http://www.italianamericanclubofvenice.com/feast/

 

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

Venice Area Chamber of Commerce Non-Profit Rally

 https://www.venicechamber.com/member-engagement/non-profit-rally

Are you interested in learning about the many non-profit organizations serving the greater Venice area?

Come explore the many opportunities there are to give of your time, talent, and/or treasure and support non-profits.

‌‌Friday, January 21, 2022

10 AM - 2 PM

Venice Area Chamber of Commerce

(This event will be held in the Chamber parking lot) 

2022 Participating Non-Profit Organizations:

 

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast

Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties

Center Place Health

Dollars for Mammograms

Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County

Elephant's Trunk Thrift Store

Family Promise of South Sarasota County

Friends of Oscar Scherer Park

Friends of Sarasota County Parks

Habitat for Humanity South Sarasota County

HVV Medical Guardian

Kiwanis Club of Venice

Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center

Loveland Center

NAMI Sarasota and Manatee Counties

Restore Global - SRQ Office

SCORE Manasota

Senior Friendship Centers

Sertoma Club of Venice

START of SC

The Long Walk Home

The Twig

the WareHouse of Venice

Tidewell Hospice

United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 86

Venice Area Beautification

Venice Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Venice Area Garden Club

Venice Area Historical Society

Venice Art Center

Venice MainStreet

Venice Musicale

Venice-Nokomis Woman's Club

Visit Sarasota County

Wildlife Center of Venice

Women's Resource Center

Women's Sertoma Club of Venice

AND MORE!

 

British Open Pub-2-Go and Auntie Anne's Pretzel Truck SWFL will be on site throughout the event.

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

Annual Fine Arts & Crafts Festival (Venice-Nokomis Rotary)

 https://www.visitvenicefl.org/

January 15, 2022 - January 16, 2022  

Hours:  Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 10am-4pm

Venice Airport Festival Grounds

Join us as we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Venice-Nokomis Rotary Fine Arts and Crafts Festival!

With over 90 talented artists, a classic car show, food trucks, drinks and the best music lineup we've seen in the area, there's something for everyone so don't miss it!

Purchase tickets online for only $3.00. Kids under 10 are free and to CELEBRATE our 30th ANNIVERSARY anyone who is 30 YEARS OLD will get in FREE! (ID Required)

**Tickets $5.00 at the gate**

LIVE MUSIC BY BANDS SUCH AS...

Mike Imbasciani & his BluezRockerz - 2019 SWFL Blues Society's

Regional International Blues Challenge "People's Choice Award" Winner!

JAH Movement - Voted "Best of the Bay" and Musical Artist of the Year, JAH Movement is one of Florida's Top Reggae Band!

Ken McBride Himself - Don't miss the local favorite, famous for his four octave voice!

All proceeds benefit local non-profit organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Child Protection Services, Our Mothers House, the Venice Art Center, and many local, youth sports organizations.

www.venicenokimisrotary.org/art-fest

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

Looking for fun events? Top 5 Things to Do This Weekend in Sarasota-Manatee: Jan. 7-9

 Wade TatangelSarasota Herald-Tribune, January 6, 2021

Free and family-friendly outdoor events including a music festival benefit and block parties, plus an R-rated circus and a bubbles festival.

The first weekend of 2022 is filled with another roster of great events across Sarasota and Manatee including a music festival on Sunday to benefit a beloved local musician. Held at one of the area's top breweries, it will feature performances by Southern rock and blues luminaries including longtime members of the Dickey Betts Band and Outlaws.

First, though, you'll want to begin your weekend on Friday night with one of the free block parties taking place in Sarasota and Manatee counties. And starting today, you'll find an R-rated circus show under its very own black and red big top in Palmetto. Plus, there's Bubble Festival on Saturday in Sarasota headlined by a master bubble performer and magician who was on "America's Got Talent."

Let's begin with details on the fundraiser concert featuring a who's who of the region's top rock and blues stars. 

