SRQ DAILY Mar 20, 2026
Friday Weekend Edition
"It was their musical cry out for the very desperate and sorrowful situation that Black people were in for many years in this country."
A decade after its premiere at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT), How I Got Over: A Gospel Revue has returned to the mainstage. In production at WBTT until March 29, How I Got Over is a celebration of gospel music—a genre that WBTT founder and artistic director Nate Jacobs attests is crucial to telling the story of the Black experience.
“It is their story from the beginning of time—from the fields of slavery, Black people have hummed, sang, cherished and loved gospel,” says Jacobs. “It was their musical cry out for the very desperate and sorrowful situation that Black people were in for many years in this country. Gospel was their only hope—if I can’t find my happiness, peace and joy on this earthly plane, I will look out to a heavenly plane and a faith and a hope to help me survive this suffering.”
Propagating that history, particularly to the youth of the area, is one of the driving reasons for bringing back How I Got Over. The other is that the show is just a rollicking good time. While the show was originally created with the spotlight on Mahalia Jackson, one of the pioneers of the genre, How I Got Over has evolved to include more contemporary gospel artists such as Andre Crouch and Kirk Franklin.
Jacobs was originally inspired to create the show in large part from the talents of local gospel singer (Gloria) Elaine Mayo, who passed away in 2023. A frequent performer at area churches, Jacobs knew of Mayo’s talents but was convinced to create How I Got Over after witnessing a crowd amass around Mayo when she was singing in downtown Sarasota. “She was part of a gospel dynasty in Sarasota, a member of my church and one of the most remarkable gospel singers I’ve ever heard,” says Jacobs.
How I Got Over: A Gospel Revue, February 18-March 29, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1021 N Orange Avenue, Sarasota. 
WBTT artists who will be featured in ‘How I Got Over’ include (from l-r) Maicy Powell, Stephanie Zandra and Jada Carson. Photo by Sorcha Augustine.
The Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) announced today the full slate of programming for the upcoming 28th annual edition. Live and in-person screenings and events will take place across Sarasota April 10 through April 19, 2026. The 28th Sarasota Film Festival will feature a lineup of films that includes 47 features, with 4 World Premieres, 17 Florida Premieres, and 39 short films. The opening night film, Deep Water, is directed by Renny Harlin and produced by Gene Simmons, and both will be in attendance on April 10. In Deep Water, a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai goes down in the middle of the Pacific. After surviving the crash, the survivors soon discover they’re not alone and they must survive the shark-infested waters.
We are thrilled to invite you to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for our newest outdoor installation, Magic Grasshopper by renowned artist Yvette Mayorga. Standing 30 feet long in front of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, this fantastical, pink-hued kinetic sculpture is much more than meets the eye. It is a powerful tribute to the American Dream, weaving together 90s nostalgia, lowrider culture, and critical narratives of migration and labor.
Thursday, March 26 at 6:00pm in Front of the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, 255 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
The Sarasota Players is proud to announce the return of its beloved New Play Festival (NPF), continuing a more than 20-year tradition of uplifting local playwrights and bringing fresh, original works to the stage. Taking place August 10–14, 2026, the festival invites audiences to experience five never-before-heard plays, presented in an engaging reader’s theatre format. Each selected work will be directed by a local director and performed by talented actors from the Gulf Coast community, offering a rare and exciting glimpse into new theatrical voices. The Sarasota Players is currently accepting script submissions through Friday, April 3, 2026, from playwrights across the Gulf Coast region, defined as Tampa/Clearwater to Fort Myers.
A parade of endangered wonders will take the stage at the Sarasota Opera House when La Musica Chamber Music presents the world premiere of “The Carnival of Endangered Wonders: A Zoological Fantasy” on April 9. Composed by pianist and composer Michael Stephen Brown, the imaginative new work invites audiences on a fantastical journey across the globe — from the rustle of orangutans in the forests of Borneo to the call of the Puerto Rican parrot at sunrise and the quiet grace of marine creatures gliding beneath coastal waters. Visit LaMusica.org.
In 2024 and 2025, Architecture Sarasota hosted a two-part series: "Downtown Sarasota: Hindsight, Insight, and Foresight" and "Beyond Our Borders." This public forum brought urban planners, thinkers, and designers together with residents to explore the future of Sarasota. The City Commission later cited the series as a "catalyst" in deciding to move forward with a new master plan. The experts who participated identified the Bayfront as an area that deserved attention. In response, Architecture Sarasota partnered with Harvard University's Graduate School of Design to study the area and produce toolkits for reimagining the waterfront as a sustainable, resilient, and connected public space. Read the report to learn more.
Residents across greater Manatee County are invited to take charge of their health at Live Well Manatee, a free community health and wellness event taking place Friday, March 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bradenton Area Convention Center. The event will bring together local physicians, health organizations, and community partners to provide education, screenings, and wellness resources for the public. Live Well Manatee is proudly presented by Manatee Memorial Hospital and Manatee Physician Alliance, a part of Manatee Health, and is designed to help residents learn practical ways to improve their health and well-being through education, preventive care, and community resources. For more information about the event, contact marketinginfo@mmhhs.com.
Nathan Benderson Park, in partnership with Visit Sarasota County, announced today a series of back-to-back sporting events scheduled throughout April, drawing more than 5,600 participants to NBP’s facilities and the surrounding region. For more information, visit www.nathanbendersonpark.org.
