Paw Pals

Brunello, or “Bruno” for short, is a 4-year-old all-American heinz 57 blend. He was rescued from a puppy mill in Baraboo, Wisconsin, which happens to be home to the Circus World Museum. It’s fitting, because Bruno is quite the circus dog.

His owner says he is 160 pounds of personality in a 16-pound ball of energy. Bruno’s favorite activity is playing fetch with his battle-tested green ball while displaying a unique blend of wiggles, spins and “zoomies.” married and had a son, Michael. And when Michael was in first grade, Cuna returned to Sarasota with her family.

A resident of Midnight Cove II on Siesta Key, his favorite day trip is to Paw Park beach in Venice for body surfing and the chasing of pelicans.

(Submit your Paw Pal to the Siesta Sand at info@27statemedia.com.)

“Being in show business you don’t have a home base. This was the only real base,” she said.

The ‘gelato show’

“The Italians invented ice cream,” Cuna explained this March in between greeting guests at Made in Rome. “Gelato means frozen. The English changed the name to ‘ice cream.’”

In fact, traditional gelato as Cuna makes it contains only 8 percent fat to ice cream’s 25 percent. And ice cream is pumped full of air (which is why it melts quickly in the Florida heat), while gelato maintains a denser texture.

Cuna dedicated herself to organic, all-natural ingredients from the very beginning. Even her spoons and bowls are biodegradable. For her flavors, she started in Italy. Her pistachios come straight from Sicily, hazelnuts from Diamante.

“Everything in the shop is Italian,” she said.

But even while keeping her things allnatural, her menu quickly expanded to add extra pizazz for American palates.

“Not every gelato does like I do,” said Cuna. “I make it here from scratch. I do not use artificial flavoring. People love the key lime. They love the teacher’s coffee [flavor]. Today I made birthday cake [flavor] because people have been asking for it. I cannot just do traditional Italian flavors, so I had to come up with some American flavors.”

Among her more unusual creations, Cuna makes a popular “Red Tide” flavor: chocolate gelato with pepperoncino, sea salt, and Italian cherries. She also serves a gelato with activated charcoal for a sort of dessert detox.

“It’s called carbone in Italy. It’s made from the husk of the coconut,” she said. “All the young girls who are getting married, they drink and party all night, then they come get my activated charcoal gelato.”

Above all else, Cuna has always seemed most invested in the people she serves, whether it’s Grace Kelly of Monaco or a little girl fresh off the beach. Adding to her talents as a cyclist, performer and now gelato shop owner in world-famous Siesta Key, Cuna still speaks “four or five languages,” a lasting vestige from her life on the road. She often chats with visiting tourists in their native tongues.

Arts on the Horizon

You know it’s spring – pollen is in the air Ah, the sounds of spring! Coughing and sneezing … and music. Lingering in the air along Sarasota Bay on April 12-15, will be Sounds of Spring, the Sarasota Orchestra’s ode to Persephone, the Greek Goddess of this lovely season. And the musicians at this Holley Hall concert will bring sounds from four corners of the globe.

The most local corner is the center of the USA – Oklahoma! This Broadway show, as well as South Pacific, will showcase the music of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Their hit tune “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” could have been called “Spring is Bustin’ Out” … but that season comes three months later in the Midwest. Also, spring does not rhyme with spoon, moon, or croon.

Continuing this light and airy fare, Michelle Merrill will be conducting Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, Respighi’s Gli uccelli (a

By Rodger Skidmore

lovely piece which is definitely not for the bird’s), and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony No. 6. From South America will be Astor Piazzolla’s take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: the Spring movement from Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aire.

A week later the theme changes from spring to Broadway when William Waldrop conducts Broadway Bound on April 21-22. While the theme moves to Broadway, it is the Broadway tunes that are coming to the Van Wezel. And it is not just the tunes that are coming, it will also be a star that sang them on stage (The Lion King and Avenue Q), Carmen Ruby Floyd. Other hit songs will be from Wicked, Chicago, Carousel, Gypsy, 42nd Street, and Phantom of the Opera.

