SARASOTA
SEASON T H E O B S E R V E R ’S G UIDE TO THE ARTS AND SOCIETY
Observer
SPRING 2021
PLUS:
EVENTS, GALLERIES AND MORE
INSIDE
DIY DRINKS
Mixologists share their tips to elevate your cocktail game. PAGE 52
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 17, NO. 14
FREE
YOUR TOWN
•
THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021
Payne Park overture City commissioners reconsider Sarasota Orchestra’s search for new site . PAGE 3A
Courtesy photo
Wyland supports USA surfers
The USA Surf team is set to join the Tokyo Olympics this year, and it will have a little help in getting there. The Wyland Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes healthy waterways and environmental conservation, is supporting the team through fundraising. Artist Wyland is painting a pair of surfboards that will be auctioned off to raise money for team. The artist, who has a Wyland Galleries in Sarasota, specializes in marine life artwork. For the Olympic teams, he painted dolphins and an octopus on each surfboard respectively. “I’m proud to be a U.S. Olympic artist. Aloha!” Wyland said.
WALLS OF STORIES Chamber building is decked out in history. SEE PAGE 1B
Harry Sayer
The chamber’s east wall displays John and Charles Ringling, cultural advocates Bertha Palmer and A.B. Edwards, influential builder Owen Burns, and Newtown founder Lewis Colson.
Harry Sayer
A+E
Looking back to first case
Purim on parade
Temple Sinai embraced its colorful side and put on a cheery preschool parade for Purim on Feb. 26. Temple families embraced the holiday and dressed up their kids in costumes including Spider-Man, princesses and dinosaurs. Laura Freedman, the director of Early Childhood Education at the Gan at Temple Sinai, led a line of excited preschoolers around the Temple Sinai parking lot. Once parents had been able to cheer along and take photos of their children, Freedman and other staff walked the kids back into the school, where they put on a puppet show.
The circus arts will prevail. SEE PAGE 4B Brynn Mechem
Registered Nurse Rachael Herc and Progressive Care Unit Nurse Jamie Florio reflect on the emotional toll caring for COVID-19 patient takes.
Doctors Hospital team recalls Florida’s first COVID-19 case. SEE PAGE 14A