobby.”  He recommends wearing long pants, a t-shirt and closed-toed shoes and bringing along plenty of water. He notes that safety glasses will be provided and that guests who enroll in a class get a pass to explore the gardens. With the lush tropical flowers and verdant pathways winding their way through Selby, there’s no telling what the garden will inspire you to create.

The Intro to Glassblowing and Flameworking Workshop will be held July 21 and 22 at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota Campus. The class fee is $88 for members and $98 for non-members. All supplies are included in the class fee. To learn more and register, visit selby.org. 

Pictured: Flameworking class at Selby. Photo Courtesy of Matt Szidik.

Have you heard of the Sugar Belle® mandarin hybrid variety? This small fruit might make a big impact. Citrus greening disease was first found in Florida in 2005 and has disrupted our citrus industry ever since, reducing production by 75% according to USDA APHIS. While there is no known cure for citrus greening, University of Florida researchers have created a variety that is greening-tolerant, the Sugar Belle®! It is a hybrid of Sweet Clementine and Minneola varieties, has a sweet and tangy flavor, and is easy to peel! In studying what makes Sugar Belles® less affected by greening, UF researchers are hoping to develop other tolerant cultivars which could significantly improve our citrus industry in Florida. Join UF/IFAS Extension Manatee County on Tuesday, July 18 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. for a Dooryard Citrus Workshop and learn about residential citrus selection, planting, and care! Sugar Belles® and Tree Defender will be available for purchase. Register here: https://bit.ly/3OVRKBe 

The Sarasota Concert Association today announced the launch of its Choose 3 concerts campaign, enabling subscribers the opportunity to create their own 3-concert
series at a discount from the six concerts being presented in the 2023-24 season. Available concerts include the five Great Performers Series concerts as well as one
holiday concert being presented by the Sarasota Concert Association. Choose 3 subscribers save 10% off regular single ticket prices. The Choose 3 series can be purchased by calling the Sarasota Concert Association Box Office at 941-966-6161. Choose 3 subscribers save 10% off the price of full price single tickets. Five-concert subscriptions to the Great Performers Series are still on sale and range from $125 to $415 with up to a 30% discount for the 5-concert package. To purchase subscriptions, visit www.SCAsarasota.org or call the box office at 941-966-6161. Full price single tickets to all concerts will go on sale September 5. 

The School District of Manatee County is hosting three job fairs in July. A variety of positions are available for job seekers with on-site interviews available. An Operations Job Fair is being held on Thursday, July 13, 2023, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at Wakeland Support Center, located at 1812 27th Street East in Bradenton. Available positions include: Food service workers, cafeteria managers, bus drivers, bus aides, vehicle mechanics, plumbers, HVAC technicians, electricians, equipment operators, IT field technicians and more. Starting pay for bus drivers is now $18.04 an hour. An ESE & Health Occupations Job Fair is taking place on Thursday, July 20, 2023, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. at Wakeland Support Center, located at 1812 27th Street East in Bradenton. Open positions include: ESE teachers, 1:1 teacher aides, ESE behavioral specialists, LPN, RN, health aides, speech and language pathologists, teachers for deaf and hearing impaired, teachers for visually impaired, sign language interpreters and more. A Virtual Job Fair for teachers is happening on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Interested applicants are encouraged to register at the following link: https://app.brazenconnect.com/a/manatee_county/e/jP27p. The School District of Manatee County offers a competitive salary with great hours and benefits. Interested applicants are encouraged to view openings and apply online. For more information or view a list of open positions, please visit www.ManateeSchools.net/Careers.  

School Board Special Meeting- Date & Time: Monday, July 17, 2023, at 8:00 am. Topic: Adoption of proposed employment contract for Mr. Terrence Connor. Online agenda & PDF download available at: www.sarasotacountyschools.net/agendas. Superintendent Oath of Office Ceremony-Date & Time: Monday, July 17, 2023, at 9:30 am. The School Board Special Meeting and the Superintendent Oath of Office Ceremony will both be livestreamed on the school district’s YouTube channel and broadcasted live on the Education Channel (Comcast 20 in Sarasota County and Frontier FiOs 33 across most of Florida).  

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The Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County is thrilled to announce the Sarasota County Board of Commissioners approval of recommendations for the Tourist Development Cultural/Arts (TDC/A) grants for the 2023-2024 season. 35 local arts and cultural organizations will receive a total of $3 million in grant funding. TDC/A grants come from a portion of the tourist tax dollars collected to fund Sarasota County arts and cultural organizations in order to support high quality programming that continues to attract tourists to our area. Grants are available to organizations with recognized ability to produce, present, and promote cultural and arts activities that appeal to tourists. Each year, the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County receives applications from local cultural groups and arts organizations requesting TDT revenues be provided to fund a portion of project-related expenses. The Alliance forms the Cultural/Arts Grant Panel, which reviews, evaluates and recommends grant awards based upon established criteria including artistic merit, cultural diversity, tourist appeal, administrative competence, and the funding calculation process. This year, the panel evaluated 36 grant applications from 35 organizations. All 36 applications submitted met eligibility requirements and were recommended for funding by the Cultural/Arts Grant Panel in the amount of $3 million. The Alliance presented the Tourist Development Cultural/Arts Grant Award Recommendations to the Tourist Development Council (TDC) on May 11, 2023. The TDC voted unanimously to recommend to the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners that the FY24 Tourist Development Cultural/Arts Grant Award recommendations, which were then approved and accepted on July 12, 2023. The 2024 Grant Award Recipients include Art Center Sarasota, Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, Asolo Theatre, Avenida de Colores, Choral Artists of Sarasota, Embracing Our Differences, ensemblenewSRQ, Florida Studio Theatre, Sarasota Orchestra, Jazz Club of Sarasota, Key Chorale, La Musica di Asolo, Mote Marine Laboratory, New College Foundation, Ringling College of Art and Design (Sarasota Art Museum), Ringling College of Art and Design (Englewood Art Center), Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Concert Association, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Sarasota Film Festival, Sarasota Opera Association, Sarasota Performing Arts Center Foundation, Sarasota Pops Orchestra, The Circus Arts Conservatory, The Hermitage Artist Retreat, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Foundation, The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast, The Players, The Sarasota Cuban Ballet School, The Venice Symphony, Urbanite Theatre, Venice Art Center, Venice Theatre, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and WSLR. 

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