And just one day later, April 23, the orchestra’s Piano Trio and Piano Quartet will be at Holley Hall. The trio, comprised of Bharat Chandra, clarinet; Rachel Halvarson, viola; and Jonathan Spivey, piano, will be playing Robert Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen (a short German word for Fairy Tales). An interesting thing about this piece is that it is not based on any existing fairy tale. Schumann wrote it to evoke the idea of fairy tales in the minds of the listeners. Sort of like mood music that is added to a movie soundtrack to meld the viewer’s subconscious with the film’s action.

Completing the program with be Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor. Channeling this work will be Jennifer Best Takeda, violin; Matthew Pegis, viola; Christopher Schnell, cello; and Jonathan Spivey, piano.

If you can’t get enough of the Sarasota Orchestra, you can catch the Sarasota Brass Quintet on April 30 at the G.T. Bray Park Amphitheater in Bradenton (concert is free but requires prior registration). As spring approaches summer, you can also catch the Sarasota Orchestra getting down with Dancing in the Street: Music of Motown at Ed Smith Stadium on May 5-6.

More info and registration at Sarasotaorchestra.org.

We perpetually need help

Ever say the right thing, but someone hears the wrong thing? Not so bad if you said apples were $1.89 per pound and someone thought you’d said $1.99. But, if you’ve been telling your younger sister about the birds and the bees, and the wrong person overhears you, things can really get buzzing. Especially it that someone is the local priest.

The Asolo Rep’s production of Katie Forgette’s play Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help brings us into just such a disturbing incident, and we see it play out in the home of a 1970s multigenerational family. The girl, who tried to clue in her younger sister in the ways of the world those many years ago is, today, the narrator of the play – and she, as she talks to her family, also talks directly to us. In this way we get multiple sides to the same story. Some are funny, some are the truth, and sometimes truth bites.

Yes, some of these are stock characters –the priest that tries to keep everyone on the straight and narrow, the busybody neighbor, the younger sister who play-acts a bit too much, the tyrant of a mother-in-law, the overwrought mother, and the father who takes himself a bit too seriously. Yes, they’re all there, but that’s what makes it so much fun.

More info at Asolorep.org

Taxes are due April 15

So, why not keep in good form as that day approaches by letting your mind have a full workout. Start slowly, on April 8, with a Beethoven Piano Trio (in G major) and work up to a Sextet for Strings (Strauss’ Capriccio) and then go all out with two string octets (Shostakovich’s Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet and Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major for Strings). All this plucking of strings should keep you plucky and not too taut as you listen to La Musica’s Grand Statements concert (friendly alert, there is a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. – free to attendees).

The next La Musica concert, on April 11, should be called Going For Baroque as there will be a lot of Fireworks (the real title for this concert) as nine musicians take you through an energizing while relaxing evening of baroqueness; starting with Telemann – his Gulliver Suite in D major for Two Violins and his Concerto for Four Violins in D major. They continue with Tartini’s Sonata in G minor for Violin and Continuo ( a continuo is an accompanying musical part that includes a bassline and harmonies, usually piano and cello) which carries the name Devil’s Trill.Next up is Passacaglia in G minor for Violin and Viola, the Johan Halvorsen extrapolation of Handel’s harpsichord suite in G minor. The premiere of the final composition, George Enescu’s Octet for strings in C major, did not take place – at least not the first time it was scheduled. After five rehearsals it was removed from the program as the organizer of the 1901 concert felt that his musicians were not up to it – too risky. It finally made it to the stage in 1909.

If, by April 15, you’ve completed your tax forms (or gotten an extension so that you can attend the next La Musica concert), then it’s time to relax with some friends. Perhaps not people you know intimately, but three composers that truly were friends and who influenced each other’s music. Brahms, the older of these three, while classically trained, wrote a series of Hungarian Dances based on local folk tunes when he was 19.