1. Fundraising concert for Richard 'Hombre' Price at Big Top Brewing

Born in Fort Myers and largely raised in Sarasota, Price played bass alongside members of the original Allman Brothers Band lineup in Jacksonville before embarking on a successful session career in Nashville that led to him being heard on Lucinda Williams' Grammy Award-winning 1998 album "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" and playing in her touring band. Battling cancer now and in need of funds for medical bills, Price will be the beneficiary of a full afternoon and evening of music featuring national blues star and Dickey Betts Band member Damon Fowler and fellow guitar hero Chris Anderson formerly of the Outlaws.  The all-star music lineup also includes Bobby Messano, Dana Lawrence (Kettle of Fish), Tony Tyler, Twinkle, Mike Kach (Dickey Betts Band), Sarasota Slim, Chuck Riley, Mark Serio, Greg Poulos (Kettle of Fish), T.C. Carr, RJ Howson, Richy Kicklighter, Steve Camilleri (Dickey Betts Band) and Justin Headley. Phil Phunn will be the master of ceremonies. 2 p.m. Sunday, Big Top Brewing Company, 975 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota; 941-371-2939, bigtopbrewing.com

2. Fresh Friday in downtown Sarasota

Fresh Fridays, the free and themed monthly series of events in downtown Sarasota that started in November and continues through March, returns with "Dance Under the Stars." Held on Palm Avenue, between the parking garage and Main Street, it will feature dance showcases and instruction in three different styles led by Maks Lototskyy of Dynasty Dance Clubs. 8 to 11 p.m. Friday, Palm Avenue, downtown Sarasota; freshfridayssarasota.com 

3. Music on Main in Lakewood Ranch

The first Friday of the month also means you can enjoy the long-running Lakewood Ranch block party Music on Main, where you'll find the street lined with food vendors and beer trucks as well as rides and activities for the youngins. This week's event will feature a performance by high-energy country-rock act The Derek Lersch Band. 6-9 p.m. Friday, Lakewood Ranch's Main Street, lakewoodranch.com/event/music-main

4. Paranormal Cirque

The Sarasota-based Paranormal Cirque returns for another R-rated show featuring scares and laughs while incorporating elements of circus, theater and cabaret; with all the fun and thrills taking place under their imposing black and red big top tent set up in Palmetto. Today through Jan. 17, Riviera Dunes Marina, 102 Riviera Dunes Way, Palmetto; $10-$50, 941-704-8572, paranormalcirque.com

5. Bubble Festival at The Bazaar

Bubble master and magician Blaise Ryndes, from season 13 of "America's Got Talent," will headline the free-admission Bubble Festival held in the courtyard of The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime. There will also be live music by Tyler Vaden, food from Hamlet’s Eatery, and guest vendors to go with the 40 creators and curators found inside The Bazaar. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave., Sarasota; 941-445-1938; facebook.com/BazaarOnApricotAndLime

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

‘Baby boom’: Record number of dolphins born in Sarasota Bay in 2021 after red tide issues

https://www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-county/baby-boom-record-number-of-dolphins-born-in-sarasota-bay-in-2021-after-red-tide-issues/

by: Daisy Ruth  Posted: Dec 16, 2021

 SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A record 22 babies were born to mother dolphins in Sarasota Bay this year, surpassing the previous record set in 2017, and researchers believe it may be due to red tide.

The Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program documented the births throughout the year. The program studies 170 dolphins that researchers see on a regular basis in Sarasota Bay. The dolphins have been studied since the 1970s. Through their studies, researchers know the dolphins in Sarasota Bay are long-term residents who have lived there across decades and generations.

According to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, the dolphins are “the focus of the world’s longest-running study of a wild dolphin population.”

“We can recognize them from patterns of nicks and notches on their dorsal fin, on the fin on their back, and we’ve been able to track them through as many as five concurrent generations, and up to six generations for some of the lineages in the area,” said Dr. Randy Wells, vice president of Marine Mammal Conservation and Director of the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program.

