The Sarasota Record
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Sarasota — your local wire.
Sarasota — your local wire.
Community
Latest reporting from the Community desk.
Community
Latest reporting from the Community desk.
Community
Latest reporting from the Community desk.
Community
Dolly Parton honored by Van Wezel, Sarasota book program
Sarasota institutions mourn Dolly Parton after her death Aug. 25, 2026, at age 80, with the Van Wezel recalling her sold-out 2011 concert and the Library Foundation for Sarasota County continuing her Imagination Library book program for local children.
Community
Mote team produces 1.5 million coral embryos in Keys restoration
Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium and 11 partner organizations produced more than 1.5 million coral embryos during an assisted-spawning effort in early August 2026, a landmark step toward restoring Florida's reef after the 2023 heat wave devastated remaining branching coral populations.
Sarasota, FL
80°F
Sunny
Feels like 86° · 7% rain
SatMostly Sunny93°F38%
SunMostly Sunny92°F76%
MonMostly Sunny92°F81%
TueMostly Sunny92°F83%
WedMostly Sunny91°F72%
ThuScattered Showers And Thunderstorms91°F68%
FriIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms90°F60%
Community
Dolly Parton honored by Van Wezel, Sarasota book program
Sarasota institutions mourn Dolly Parton after her death Aug. 25, 2026, at age 80, with the Van Wezel recalling her sold-out 2011 concert and the Library Foundation for Sarasota County continuing her Imagination Library book program for local children.
Sarasota, FL
80°F
Sunny
Feels like 86° · 7% rain
SatMostly Sunny93°F38%
SunMostly Sunny92°F76%
MonMostly Sunny92°F81%
TueMostly Sunny92°F83%
WedMostly Sunny91°F72%
ThuScattered Showers And Thunderstorms91°F68%
FriIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms90°F60%
Community
Dolly Parton honored by Van Wezel, Sarasota book program
Sarasota institutions mourn Dolly Parton after her death Aug. 25, 2026, at age 80, with the Van Wezel recalling her sold-out 2011 concert and the Library Foundation for Sarasota County continuing her Imagination Library book program for local children.
Sarasota, FL
80°F
Sunny
Feels like 86° · 7% rain
SatMostly Sunny93°F38%
SunMostly Sunny92°F76%
MonMostly Sunny92°F81%
TueMostly Sunny92°F83%
WedMostly Sunny91°F72%
ThuScattered Showers And Thunderstorms91°F68%
FriIsolated Showers And Thunderstorms90°F60%
Community
Bay Park faces rezoning vote amid $2M donor push
The Bay Park's $2 million challenge match seeks donors ahead of a Wednesday, Aug. 19 Development Review Committee hearing on a first-of-its-kind rezoning for 44 acres of the downtown Sarasota bayfront project.
Community
Second Heart Homes opens 14th house, targets three new homes a year
Sarasota nonprofit Second Heart Homes opened its 14th house in early August 2026 and is raising $2.2 million to fund a goal of three new homes per year for homeless adults with mental illness.
Community
Cancer survivors and veterans find healing on the water at Nathan Benderson Park
Nathan Benderson Park's 150-member dragon boat program is sending breast cancer survivors to compete in the French Alps in August while its veterans team, founded by disabled Army retiree Rickard Jensen, marks five years of growth from five paddlers to 25.
Community
Sarasota County Libraries names five finalists for 2027 One Book program
Sarasota County Libraries announced five finalists for its 2027 One Book, One Community program, inviting residents to read the titles and join book clubs before the winning author visits in March 2027.
Community
Urbanite Theatre forfeits $40,000 county grant rather than sign Florida's anti-DEI pledge
Urbanite Theatre forfeited $40,230 in Sarasota County tourist-development grant money rather than sign a compliance acknowledgment under Florida's new anti-DEI law, while the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe reluctantly signed to preserve more than $100,000 in funding ahead of the County Commission's Aug. 26 vote on the full $2.1 million arts grant slate.
Community
Handcrafted 'Birdhouse Village' on display at Shannon Staub Library through Aug. 31
Local artists Sheri Simon and Trisha Williamson spent six months handcrafting one-of-a-kind birdhouses now on display and for sale at Shannon Staub Library in North Port through Aug. 31, with all proceeds supporting library programs.
Community
Bubbles, rain and mud: Selby Gardens wraps summer family series
Families packed Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on Saturday, Aug. 1, for the final Bubbles Under the Banyans summer show, where performer Blaise Ryndes kept blowing Guinness-level bubbles through rain while kids played in the mud.
Community
Sandhill crane photo wins Best-in-Show in Big Waters Land Trust summer contest
Susan Beausang's sandhill crane photograph "Whispers of Dawn" won Best-in-Show in Big Waters Land Trust's seventh annual Summer Photo Contest, which drew more than 130 entries from across Florida and featured a blind-judged jury with Sarasota ties.
Community
Ringling Museum to open seven-month exhibition on pioneering Japanese artist Yoshida Fujio
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art will open "Yoshida Fujio: Secret Gardens" on Sept. 12, a nearly seven-month exhibition spotlighting woodblock prints and a painting by one of the first Japanese women trained in Western-style art.
Community
BrickTop's steakhouse and sushi restaurant headed to University Town Center in 2027
Nashville-based upscale chain BrickTop's is opening a roughly 7,500-square-foot restaurant at 55 N. Cattlemen Road in University Town Center, targeting a mid- to late-summer 2027 opening with steaks, sushi, and new American cuisine.
Community
Wellen Park Wine Festival tickets on sale for Nov. 13–14 event
Tickets for the third annual Wellen Park Wine Festival went on sale Aug. 1, with the two-day event set for Nov. 13–14 in Downtown Wellen along the U.S. 41 corridor, featuring 40-plus vintners, eight local restaurants and prices from $25 to $175.
Community
Sarasota Youth Opera opens auditions for fall staging of Rootabaga Country
Sarasota Youth Opera is accepting audition registrations through Aug. 30 for its fall production of Rachel J. Peter's Rootabaga Country, with performances Nov. 7–8 at the Sarasota Opera House and additional opportunities to sing in Hansel and Gretel and Carmina Burana.
©2026 The Sarasota Record
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©2026 The Sarasota Record
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©2026 The Sarasota Record
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