When he was older and more established, he was the leading member of a jury that awarded the first prize in composition to Antonín Dvořák in 1874, 1876 and in 1877. Dvořák, commissioned by Brahms’ music publisher, then wrote his Slavonic Dances, also based on folk tunes. Then when Dvořák came to America to write his New World Symphony he incorporated American folk tunes. To do so, he was aided by Harry Burleigh, who introduced him to AfricanAmerican spirituals.

This concert joins all three, starting with Burleigh’s Southland Sketches, followed by Brahms’ Piano Quartet no. 3 in c minor and Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A minor

All concerts at the Sarasota Opera House and info at Lamusicafestival.org.

Crescent Beach Market celebrates February was a time for celebration at the new Cresecent Beach Market.

Top left, the Anderson family members in front of their new business after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce. (photo courtesy of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce.)

Below and right, a grand opening event at the market featured plenty of free samples as Gianna Denicola of St. Petersburg accepts a taste of hard seltzer from distributer rep Christina Cobb of Palmetto, while Brandon Snyder of Sarasota pours a glass of cabernet. (photos by John Morton)

Luxury

IN DOWNTOWN, SARASOTA

Midnight Pass

Midnight Pass. The commission, at its December retreat when goals set, acknowledged that the Midnight Pass issue was worthy of examination.

Spencer Anderson, the county’s public works director, asked the board at its Feb. 22 meeting how it would like to proceed. One method could be to install underground pipes that allow the Gulf of Mexico tides to once again reach the Intracoastal Waterway at that spot. Another would be to dredge the pass, restoring it what it once was. Two homeowners in 1983, worried that the shifting pass could ruin their homes, convinced the county to fill it in with sand and attempt to reroute it. Today, the area looks like continuous beach. Meanwhile, Little Sarasota Bay has become stagnate as the closest inlets for water flow are about 7 miles in each direction, creating what Anderson called a “null zone.”

“Tidal circulation is one of the biggest concerns, and lack thereof,”

Local Easter services

Continued from page 1 he said, noting that the closing of the pass diminished water exchange between the gulf and bay from 74% to 27%, according to a Sarasota Bay Estuary Program report.

Before suggesting possible plans of attack, the board agreed that David Tomasko, director of that program, should give a presentation on his thoughts regarding the pass and its role in water quality.

As for the potential placement of pipes to do the job, Smith doubted

Community Easter Sunrise Service

6:30 a.m. on April 9th

Siesta Key Public Beach near historic pavilion

~ Bring a Beach Chair or Blanket ~

Palm Sunday April 2nd at 9:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary

Maundy Thursday Service

April 6th at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Center

Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday, April 8th at 10:00 a.m.

Campus Grounds

Free and open to the public

Traditional Easter Worship

9:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary with Full Choir & Brass Nursery Provided • Hearing Loop System Available

Pine Shores Presbyterian Church 6116 Crestwood Avenue

(941) 922-1597 ~ www.pineshorespres.org they’d hold up and would require constant maintenance. He said restoring the pass to its natural state “would be my ideal situation.”

Ron Cutsinger, the commission chairman, agreed. “They would have ongoing issues, all the time,” he said of a pipe system.

While both the commission and the Midnight Pass Society II non-profit group fighting for the pass’ restoration have placed little emphasis on how an open pass could also be navigable for boaters, as it was back in the day, Custinger said that added benefit would “be amazing – we desperately need that.”

Currently, boaters in that region can only enter the Gulf of Mexico from Big Pass to the north and the Venice Inlet to the south. That’s a 14-mile inconvenience.

Speaking of Midnight Pass Society II, the group on March 16 held a Zoom meeting with supporters to once again request volunteer help. It is looking to attend festivals and hold events in order to spread the word, Jamie Miller, a lobbyists for the group, said. A letter-writing campaign to key lawmakers and agencies is also in the works.

He also thinks that engineering on the possible restoration could occur as soon as 2024, with actual work in the sand and water beginning in 2025.

“Gruters expects appropriations to come to fruition in the governor’s budget,” Miller said of the state senator’s current efforts in Tallahassee. “This is the first time in 40 years that we’ve had the county and the (county) delegation (made up of four state lawmakers representing Sarasota County) working in parallel. There’s more political synergy than ever before.” wouldn’t work, now had little wiggle room for anything earlier than October.