This year’s baby boom comes after a difficult time for the dolphins of the bay due to strong and long-lasting red tide that came into the Sarasota area in the summer of 2018. Dr. Wells said dolphins died due to both the brevotoxins of red tide directly, as well to ecological effects of red tide, like loss of fish.

Dr. Wells said that more than 75% of the dolphins’ prey fish were gone as result of red tide.

The red tide existed in the bay through the winter of 2018 and in to 2019. Returning predators became an issue when it waned. One hypothesis that researchers have leads to sharks and their prey of stingrays.

“The dolphins stayed in the area and the sharks came back to the area. The rays did not come back in the same numbers that they had been before. Previously, when we’ve seen declines in stingray abundance through the fishing studies that we do to monitor the available fish in Sarasota Bay, when we see a decline in rays, we see it increasing the number of shark bites,” Dr. Wells said. “This time we saw a record number of shark bites on our dolphins during 2019 and 2020 following this red tide.”

Dr. Wells explained that, in those years, they saw a decline in baby dolphins, possibly related to the decline in the stingray population.

“So it’s hard to prove a negative, but these little babies are bite-sized morsels for some of the larger sharks like bull sharks and we wouldn’t expect them to necessarily show a scar that is healing. They would just be gone,” he said.

While the baby dolphin population declined due to these issues, it led to the “baby boom” of 2021.

Dolphins who lost their calves were able to become pregnant again. According to the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Sarasota dolphins typically rear their young for around four years.

Dr. Wells said red tide issues in 2020 did not have any major effects on the dolphins in Sarasota Bay. Pregnant dolphins were able to carry their babies for 12.5 months, giving birth this year.

The fish populations have bounced back quickly from red tide blooms in 2021, according to Dr. Wells.

“We learned long ago that studying the dolphins in a vacuum doesn’t get you very far. You really need to understand the dolphins relative to the drivers that determine what their behavior is going to be,” he said. “So ecology is important. We monitor the fish and we found that the fish populations came back within a few months to near record levels.”

The new year also looks to be shaping up well for Sarasota Bay’s 22 babies and other resident dolphins, as Dr. Wells said the fish population is doing well and researchers are not seeing any indications of health issues among the dolphins.

He does ask that residents and dolphin lovers do their part to keep waterways clean and the animals safe.

“[The dolphins don’t] get to just choose which threat they’re going to face. [They] can’t say, ‘oh this month we’re going to face red tide,'” he said. “They have to face a variety of threats at any given time and we need to give them the freedom to do that by creating as good quality of an ecosystem and a home as we possibly can.” 

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

Venice's 'most talented team' solidifies its legacy with state football title

 Doug Fernandes

Sarasota Herald Tribune, December 21, 2021

Venice coach John Peacock told his team before the season that they should win a state title in 2021

For John Peacock, the elation from winning his second state football championship had ebbed. In its place was the residue.

The Venice High head coach was wiped.

“I’m just really tired,” Peacock said Sunday night. “It’s been a long season."

 

For Ryan Browne, the elation from winning his first state football championship had not. It was forced to share space with disbelief.

“I can’t even say I’m on Cloud 9,” the Venice quarterback said. “Because I’m almost in shock. For my entire life, it’s been a goal of mine to win a state championship. It’s amazing. It’s unreal.”

Unfortunately for Apopka High, Venice’s 35-7 dismantling of the Blue Darters in Saturday’s Class 8A title game was all too real. They may have thought their single-wing offense would give the Venice defense fits. They may have thought a defense which had allowed 30 points in its previous four playoff games could stymie an offense which had scored 195 in its previous four.

On both counts, Apopka couldn’t have been more wrong.

“A lot of nerves are pre-(game) nerves,” Peacock said. “This past Saturday, no. After our first drive, the focus, the kids just did a really good job of being locked in and focused on what we were trying to accomplish and bringing their intensity level. This was something I didn’t have to do a whole lot of coaching.

