Sarasota Living

One of the many attractions to Sarasota, Florida's Gulf Coast gem, is the wide variety of festivals and community events. The gorgeous weather provides the perfect backdrop for many festivals, along with Sarasota's long love for a rich cultural environment.  Below is just a small sampling of Sarasota's many festivals and annual events.  Come and enjoy for yourself, and you'll see why so many love to call Sarasota home.

Ringling International Arts Festival

This 6-day festival celebrates music, dance, theater, and visual arts. Co-sponsored by The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, the festival is held in the beautiful gardens and grounds of the Ringling Museum, including its 21 galleries and

Whether boating is your passion or just a weekend pass time, Bird Key is a boater’s paradise. Situated just off the coast of Sarasota, Florida, access to Bird Key is a simple matter of crossing the Ringling Causeway Bridge.  This scenic bridge stretches between Sarasota and three keys—including Bird Key, Lido Key, and Longboat Key.  Bird Key sits at the base of the Ringling Bridge and is a lovely neighborhood of 511 single-family homes. Almost 300 of these homes are positioned either on deep-water canals or directly on the bay front, providing easy access to the bay and to the Gulf of Mexico.

Bird Key Yacht Club

The Bird Key Yacht Club, offers a plethora of dining, boating, social, and sporting activities. At the Bird Key Yacht Club,

Bird Key has a long development history that began when Thomas Worcester bought the island as a retirement paradise for himself and his wife, Davie Lindsay Worcester. They lived in a smaller lodging, the only one on the island, for a number of years, while their dream home was being constructed. Sadly, Davie Worcester died in 1912 before construction was finished. Thomas Worcester lived in the estate home for a while with his sister and her family, but in the early 20s, they sold to John Ringling. Ringling's intentions were to make the home a summer “White House” for his friend, President Warren Harding, but when Harding died in 1923, that dream ended.

Meanwhile, Ringling’s other real estate developments saw nothing but sunshine. Ringling had

At the western base of the Ringling Bridge, traversed daily by sun loving pedestrians and cyclists, the beautiful community of Bird Key is situated. Fronted by Sarasota Bay, Bird Key is a haven for those who love the outdoors. The key is quiet, but for those who love fishing, boating, swimming, kayaking, tennis, swimming, or any of the other enticements that beckon northerners to Florida, Bird Key is ideal. The key is filled with more than 500 homes, many of which have been remodeled or completely rebuilt over time to reflect today’s luxury touches.

For many years, though, Bird Key had only one home—and it was named in honor of an ancient Scottish estate, Edzell Castle, seat of the Lindsay family. In 1910, one of the Lindsay descendants,

Move to Florida to live…downtown?  Believe it or not, in Sarasota, Florida, that’s exactly what a growing number of people are doing because downtown living here is truly unique.  Why?  Three reasons: beach access, downtown lifestyle, and exquisite residences.

Downtown Sarasota is literally minutes from the beach. You could even bike there in no time, so if you are a fan of sun and sand, you have ready access to both from the downtown area. In addition, you’ll find people here who love cycling, golf, tennis, water sports and many other outdoor activities, so perfect for Florida living.

Besides beach and bay access, Sarasota’s downtown lifestyle is a huge draw. Famous for its thriving arts and culture community, Sarasota offers

Today we went with the kids to the Phillippi Shores Elementary 7K Race & 1 Mile Fun Run Event.  What a great event it was!  First of all we couldn't be more impressed with Phillippi Shores Elementary as a school.  The school gets an A+ from us as parents.  The facilities are excellent as well as the academics, the administration and the faculty.  Most importantly, there is a great school spirit and pride in the school displayed by all. We are so lucky to live here in Sarasota where great schools both private and public abound.

The 7K race started at 7:30am and the 1 mile shortly thereafter.  The event was very well attended and extremely well organized.  Olga ran the 1 mile race with the kids as I had photographic and social duties to attend

There are so many fun family activities to do year round in Sarasota that the hard part is just deciding on one.  I am blessed to have two wonderful young kids and a loving wife who find fun and adventure in everything we do.  They have helped me discover the beauty of Sarasota and helped me explore all the wonderful things this area has to offer.

Yesterday we embarked on an early morning boat trip from Roberts Bay to the Jewfish Key sandbar on the north tip of Longboat Key.  As we crossed the North Bridge on Siesta Key, we could see Bird Key to the west and the bay-front mansions of Cherokee Park and Harbor Acres to the east.  Marina Jacks and the scenic downtown area were visible as we crossed under the John Ringling bridge.  Now in a very

Yesterday I went boating with my family to one of our favorite places in Sarasota, North Lido Beach.  It is well established that Sarasota has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. North Lido Beach is special among them because boats are allowed to anchor right up to the beach.  What a treat it is to bring your small boat right up to the beach, throw an anchor and spend a few hours or the whole day on one of the most beautiful and peaceful beaches in the world.

The weather was perfect yesterday and the water was crystal clear.  My kids enjoyed swimming around the boat, collecting shells and building a huge sandcastle.  We met some new friends from out of town, had a few laughs but more importantly we relaxed and enjoyed our time