Thursdays and Saturdays, 7:30pm. Step right up to solve the murder of Dahlia the Queen of the High Wire on this interactive murder mystery who-dunnit.
Wednesdays, 10am. Go back in time to the 1920’s in Sarasota to hear from three leading ladies (Bertha Palmer, Marie Selby and Mable Ringling) as portrayed by Kathryn Chesley, who shaped Sarasota into a cultural icon.
Hatch’s newly commissioned “plate painting,” Amalgam (2023), was created specifically for Sarasota Art Museum. Consisting of more than 450 earthenware plates hand-painted in white, blue, and gold luster, the abstract lines and shapes in Amalgam are drawn from a variety of historical ceramics from around the globe.
Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL 34236
Sundays, 1pm. Join psychic and tarot reader, Deni Dreazen on a metaphysical exploration trolley tour of Sarasota. Visit Pixie Dust gift shop, experience a sound bath at the Crocker Memorial Church with sound healer, Kaylene McCaw, and then walk the labyrinth.
Wednesdays, 10:30am. Explore Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern (the Sarasota School of Architecture) and Mediterranean Revival Architecture buildings, homes and structures of Sarasota on this 90-minute mainland tour.
Mondays, 1pm. Join Jerome Chesley as you explore more than 60 pieces of public art located in downtown and St. Armands.
Saturdays, 1pm. This tour led by circus historian Bob Collins explores the fascinating legacy of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Make your Saturday mornings even more fun! Check out the Backyard Science program for elementary-aged learners at The Bishop’s incredible indoor Mosaic Backyard Universe. This wildly popular learning program offers a wide range of activities, observations, and crafts that are sure to spark curiosity and ignite learning.
Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th Street West Bradenton FL 34205
Thursdays, 10am. Discover with our expert guide, Kendra Cross, why Sarasota is the only place in the world that the Amish and Mennonite communities come to vacation en masse. In Pinecraft, enjoy the tour stops at Alma Sue’s Quilt Shop, The Carlisle Inn and Der Dutchman Amish Kitchen Cooking Restaurant for shopping and a pie shooter sample of their delicious pie!
Stelliferous is your monthly guide to the night skies and the latest news from the world of astronomy. You can enjoy our upgraded Planetarium system and feel like an astronaut as you experience our 50-foot dome!
Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
This exhibition highlights contemporary Native design, craftwork, and art that employ the formal and aesthetic elements of abstraction as meaningful motifs and coded tools of Indigenous expression to communicate tribal cultures and histories, ancestral knowledge, and the lived experiences of the artists and their communities. Explored in a variety of media, including basket weaving, beadwork, collage, clay, textiles, photography, metalwork, and printmaking rooted in ancestral technologies, their work shares similar stylistic and social concerns, such as vibrant color, hard-edged geometries, curvilinear patterns, and bold mark-making, all infused with personal stories and those of their kin.
Ringling Museum, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243
This exhibition highlights contemporary Native design, craftwork, and art that employ the formal and aesthetic elements of abstraction as meaningful motifs and coded tools of Indigenous expression to communicate tribal cultures and histories, ancestral knowledge, and the lived experiences of the artists and their communities.
Ringling Museum, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243
Join us for a weekly guided tour of the night sky in our state-of-the-art planetarium. As Earth moves around the sun, different objects come into view. We'll not only discuss what you can see this season, we'll fly you there!
Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
Award-winning Hermitage Fellows offer a unique glimpse into their creative process, sharing original works in process with our Gulf Coast audiences. These free hour-long programs take the shape of musical performances, playreadings, concerts, visual art demonstrations, panel discussions, master classes, exhibitions, open studios,and more. The presentations are often works in process, giving Hermitage audiences a look into the creative process before these works go on to leading theaters, concert halls, and museums around the world.
Hermitage Artist Retreat, 6660 Manasota Key Rd, Englewood, FL 34223
Showcasing 100 rare posters along with sculptures, cocktail shakers, and furniture pieces, this exciting exhibition celebrates the centennial anniversary of Art Deco and the artistic significance it brought to the early 20th-century.
Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL 34236
Enjoy music, theater, literature, dance, and more as part of the Hermitage Sunsets at Selby Gardens series. Each hour-long program features selections of work as well as candid and engaging conversations with the world-class artists who come to the Hermitage to create art in an inspirational environment.
Selby Gardens
Selina Román blends photography, abstraction, and self-portraiture to explore themes of beauty and the politics of size. Roman’s photographs transform the gallery into a space of quiet resistance, subverting traditional ideas of feminine beauty.
Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL 34236
This new speaker series, Art, Actually, explores how art intersects with identity, community, and change through conversations with artists, curators, and cultural leaders.
ArtCenter Sarasota, 707 N Tamiami Trl, Sarasota
When President Kennedy vowed to put a man on the moon, the task landed in the hands of a band of maverick engineers – once the misfits of American science. With no rulebook, they embraced “blue-skying,” drawing inspiration from Buck Rogers, Greek myths, Louis Leakey, and even Snoopy and the Red Baron.
Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 N Palm Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236
SRQ DAILY is a daily e-newsletter produced by SRQ MEDIA. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. 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. SRQ DAILY includes content excerpted from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Robinson Valverde at 941-365-7702 x703 or via email |
Powered by Sarasota Web Design | Unsubscribe