Midnight Pass Society II is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, meaning donations to it are tax deductible. To learn more, visit restore midnightpass.org.

Shane Costello, who represents the entities that are eager for an outcome so they can potentially begin the building process, questioned Smolker’s need for more time.

“Mr. Smolker and his clients have not produced a shred of discovery,” Costello said, noting the lawsuit was filed in November of 2021, back about a year-and-a-half.

Smolker denied that accusation.

Meanwhile, another wild card looms. The second lawsuit, filed by resident Lourdes Ramirez, could be addressed by Walker, at least in some fashion, prior to the consolidation date. The judge received a December request from both Sarasota County and Ramirez for a summary judgment, in lieu of a trial, that involved January testimony. However, Walker said he needed more time to make any decision, noting the amount of material he needed to examine was “daunting.” That trial had been set for March 27, had Walker not made a judgment, but that date was come and gone.

Walker could still make such a judgment prior to Oct. 9, and how any sort of ruling could impact the other case remains unknown.

Another challenge for Walker, if the consolidated trial takes place, is how to minimize the amount of time Ramirez’s attorney, Richard Grosso, is needed to participate.

Ramirez’s lawsuit involves only the Calle Miramar hotel, near here place of residence, so some proceedings involving the Old Stickney Point Road hotel would not be germane to her issues.

Both lawsuits center around the argument that the county’s Future Land Use Policy 2.9.1 in the Comprehensive Plan has been violated, and that is was created in 1989 to limit residential density and intensity on barrier island’s such as Siesta Key. In essence, the county ignored its own rules, the plaintiffs allege.

In speaking to the Siesta Key Association civic group March 2, Smolker remained hopeful that the judge would come to that conclusion.

“Barrier islands are different –the residents have more at stake. I hope someday the court system will recognize this,” he said.

Happiness is...Chocolate

With Spring in the air, we’re all gearing up for warmer weather and longer days. And between seasonal holidays and Girl Scout cookie season, nothing says Spring like chocolate.

Abel’s Ice Cream is going all in with the most decadent chocolate ice cream flavor of all –German Chocolate! Coconut caramel and walnuts mixed into Abel’s award-winning chocolate ice cream? Yes please!

Snowbirds and locals alike will flock to Abel’s for this tantalizing treat.

But why stop with a cup or cone of goodness?

So many other choices abound. Shakes or floats with rich sweetness or their handmade chocolate truffles from Sweet Shop USA. The possibilities are practically endless. And if chocolate doesn’t happen to be the center of your universe, Abel’s is stacked with other tasty options like Black Cherry exploding with Bordeaux cherries or Butter Pecan loaded with lightly salted, roasted pecans.

Join your friends and neighbors at Abel’s Ice Cream and feel like a kid again! Abel’s is located at 1886 Stickney Point Road, Sarasota in the South Bridge Plaza. Open Sunday through Thursday from Noon-9:30 pm, and Friday and Saturday from Noon-10 pm. Learn more online at our website, www.abelsicecream.com or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Hello, Aloha, Hola, Grüezi, Bonjour, Hallo and Ciao!

…are the words that greet customers as they walk through the door of this fashionforward, stylish women’s boutique in Siesta Key Village. Casa Smeralda FASHION’Style

+ Art, relating to the emerald green coast of the Mediterranean Sardinia, is owned by Swiss-expat Marie-Louise Leuenberger. Having traveled around the world, she selects pieces inspired by life near the sea, with many years of experience as a boutique owner and designer. Marie-Louise understands lifestyle, quality and comfort. The flowy fabrics, pre-washed linens, washable silks, the fun and uplifting eclectic mix of women’s clothing, footwear and accessories, are mainly sourced from the continental US, Hawaii, Italy, Canada, Nepal, India and Indonesia.

Marie-Louise, being environmentally conscious, loves styling women who visit her store and loves helping them “to step into their best and sometimes even beyond their fantasy.”