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Community

Latest reporting from the Community desk.

Community

Latest reporting from the Community desk.

Community

Latest reporting from the Community desk.

Community

Sarasota's Fruitville Library reopens Oct. 15 after $28M renovation

Sarasota County's Fruitville Library reopens Thursday, Oct. 15, after a nearly $28 million renovation, with full services available but several new spaces and a 30,000-square-foot History Center still under construction.

October 12, 2026 · 3 min read

Single-story library building with palm trees and a covered glass entrance.

Community

Diverse Fest expands across Harvest campus for fourth year

Sarasota's fourth annual Diverse Fest expands to both buildings at the Harvest campus on Saturday, Oct. 10, with more than 50 vendors, food trucks, live music, new workshops and free family activities after drawing about 1,500 attendees last year.

October 7, 2026 · 2 min read

Rows of colorful vendor tents with string lights at an outdoor festival.

A bubbling pot of red chili on a propane burner with a ladle and tasting cups.

Community

Sarasota fire stations vie for chili title at 26th cook-off

October 6, 2026 · 2 min read

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Community

Sarasota's Fruitville Library reopens Oct. 15 after $28M renovation

October 12, 2026 · 3 min read

Community

Diverse Fest expands across Harvest campus for fourth year

October 7, 2026 · 2 min read

Community

Sarasota fire stations vie for chili title at 26th cook-off

October 6, 2026 · 2 min read

Tue88°F0%

Wed89°F0%

Thu90°F22%

Fri88°F41%

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Sun83°F42%

Mon84°F32%

Community

Sarasota's Fruitville Library reopens Oct. 15 after $28M renovation

October 12, 2026 · 3 min read

Community

Diverse Fest expands across Harvest campus for fourth year

October 7, 2026 · 2 min read

Community

Sarasota fire stations vie for chili title at 26th cook-off

October 6, 2026 · 2 min read

Tue88°F0%

Wed89°F0%

Thu90°F22%

Fri88°F41%

Sat85°F45%

Sun83°F42%

Mon84°F32%

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.

August 4, 2026 · 1 min read

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.

August 4, 2026 · 2 min read

Architectural rendering of a single-story BrickTop's restaurant with palm trees and a parking lot.

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.

August 3, 2026 · 2 min read

A person pouring red wine from a bottle into a stemmed glass at a tasting table.

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.

August 3, 2026 · 2 min read

Theater interior with rows of red seats and a chandelier-lit stage

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.

August 3, 2026 · 2 min read

Large framed painting showing diverse figures including clowns, cowboys, and an Indigenous man against a golden horizon.

Community

Nineteen airport paintings now on free display at City Hall and Van Wezel through 2027

Nineteen paintings commissioned in the 1980s for Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and stored since 2021 are now on free public display at City Hall and the Van Wezel through May 2027, tracing Sarasota's history from Indigenous communities to its circus and arts legacy.

July 30, 2026 · 3 min read

Woman in a black dress smiling and holding a pen indoors, standing before a photo display.

Community

Ruby Bridges to hold public town hall at Booker High School on Nov. 12

Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges will appear at Booker High School's Visual and Performing Arts Center on Thursday, November 12, for a public town hall organized by Embracing Our Differences, with net proceeds benefiting the nonprofit and the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition.

July 29, 2026 · 2 min read

Group of nine adults posing at an awards ceremony, one holding a glass trophy.

Community

Visit Sarasota County seeks nominations for Haley Hall of Fame Awards

Visit Sarasota County is accepting nominations through Friday, August 28, for its annual Haley Hall of Fame Awards honoring hospitality and tourism workers, with winners to be celebrated November 19 at the Art Ovation Hotel in downtown Sarasota.

July 27, 2026 · 2 min read

Three people cut a yellow ribbon in front of a white cargo van with hunger-relief branding.

Community

Boar's Head employees raise $100,000 to put two refrigerated vans on the road for All Faiths Food Bank

Employees at Sarasota-headquartered Boar's Head Brand raised more than $100,000 through their Circle of Friends campaign to fund two refrigerated cargo vans for All Faiths Food Bank, pushing the program's lifetime giving past $1 million since 2019.

July 27, 2026 · 2 min read

Yellow Labrador Retriever wearing a bow tie collar lying on a dark floor while being petted.

Community

Dogs Inc. says its guide-dog routines can keep any pet active indoors this summer

Dogs Inc., the Sarasota-area guide dog nonprofit, says the indoor fitness exercises it uses to train future service animals work for any household pet stuck inside during summer heat, and the organization is recruiting volunteer puppy raisers.

July 24, 2026 · 2 min read

Two people in aprons smile together inside a doughnut shop.

Community

The Cambodian-American tradition behind Sarasota's Gold Star Donuts

Gold Star Donuts on Whitfield Avenue is one of several Cambodian-owned doughnut shops across Florida connected to a refugee entrepreneurship tradition that began with Ted Ngoy's arrival in California in 1975, as profiled in a July 22 Sun Newspapers column.

July 24, 2026 · 2 min read

Shirtless male athlete climbing a large blue padded obstacle on an indoor competition course.

Community

Sarasota's McCreight one move from Ninja Warrior finals, eyes Season 20 return

Sarasota occupational therapist Kyle McCreight, 38, was eliminated one move from the buzzer on American Ninja Warrior's Season 18 Eastern Regional Finals aired July 13, but plans to return for Season 20 while continuing his work with limb-different children through the Never Say Never Foundation.

July 22, 2026 · 2 min read