“We thought we’d be able to score. We didn’t think they would be able to contain us and stop us.”

Still, despite trailing 21-7 at the half, Apopka had done a decent job of bottling up Venice’s running game. When that happens, a head coach has but one option at his disposal.  

And Peacock used it. In the biggest game of his young life, Browne delivered, throwing four touchdown passes, assuming a much larger role than in the first four Venice postseason victories.

“The way our games had been going,” Peacock said, “we’ve been so dominant in the run, we didn’t need to take a chance (to throw), but this Saturday, he did a great job. Made some great reads and threw some great balls.”

“I was on the biggest stage,” Browne said, “but I was prepared to have a game where I was 7-for-10, like I was. Whatever it takes to get that ring is what really mattered. As long as we win.”

Capturing a second state crown, Peacock said, removes the fluke factor. “I think when people see one state championship, they can say a lot of things — ‘oh, you got lucky that year’ but you win two, people say, ‘man, they must be doing something right there.’ I think one thing (the title) does is it kind of solidifies what we do as a staff.”

Peacock called this year’s team “the most talented” he’s ever had. Which means not winning it all was non-negotiable. Before the start of the season, he said as much to his players.

“We knew what kind of team we had,” he said. “We talked to the team before the season. I told them, ‘Listen, we should be winning a state championship this year. I’m telling you, it’s different this year. You guys should win it. If we don’t win it, we did something wrong.’ This year, it’s like we already had it won. We just had to go out there and do it.”

And next season, Peacock’s motivating theme to his team will be doing it again. Back-to-back titles. But before that, he needs to raise money to pay for championship rings for his players. He’ll be an assistant coach in Wednesday’s FACA North-South All Star Game at The Villages.

Before long, he’ll begin preparing for a 2022 season and a Venice team that is graduating a host of players who made this campaign so memorable.

And for one, utterly unforgettable.

“Two years ago, a year and a half ago,” Browne said, “I would have never imagined I would be in the state of Florida playing football and winning a state championship in the biggest division.”

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

“For the Love of Arts” celebrates Wellen Park’s dedication to the arts

https://www.wellenparkjournal.com/articles/for-the-love-of-arts-celebrates-wellen-parks-dedication-to-the-arts/

December 15, 2021

Representatives of the arts, partners of Wellen Park, current and future residents gathered at the recent For the Love of Arts reception. COURTESY PHOTOS

Wellen Park recently held the “For the Love of Arts” event in partnership with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County. This event symbolized the allegiance between this community and the thriving local art scene that is right in Wellen Park’s own backyard.

“We are blessed to be in a vibrant and robust arts and cultural region, which is why it’s so important for us to build upon that access within Wellen Park,” said Wellen Park president, Rick Severance, who kicked off the event.

Current and future residents gathered in the Wellen Park Welcome Center for the reception. The Welcome Center serves as an outward representation of Wellen Park’s commitment to integrating art into everyday life through beautiful custom murals and installations.

The Venice Symphony, Sarasota Opera, The Ringling, Hermitage Artist Retreat, Venice Theatre, Sarasota Art Museum, Asolo Repertory Theatre, and Venice Art Center all sent representatives to speak about their organizations and other upcoming opportunities to experience the arts in Sarasota County.

Check out some of the featured artists and their work that was showcased throughout the event:

Michele Moore of the Bone Boutique creates unique jewelry and is the featured artist from the North Port Arts Center — her work is currently on display at the mobile pop-up cart.

“Blooms” is a vibrant mural of colorful flowers painted on the building’s exterior walls by local artist Laura Pommier.

“Heartfelt Connections” by Sarasota based artist Alexis Fraser, also known as Lipstick Lex, is a piece made of lipstick kisses as an homage to Wellen Park’s heritage tree program.

The For the Love of Arts event was part of Wellen Park’s Countdown to Downtown event series, which is an 18-month-long celebration leading up to the opening of Downtown Wellen, set to be completed in the later months of 2022. 

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179